Australian Adam Scott might be six shots behind the US Open leaders but he remains defiantly committed to his overall goal of even-par.

The 2013 Masters champion is convinced Chambers Bay will bare its teeth over the weekend, expecting the United States Golf Association (USGA) to increase the difficulty of the set-up and bring the leaders back to the pack.

Patrick Reed and current Masters champion Jordan Spieth lead the tournament at five-under at the halfway stage.

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The course has caused problems for many, but Jordan Spieth has coped well. Photo: Getty

“I start tomorrow optimistic that if I find a birdie early, I’m back to level par and right on my mark again,” Scott said.

“Now they’ve got 156 guys through they can toughen this course up and I suspect we’ll see firmer greens tomorrow.”

A large percentage of players are already bemoaning the state of the course, and its difficulty, as they struggle on the bumpy fescue greens.

“It’s borderline laughable on some of the greens and some of the pin positions, when we’re actually almost better off plugged in a bunker than being on the top of a ridge, like on the fourth,” Swede Henrik Stenson said.

“And it’s pretty much like putting on broccoli.”

Of the 20 players above Scott on the leaderboard, only Spieth and Jason Dufner (even-par) have a major in their back pocket, something that could come in handy as pressure mounts.

“Generally, I think knowing you can do it is a very good thing,” Scott said.

“Tomorrow is a great day for me to just do my stuff again and then I’ll have the first nine on Sunday to hopefully put myself in a position where you can really lean on it and know you can get it done.”

– AAP