One of the most testing US Open courses in years claimed many high-profile casualties on Friday, with Phil Mickelson, Viktor Hovland, Tiger Woods and Dustin Johnson ALL missing the cut.
The greens at Pinehurst were brutally tough for this year’s competition, with the sweltering weather also playing a role, but leader Ludbig Aberg has taken it to map -5 in the first two rounds.
The likes of Bryson Dechambeau and Rory McIlroy are also in attendance, heading into the weekend having survived many scares in North Carolina.
Unfortunately for some top players, though, it wasn’t that simple, with a slew of big names missing the +5 cut, including several former champions.
Also consider the man who holds the leaderboard at +20: Charlie Reiter – the man known as the longest hitter in professional golf!
Phil Mickelson ended day two of the US Open a huge 20 shots behind the leader at Pinehurst
Viktor Hovland toiled under very difficult circumstances only to miss the cut after the second round
Tiger Woods will not play this weekend after two days of trouble in North Carolina
Among the stars with a card of +6 or worse were:
- Justin Rose +6 (former US Open champion)
- Victor Hovland +6
- Max Homa +6
- Tiger Woods +7 (15-time major champion)
- Webb Simpson +8 (former US Open champion)
- Will Zalatoris +8
- Rickie Fowler +8
- Jason Day +8
- Dustin Johnson +9 (former US Open champion)
- Gary Woodland +10 (former US Open champion)
- Justin Thomas +11
- Lucas Glover +13 (former US Open champion)
- Phil Mickelson +15
Scottie Scheffler almost made it through, but is a far cry from his usual self
Dustin Johnson played with leader Ludvig Aberg, but was far back compared to his rivals
However, there was good news for a few other former champions, with Matthew Fitzpatrick and Brooks Koepka both sneaking past the +5 mark.
Another man next to them is Scottie Scheffler, the big favorite to win the tournament after his victory at the Masters.
So it was a huge shock to see him so far down the leaderboard, but he sneaks through in a tie for 57th, with Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry and Collin Morikawa alongside him.
Scheffler is a worrying ten shots clear of the leaders at Pinehurst and is not expected to challenge for victory this weekend – although stranger things have happened.