By Dave Shedloski, Stuart Hall and Andrew Blair

Bethesda, Md. - But for a double bogey on the home hole at Congressional Country Club Friday afternoon, Phil Mickelson assembled a solid second round in the 111th U.S. Open and assured himself of making the cut for the 19th time in 21 championship appearances.

A 2-under-par 69 left Mickelson at 1-over 143 midway through the U.S. Open. Unfortunately, he lost yet more ground to the confident and composed front-runner, Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland.

Mickelson, who turned 41 on Thursday, trails the 22-year-old wunderkind by 12 shots as McIlroy also doubled the No. 18, his only blemish over 36 holes. But instead of taking a tiny measure of satisfaction for tidying up his game after an opening 74, Mickelson could only lament that his game isn't measuring up to his standards.

Of course, McIlroy's performance could have had something to do with that.

"He's striking it flawlessly and putted great on the greens. His first two rounds were very impressive," Mickelson said of his fellow competitor.

As for his own game, the four-time major champion, admitted to feeling not only frustrated and confused.

"It was a disappointing finish with that double, but I'm still struggling," Mickelson said morosely. "Even though I was able to shoot under par today, I was still struggling with it. Rather than go work on it, I think I'm going to try to figure out what it is I need to work on first and then get back to the range."

Keeping Pace

With a record-setting 11-under 131 score, McIlroy has also created a record-tying six-stroke 36-hole lead over the field. McIlroy, maybe more than others, also knows that no lead is ever too wide.

"I have to really make sure that I don't get ahead of myself and I don't start playing defensively," said McIlroy, whose record lead is one better than Tiger Woods' in 2000 when he eventually won by 15 strokes at Pebble Beach. "I have to still play aggressively to the targets that I pick. And that's really the main thing, even if you get four, five or six ahead of the field; you're trying to get seven ahead, eight ahead, 10 ahead."

For those players chasing McIlroy, keeping the mindset that the championship is not already decided is another element added to an already stressful week. They should also take heart.

In 1975 at Medinah (Ill.) Country Club, Tom Watson led Ben Crenshaw by three strokes heading into the weekend. Over the final 36 holes, Lou Graham rallied from 11 down, eventually tying John Mahaffey and forcing a Monday playoff, which Graham won by three strokes.

"The way I look at it, the pressure is off me," said Zach Johnson, the 2007 Masters champion who shot a 2-under 69 and is tied for third at 2-under 140. "I'm not the one that's supposed to win it right now. I'm not saying I don't want to lead, but I don't know how many shots he's winning by.

"I can't control the leaderboard. I certainly can't control what Rory is doing or anybody. They're just numbers. It's completely irrelevant."

None of the players want to see McIlroy endure what he experienced at this year's Masters where he shot a final-round 80 to lose his chance at a green jacket. But they also want to be in a position to capitalize should the opportunity present itself.

Steve Stricker shot a respectable 2-under 69 on Friday and is at 2-over 144. Afterward, he left open the possibility of a weekend charge by someone, if not him.

"There's a long ways to go yet," he said. "You have just got to keep hanging in there and keep trying to shoot under par. He's got to come back. The way he's playing now, it doesn't seem like he'll do that, but you've just got to keep fighting and see what happens."

Sergio Garcia, whose last top-10 majors finish was at the 2009 U.S. Open, is also at two under after an even-par 71. He said his focus is not on McIlroy or the size of his lead.

"I have bigger worries than Rory McIlroy," he said, adding that he would have preferred to shoot a 67 or 68.

Even that, players are finding out, is not enough to keep pace with McIlroy.

Finally A Weekend Stay For Garrigus

Robert Garrigus was pleased to shoot his second straight 1-under 70 Friday and make his first cut in three U.S. Open appearances. Even better, he walked off the golf course tied for third with Sergio Garcia.

His satisfaction was in no way muted despite his nine-stroke deficit to leader Rory McIlroy. After all, he was still very much on the leaderboard.

"You know, it's great. It's what we dream about. It's what we play for and it's what we work hard for," said the long-hitting Garrigus, who missed the cut in 2004 and '08. "I'm excited to see [my name] up there, and I'd like to see it last for the rest of the weekend. Should be fun."

Rory McIlroy has separated himself from the field at the U.S. Open, but if only for a moment during Friday's second round, Andres Gonzales shared a portion of the spotlight.

Andres, who?

At 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds, with long dark hair and a Fu Manchu mustache to match, the 28-year-old Gonzales is hard to miss. And did we mention he also chews tobacco?

"Looks like he could play linebacker for the Oakland Raiders," joked one fan.

As if to underscore that observation, Gonzales was clad in silver and black on Friday. This was his first U.S. Open - in fact, his first major championship ever - and he drew some more attention for his play, after draining a 7-foot birdie putt at the demanding par-4 11th hole to move to four under on his round.

After opening with an 8-over 79, Gonzales was in the all-too-familiar position of needing a late charge to make the 36-hole cut. As a PGA Tour rookie, he has played on the weekend only three of nine times this season, with a T-38 at the FedEx St. Jude Classic being his best finish.

Coming down the stretch at Congressional, the 2006 UNLV graduate experienced the dangers of playing too aggressively at the Open, closing with three consecutive bogeys to settle for a 1-under 70.

His tee shot plugged in a fairway bunker at the par-5 16th, resulting in an unplayable lie. He three-putted for bogey at the par-4 17th, and at the par-4 18th, he shanked his second shot into high grass right of the green.

That left Gonzales at 7-over 149 for 36 holes, leaving him on the wrong side of the cut in his first Open.

It's been a long ride for Gonzales, who played the Canadian Tour from 2007-10 and split time on the Nationwide Tour in '08. He qualified with rounds of 67-66 at the Tunica (Miss.) National Golf Club sectional on June 6.

At Congressional, he seemingly soaked up every second of the experience. As imposing as Gonzales may appear, he was a fan favorite who drew the encouragement of spectators by patiently signing every autograph following his round before leaving.

"I had a ball," said Gonzales. "It would've been nice to play better, but I grew a little fan base out here, so that's fun. It's something you dream of - someone yelling your name out there at the U.S. Open. That's something you dream about as a kid growing up.

"It's a good job to be able to enjoy, even when you're not playing as well as you'd like."

Dave Shedloski, Stuart Hall and Andrew Blair are freelance writers assisting USOPEN.com this week. All three have previously written for USGA websites.