Sam Burns took the lead at -3 by shooting an incredible 65.
Only three players are under par, and they will probably struggle to stay there.
The cut was +7 and four of the world’s top ten golfers couldn’t even match that. Only one of those ten (Russell Henley) is in the top ten at Oakmont.
The bookies still feel that Scottie Scheffler is one of the four favorites, along with the three who are under par. Scheffler is seven strokes behind, but is still only paying off at 8-1.
Justin Hastings of the Cayman Islands, age 21, is assured of becoming the low amateur. After shooting a pair of 73s, he’s the only amateur that made the cut, although more than a dozen qualified to play. It’s not easy to become a great golfer in the Caymans – there are only two golf courses, and only one of them has the full 18 holes. Hastings holds the course record on that full-sized course, with an eye-popping 57!
The defending champions of the majors:
Xander Schauffele (British Open, World #3): 72-74, 45th place
Rory McIlroy (Masters, World #2)): 74-72, 45th place
Bryson DeChambeau (U.S. Open, World #10): 73-77, missed the cut
Scottie Scheffler (PGA, World #1): 73-71, 23rd place
The rest of the world top ten:
#4 Collin Morikawa 70-74, 23rd place
#5 Justin Thomas 76-76, missed the cut
#6 Ludvig Åberg 72-76, missed the cut
#7 Russell Henley 72-70, 8th place
#8 Sepp Straka 78-73, missed the cut
#9 Hideki Matsuyama 74-73, 58th place (barely made the cut)
The story below proves what a cruel game golf can be:
George Duangmanee is a 23-year-old kid who recently turned pro. His only route into PGA events was the Monday qualifiers, where a bunch of hopefuls compete for very few spots. Last month he defied the odds by making it into the Myrtle Beach Classic, where he again defied the odds by making the cut! He then went through the qualifying process for the US Open, got through the local qualifier, then again defied the odds by shooting 68-67 in the final qualifier on June 2, thus punching his ticket to the big show. He had made it through the same process where Ricky Fowler and Sergio Garcia had failed. It’s safe to say that on June 2, two weeks ago, he was on the top of the world, having demonstrated a tremendous combination of poise, talent and luck in the previous month.
That dream-bubble not only burst, but did so in dramatic fashion. He carded an 86 in the first round at Oakmont, the day’s worst round. He probably thought that, if nothing else, the worst was over. It wasn’t. He followed that up with an even worse round of 89, which was again the worst round of the day.
Trump would have made the the cut! ✔ It was foretold in Two Corinthians…
I believe he has already declared himself the winner.