The winner of the U.S. Open in 2018 — the last time the tournament was held at Shinnecock Hills — did not make the cut.
Brooks Koepka shot 10-over through the first two days and failed to make it into the weekend.
He came into the U.S. Open dealing with a hand issue that created a tingling feeling in his left pinky and ring finger, which he admitted impacted his grip.
Koepka, who has won five major championships, struggled to find the rhythm, shooting a 73 on the first day and a 77 on Friday.
He bogeyed eight holes during Friday’s round and struggled with his putting as the round got away from him during the final nine holes.
After Koepka hit his drive on the fourth hole into the rough and followed it with a shot into the bunker, he managed to punch out onto the green for a chance at par.
The putt inside 12 feet missed the hole to the right and he ended up bogeying.
Koepka did not record a birdie in his final nine holes.
His missed cut snaps a streak of 11 straight made cuts at the U.S. Open.
Koepka wasn’t the only notable name to miss the number Friday. Viktor Hovland, J.J. Spaun, Adam Scott, Shane Lowery and Rickie Fowler were also among the group that didn’t make it into the weekend.
Harry Higgs had a “freak out” Thursday before his early morning tee time when he accidentally grabbed a pair of shorts instead of pants for his round at the U.S. Open, sending him into a scramble to find a pair of pants at the course.
Higgs had his caddie go try to find a pair of pants before a person who works for the Darrell Survey offered the golfer their pair, which Higgs said he would have “100 percent ripped them.”
Nevertheless, he didn’t have to wear them long after his wife stepped in to save the day by rushing him his own pair.
“God love my wife. I called her at 5:30 in the morning, and she quick got out, grabbed me a pair of pants,” he said. “Shoot, grabbed me two just in case, trying to maybe make me look good. By about 6:15 before my 6:35 tee time, I had my own pair of pants.”
Higgs is inside the top 10 after the first two rounds, finishing his Friday round 2-under as he stands 1-under for the opening two days.
“Maybe I should do stuff like that more often,” he said jokingly
Cam Young managed to play himself inside the cut line after finishing the first day 2-over.
He shot even par on the second day to make into the weekend.
He had shot even through his first nine holes and didn’t record a bogey until the seventh hole, when he missed a par putt from roughly 12 feet out. He made up for it with a birdie on the eighth hole.
Fellow New York native James Nicholes also made the cut, his first time doing so in the U.S. Open, after posting a 3-over after 36 holes.
