Sweden's Robert Karlsson hits out of the rough as the second round gets underway at a sun-soaked Oakmont

Many were tipping Vijay Singh to make a charge - they would have been as disappointed as he was by his start

England's Ian Poulter also found things difficult early on as a bogey at his first hole is followed by a double at his third

But Paul Casey, another Englishman, was in fine form, birdieing five holes in a remarkable 66 to get to three over

Phil Mickelson's injured wrist has been one of the big debating points at Oakmont - was "Lefty" really fit enough to play?

Mickelson's playing partner Jim Furyk did not have any injuries to blame for his struggles, it was the course that did for him

And by the time they finished, Mickelson and Adam Scott, the group's third member, were a long way off the leaderboard

The news was far better for England's Justin Rose - this birdie putt stayed up but a second straight 71 was a fine effort

Alongside Rose on two over is Aaron Baddeley - the young Australian added a polished 70 to Thursday's 72

Nick Dougherty, the overnight leader, made a fine start to his round, three pars and then a nice birdie at 13, his fourth

But Dougherty's touch and luck on the greens would desert him - his second round of 77 was nine worse than his first

Chris DiMarco is never one to shirk a battle but his triumphs were only fleeting on a brutal day at Oakmont

The world number one never ducks a fight and when he birdied 12, his third, it seemed a Tiger charge was on

But Woods found Oakmont's relentless examination just as hard as everybody else and he had to dig deep to survive

And it was very much one of those days for Colin Montgomerie - the Scot shot an 82 to plummet to 18 over

There was one man among the late starters enjoying his work, Stephen Ames fired a 69 to get within two of the lead

American Bubba Watson also smashed his way around the course to reasonable effect, he is one off the lead

But the man they will all be chasing is Angel Cabrera - the Argentine birdied the last to take the lead at level par