Former Illini Thomas Pieters in Contention At 2020 U.S. Open

Thomas Pieters sits at four shots off the lead after 36 holes in 2020 United States Open and was at 6-under-par at one point Friday.

For a brief few minutes, a former national champion at Illinois had the second-round lead at the 2020 United States Open Championship.

Thomas Pieters, who came into Winged Foot Golf Club this week ranked No. 77 in the world rankings, was 6-under-par through his first 23 holes and had a one-stroke lead in the 120th U.S. Open as he made the turn for his second nine. Pieters, who represented Belgium in the 2016 Summer Olympics and is likely to do so again in 2021, finally found the incredibly difficult version of Winged Foot as he finished his final nine holes with a 6-over-par 41 but the USGA course setup took its toll on the remaining members of the field with only three players finishing with an under-par round on Friday.

Thomas Pieters plays his shot from the sixth tee during the second round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Winged Foot Golf Club - West :: Danielle Parhizkaran/USA TODAY Sports

Pieters’ 36-hole total of even-par 140 places him tied for seventh and only four strokes behind the leader Patrick Reed. Pieters will tee off Saturday in the fourth-to-last pairing at 1:52 p.m. EST with Xander Schauffele. Pieters is one of just 11 players in the field to finish at even-par or better.

Reed, who sits a 4-under-par, is ahead over Bryson DeChambeau. Rafa Cabrera-Bello of Spain and Harris English each had a 70 and were at 2-under 138. Justin Thomas, who Pieters defeated in the 2012 NCAA Championship match when Thomas was at Alabama, posted a 73 on Friday after taking a first-round lead following a 65. Jason Kokrak (71) was the only other player under par at 1-under 139.

Pieters, 28, is tied for sixth in this U.S. Open field in greens in regulation (24 of 36) and has yet to make a bogey on Winged Foot’s front nine.

Pieters’ career at Illinois is highlighted by his 2012 NCAA individual national championship in junior season as he became the second Illini player to win a national title in school history and joined Scott Langley (2010) as the second national champion from Illinois in a three-year period.

In his senior year, Pieters was named an honorable mention All-America selection by PING and Golfweek after he led the Illinois in stroke average at 71.38 and rounds under par with 16. His 71.38 stroke average is fourth in the school’s single-season record book and his career stroke average of 72.35 ranks second second all-time at Illinois.

Pieters will be joined on the weekend from fellow Belgium native and former Illinois teammate Thomas Detry as the 27-year-old fired a 3-over-par 143 over the first two days to make the 36-hole cut by three shots. Pieters will tee off his third round at 12:13 p.m. EST after surviving a second round with a 2-over 72 despite only hitting 9 of 18 greens in regulation. Pieters and Detry are expected to represent their home country and the Illini in the rescheduled Summer Olympics, due to coronavirus concerns, in Tokyo in 2021.

Steve Stricker, who was an All-American selection as a member of the Illini golf team in 1988 and 1989, missed the cut after firing a 11-over-par 151. Stricker was a former teammate and college roommate to current Illinois men’s golf head coach Mike Small.