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Majors a minor-ity after two rounds at 2017 U.S. Open

Posted at 11:58 PM, Jun 16, 2017
and last updated 2017-06-17 01:17:53-04

Tommy Fleetwood lines up a putt during the second round of the 2017 U.S. Open. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

ERIN, Wis. – The last six golfers to win a major championship were all first-time major winners. Halfway through the 117th U.S. Open Championship, it’s looking like that streak could hit seven.

None of the top 18 players on the leaderboard after 36 holes have ever won a major.

Paul Casey, Brian Harman, Tommy Fleetwood and Brooks Koepka are tied for the lead at 7-under par. Harman is attempting to become the first left-handed winner in U.S. Open history.

Marc Leishman plays his shot during the second round of the 2017 U.S. Open. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

Virginia Beach resident Marc Leishman, 0-for-23 at majors in his career, will start round three just three shots off the lead. Leishman followed-up his 4-under par round of 68 in round one with an even par round of 72 Friday.

“You have to do everything well,” Leishman explained. “Obviously, driving it straight is important out there. The pins were a lot tougher today. Yesterday I felt like there were a lot of pins that if you hit a good shot, you could go at it. Today I felt like I was hitting away from the pin a lot because of where they were. There is a lot of trouble around the hole.”

The native of Australia carded three birdies and three bogeys.

“Yeah, it’s a U.S. Open, so everything’s pretty challenging,” Leishman admitted. “It feels weird saying off the tee is the hardest part because the fairways are a lot wider than normal, but it’s probably more important to hit them than a lot of over. It’s definitely the most comfortable I’ve felt on a course, on a U.S. Open course. I haven’t had a whole lot of success at U.S. Opens so far, but I felt like this course has done pretty well for me.”

Leishman, paired with Brendan Steele, tees-off at 2:23pm (eastern) in Saturday’s round three.