Alex Levy needed all his powers of recovery on the second day of the US Open Championship after opening with a seven.
Lesser men might have crumbled after running up a double bogey on the par five first at Chambers Bay, but Levy is a redoubtable character and promptly clawed his way back into contention with a round of 69 for a one under par aggregate total.
Levy largely owes his top 15 position on the leaderboard to his work with the flat stick, as the genial Frenchman is currently joint first in the putts in regulation category.
The two-time European Tour champion cancelled out his early blemish with gains at the fourth and ninth holes, where he rolled in a putt from 15 feet after a sublime tee shot.
Birdies at the 11th and 12th holes were bookended by bogeys at the tenth and 13th, but Levy will enter the weekend in red figures after a fifth birdie of the day on the 16th.
Levy, who earned his place in the field through last month’s US Open qualifier at Walton Heath, said: “I got off to the worst possible start, it’s not a difficult hole so I was very upset with myself. When you know the course is playing difficult, the last thing you want to do is start with a seven.
“But after that, I stayed patient and took it shot by shot, kept my ball in the right places and holed some good putts. I’m one under par at the moment, and if I stay like that then I could be celebrating with some champagne on Sunday night!
“But it’s going to be very difficult over the weekend. I’m sure they will tuck the pins away, and push some of the tees back. So it will be tough, but I’m very excited.”
