ELMSFORD, N.Y. (June 20, 2009) — Coming into the 109th U.S. Open Championship, the three players with local ties had somewhat varying aspirations. Fairfield, Connecticut native J.J. Henry was looking to contend in an Open for the first time in five tries; Andrew Svoboda of Larchmont, N.Y., hoped to build on his performance last year, when he made the cut at Torrey Pines; and Creek head professional Sean Farren was eager to see how well he could perform in his first U.S. Open. The common denominator for all three players was that they first had to survive the 36-hole cut, which came at four-par-par 144. None of them did.

Henry had the best chance, but was unable to take advantage of what the more favorable part of the tee time draw as far as weather conditions. After a first-round 73 put him within striking distance of being in contention, Henry went out in one-under 34 in his second round. But he was unable to carry that good play over to his back nine and finished with a second-round 74. His 147 total missed the cut by two strokes.

Svoboda, playing in a high-profile group with Steve Stricker and Henrik Stenson, improved by six strokes in the second round and also shot 74. While playing in his third U.S. Open in four years was a significant accomplishment for the Hooters Tour winner, Svoboda will have to wait to qualify for next year’s U.S. Open at Pebble Beach to see if he can parlay his major championship experience into success at the highest level.

The man with perhaps the biggest local following of the three was Farren, who had several Creek Club members, as well as family and friends, rooting him on at Bethpage. Farren, who said before the championship began that he wanted it to play firm and fast because he was one of the shorter hitters out there, didn’t get his wish but did put on a good show for his gallery. Following a rough start to his second round, when he went bogey-double bogey-bogey on holes 10 through 12, Farren came right back with a birdie on the par-five 13^th and played one over par the rest of way. He finished with a 75 and a two-round total of 155.

The dominant story so far in this Open has been the variable weather conditions and the affect that they have had on the field. There is now no question that the players who had to wait until Friday to start their first rounds had a distinct advantage over the other half of the field in terms of weather, and it is bearing out on the leaderboard. Of the 16 players under par at the halfway mark, only three—Lee Westwood, Steve Stricker, and Ryan Moore­—were from the part of the draw that began play on Thursday.