Bright sunshine came to the 99th US Open at Pinehurst No 2 yesterday, bringing joy to spectators but much torment to the working practitioners on the other side of the fairway ropes. So it was that David Duval, Phil Mickelson and Payne Stewart seemed largely contented as joint leaders at the halfway stage on 137 - three under par.

Greens which had provided a gentle cushion for approach shots in Thursday's rain were now menacingly firm and fast, with the result that Stewart, Jeff Maggert and John Huston were the only players to break par. All of which reflected handsomely on a second round of 70 from Darren Clarke who, on 143, made a third successive cut in this championship.

When the cut came on 147, in accordance with the 10-shot rule, six Europeans - Jesper Parnevik, Clarke, Miguel-Angel Jimenez, Colin Montgomerie, Phillip Price and Sven Struver, - survived. And among the casualties were such notables as twice former winner Ernie Els on 148, Mark O'Meara (150), Greg Norman (151) and, sadly, Jack Nicklaus on 153.

Typically succinct, Duval captured the essence of the challenge when he said: "I'm patient and efficient at what this tournament demands, which is to hit the fairways and knock it on the greens. You're going to see players backing up over the next two days and even-par will be a nice score on Sunday evening."

Then the world number one, who later told The Irish Times that he is considering a trip to Ireland as part of his preparation for next month's British Open, explained how he handles such testing conditions. For instance, his reaction on walking off the short sixth with a double-bogey was: "I thought I've got to play seven now and it presents its own challenge."

It is the sort of thinking which made him such an impressive winner of the Players' Championship in fiercely difficult conditions at Sawgrass three months ago. "Certain holes on this course seem to fit my eyes," he went on. "But there is no let-up. You've got to remain sharp over every shot."

Tom Watson shared this view, maintaining that players needed to focus clearly on what they were doing and retain a set objective, even when the bounce of the ball conspired against them. "Jack Nicklaus was wonderful at that," he said. "I set myself a target of 69 today and shot 70, so I've got to be pleased."

He also suggested that Stewart's rhythmic swing had much to do with his frequent prominence in this event. After capturing the title at Hazeltine in 1991, the 42-year-old was runner-up to Lee Janzen at Baltusrol in 1993 and again at the Olympic Club last year.

Duval's double-bogey at the 222-yard sixth was, by his own admission, the product of "a real bad shot off the tee". It landed in a right-hand bunker from where his recovery went through the green. But he hit back with birdies at the next two, sinking putts of three feet and 12 feet.

Of the four joint-leaders on 67 overnight, two succumbed to the difficulty of the challenge. Billy Mayfair started with a birdie at the first, but went on to bogey the fifth and double-bogey the ninth, en route to a 72. Paul Goydos took a similar route down the leaderboard.

Yet by John Daly's standards, they had reason to be pleased. After slumping to a 77 in Clarke's company, the one-time Wild Thing said: "I tried to hang in there but all the par putts I made yesterday, I missed today. But I can't be too disappointed. I don't think the winner will be the guy who hits the ball the best, but the guy who gets away with some misses."

Mickelson seems determined to battle on, however, even with the possibility of a call to the bedside of his wife, who is expecting their first child.

Meanwhile Stewart's experience down this road was reflected in the comment: "There's 36 holes to play and I know I've got to go out and take care of my business. I can't worry about what anybody else is doing."

Tiger Woods endorsed those sentiments after shooting 71 to remain very much in contention on 139. "To be honest, I don't really care what they're doing, because I can't afford to," he said. "I need to plan my own game and get myself into contention and keep executing my golf shots." As it happened, Woods struck the ball considerably better than he had done on Thursday when he seemed tense and at odds with himself during the early part of a round of 68. On this occasion, he again made early errors, bunkering his second shot for a bogey at the long fourth and three-putting the short sixth.

But he hit some really delightful shots from then on, taking the driver off the tee at every reasonable opportunity to extract full value from the unusually generous fairways. And the three-wood as a chipping weapon was successfully employed at the 610-yard 10th, where he eased the ball up a greenside slope to within inches of the target for a birdie four.

Nicklaus believes that players who complain about the course, can be dismissed as serious challengers. What then would he made about contrasting remarks by Woods and Duval. "Some of the pin placements were questionable," complained Woods. "I don't subscribe to that," said Duval. "I don't think there are such things."

It was an interesting footnote to an absorbing day.