SAN DIEGO — If you had turned to the guy on the bus next to you last week and said, "I'm picking Rocco Mediate to win the U.S. Open," he would have moved to another seat.

Yet, against all odds and logic as we know it, there was Mediate Friday, tootling around Torrey Pines as if he owned the place for the second day in a row.

Mediate, 45, from Greensburg, Pa., carded a first-round 2-under-par 69 Thursday and a 71 Friday, putting him at 2 under, 1 shot behind leader Stuart Appleby and tied with two others, including Tiger Woods, who shot 68.

Phil Mickelson, going for his first Open title in his hometown, shot 75 Friday, leaving him 7 shots off the lead.

"It's great," Mediate said after his round. "I don't have many more of these left. I'm in a great spot. We'll see what happens."

As he did Thursday, Mediate gushed over the setup of the golf course and proclaimed the Open his favorite tournament of the year, precisely because it rewards accuracy over length, and because par is always a good score.

"Who knows who is going to lead?" Mediate said. "But around par is going to win this."

He's probably on to something, given the U.S. Golf Association's determination to do all it can to humble even the best golfers in the world. Last year at Oakmont, Angel Cabrera's winning score was 5 over, the same as the year before at Winged Foot, where Geoff Ogilvy won.

If Mediate can hang around the lead, let alone somehow win this thing, it would be huge. Not that he can't play. Mediate has four wins on the PGA Tour, but no one has ever accused him of being one of the best players without a major title.

"I kind of live under the radar, actually, so I'm used to that," Mediate said.