In the end, even “old-man-par” would have fallen just short as too many tussles with Oakmont Country Club’s gnarly rough denied Adam Scott a career-defining second major at the US Open.

Masters champion and four men with zero majors between them are in the top five heading into Sunday's final round.

There are no places to hide at a U.S. Open, particularly at Oakmont Country Club. There are no crevasses to crawl into or shadows to wait in. There are eyeballs on you the moment you first step foot onto the property.

Adam Scott is among the contenders at the half way mark but it was Jason Day who got the better of Oakmont in the second round as Cameron Smith and Min Woo Lee missed the cut at the US Open. Scott sits in fourth place at even par overall, three shots behind leader Sam Burns after a second successive round of 70.