LOS ANGELES – Golf is cruel.
The U.S. Open will continue without Jordan Spieth, who made two bogeys in his last three holes to miss the cut on the number, and his pal Justin Thomas, who shot 81 on Friday, his second-highest round of his career. It was Phil Mickelson’s 53rd birthday — golf doesn’t care. You’re a SoCal native, Max Homa? Too bad. No matter who you are, it still hurts to pack your bags and hit the road on cut day.
“There is nothing fun about living on that cut line. I did it for 12 years,” said PGA Tour XM radio analyst Colt Knost. “It will make you pull your hair out if you have any left.”
After a day of record scoring on Thursday, the pros didn’t go quite as low in the second round but the cut still fell at 2-over 142. That meant 66 golfers, including Jon Rahm, who made the cut on the number to extend the longest active streak of made cuts in majors to 16, can still dream about hoisting the trophy at the 123rd U.S. Open on Sunday.
Here are some of the big names who have the weekend off to mull over what went wrong.