OAKMONT, Pa. – Sam Burns authored a round Friday that likely would have earned even Johnny Miller’s seal of approval. Now he’ll look to turn a successful day into a watershed week at the 125th U.S. Open.

Fifty-two years after Miller’s famous 63 at Oakmont Country Club to win the U.S. Open, Burns surged up the standings with a 5-under 65 that took him to 3 under at the halfway point of a grueling test. Nearly a winner last week at the RBC Canadian Open, Burns was within a shot of the lead when he signed his scorecard and assured of entering the weekend in red figures on a course where many still expect the winning score to hover around even par.

Burns made six birdies against just one bogey in the second round, assembling a potent combo of length off the tee, accurate irons and a hot putter. His 65 tied the third-lowest score of all time in an Oakmont U.S. Open, behind only Miller’s 63 in 1973 and a 64 in 1994 from Loren Roberts, who went on to lose to Ernie Els in a playoff.

“I think today was just kind of getting mentally ready to come out and try to put a good round together,” Burns said. “I feel like I’ve been playing well coming off last week and into this week, and my round yesterday. Really just trying to get yourself in position out here and give yourself as many looks as you can.”

Burns, 28, has five TOUR wins to his credit but none in the last two years. That drought nearly ended north of the border last week, where he missed a 5-foot putt for the win before ultimately losing to Ryan Fox in a four-hole playoff.

Burns has eight top-25s in 16 starts this year, and a key factor to his success has been on the greens. Having ranked inside the top 15 in Strokes Gained: Putting on TOUR every season since 2021, Burns has raised his game this year and led the TOUR in that category entering this week. The putter hasn’t exactly cooled off at Oakmont, as he has averaged 27.5 putts per round through 36 holes and picked up nearly +2.9 strokes on the field Friday with his putter alone.

“He plays golf, I think, very freely, and he’s got really good natural instincts when it comes to his putting,” said friend and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler. “He’s got very good fundamentals, good instinct and he putts very reactionary. That’s really all there is to it, it’s as simple as that.”

Burns started his day with a 21-foot birdie make on No. 11, added three more before making the turn and after a two-putt birdie on the par-5 fourth hole he had racked up 11 birdies through his first 31 holes – a wildly efficient ratio for any U.S. Open, let alone one at Oakmont.

“Super impressive,” said Viktor Hovland, who sits at 1 under after a 2-under 68 in the second round. “I was 4 under at one point myself, and it does feel like, man, if you’re just executing and you’re getting some nice bounces and you’re making some putts, you can definitely shoot a low score. But you’re just not very far off before you’re making a bogey or a double bogey, and that can happen multiple holes in a row.”

What awaits now might be the biggest test of Burns’ career. Having collected a handful of trophies on TOUR, his record in majors is relatively scant: His T9 finish at last year’s U.S. Open at Pinehurst is his lone top-15 finish in 18 career major starts. Last year he vaulted into contention at The Open, shooting a third-round 65 to move to T2 and within a shot of the overnight lead, but ballooned to a final-round 80 at Royal Troon and finished T31.

“I think at times, (I’m) trying to be a little too perfect around major championship golf courses,” Burns said. “I think especially around here, honestly it kind of forces you to take your medicine because a lot of times that’s the only option you have.”

While a “take your medicine” approach might imply that Burns is looking to take his foot off the gas this weekend, think again. Players have spent all week trying to build a gameplan for scoring on a treacherous layout, a goal that usually starts with finding the undulating fairways that are firming up by the minute in the Pittsburgh suburbs.

For Burns, though, this is no time to be hesitant. And that strategy likely won’t differ this weekend as he chases what would be the biggest win of his career.

“I think for this golf course, you really have to free it up. It’s too hard to try to guide it around here,” he said. “You’re going to hit some in the rough, you’re going to hit some in some bad spots – you might as well do it with authority.”