Tiger Woods and Justin Thomas are just two of the big names to miss the cut at the 124th U.S. Open.
Woods, a 3-time U.S. Open champion, carded a 3-over 73 on Friday to miss the weekend by two shots. Thomas, meanwhile, looked lost all week at Pinehurst No. 2, finishing at 11-over through 36 holes. The two-time PGA champion has missed the cut in five of his last seven majors, an alarming trend for the Louisville, Kentucky native.
But plenty of others will head home early, too.
Viktor Hovland opened the 2024 U.S. Open with an eye-opening 8-over 78. He fought hard to make the weekend on Friday, battling back after making a double-bogey at the par-4 8th with four birdies, but he fell short in the end. Two bogies over his final three holes cost the Norwegian dearly, as he missed the cut by a stroke at 6-over par.
Also finishing at 6-over was Robert MacIntyre, who recently won the RBC Canadian with his father on the bag. Unfortunately for the Scotsman, he will have no reason to celebrate this time around.
Max Homa, Eric Cole, and PGA Tour rookie Nick Dunlap also finished at 6-over, with Homa being the biggest surprise of this trio. Yet, Homa has missed the cut at the U.S. Open in four of his five starts, with the outlier being a tie for 47th at the Country Club at Brookline in 2022.
Canadians Adam Hadwin and Nick Taylor will also head home early, finishing at 7-over and 8-over, respectively. Australian Jason Day also totaled an 8-over score, a surprise given that this course suits his game nicely.
Others who finished at 8-over include Will Zalatoris, Webb Simpson, Will Zalatoris, Rickie Fowler, and one of SB Nation’s Dark Horses, Alex Noren of Sweden.
Dustin Johnson ended his second round at 9-over, as he has looked completely lost in major championships this season. So, too, has Phil Mickelson, who finished at 15-over after shooting a 79 on Thursday and a 76 on Friday.
Plenty of big names faltered at Pinehurst No. 2, but the big name favorite—Scottie Scheffler—made the cut on the number.
In all, 74 players earned third-round tee times, and play will commence first thing on Saturday, which promises to be another thrilling day in the North Carolina sandhills.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.