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Four share lead at U.S. Open; world's top 3 players miss cut

 
Ex-FSU standout Brooks Koepka is one of four nonmajor-winners tied for the lead at 7 under.
Ex-FSU standout Brooks Koepka is one of four nonmajor-winners tied for the lead at 7 under.
Published June 17, 2017

ERIN, Wis. — An 11-year-old course shaped from Wisconsin pastureland was sure to bring something different to the U.S. Open.

This might have been more than anyone was expecting.

The four players tied for the lead Friday — former FSU standout Brooks Koepka, Paul Casey, Brian Harman and Tommy Fleetwood — helped create the largest 36-hole logjam in 43 years at the U.S. Open. None has won a major — Koepka, 27, had his first 36-hole lead at a major — and the next 14 players behind them hadn't won a major, either.

On the longest course ever for a major — the first round played 7,845 yards — the cut, 1-over 145, was the lowest at the U.S. Open since 1990.

And for all the birdies and blunders at Erin Hills, the most compelling image from the second round came from the parking lot, where one star after another left town after missing the cut.

Dustin Johnson. Rory McIlroy. Jason Day. It was the first time since the world rankings began in 1986 that the top three players missed the cut in a major.

Henrik Stenson (73, 3 over). Alex Noren (77, 6 over). Jon Rahm (73, 5 over). Justin Rose (74, 2 over). Adam Scott (75, 3 over). Eight of the top 12 players in the world aren't around for the weekend.

The four-way tie for first was the most after two rounds in a U.S. Open since Winged Foot in 1974, when the names were more familiar for a major: Raymond Floyd, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Hale Irwin, who went on to win his first major.

Koepka (70), Casey (71), Harman (70) and Fleetwood (70) at 7-under 137.

"I'm pretty chill anyway," said Koepka, a power-hitting U.S. Ryder Cup team member. "I'm enjoying it right now."

One shot back was a trio of players that included first-round leader Rickie Fowler (73), who went 28 holes before making his first bogey and then went three holes without making a par.

"We're in a good spot," Fowler said. "Looking forward to the next two days."

Eighteen players were at or within three of the lead, the most at a U.S. Open after 36 holes since 1972. Those players have combined for zero major wins.

Johnson capped off the collective failure of the top-three-ranked players with a late collapse on the back nine, making three bogeys over a five-hole stretch and closing with 73 that left him 4 over.

"I couldn't possibly shoot any higher than I did," he said.

Day followed his career-worst 79 in a U.S. Open with 75 to finish 10 over. McIlroy came to life when it was far too late. He made four birdies over the last six holes to salvage a 71, but at 5 over, he missed the cut for the second straight year.

Day at least found one positive spin.

"Guess what?" he said to his 4-year-old son, Dash. "We get to go home today because Daddy played poorly."

Spectator dies: A 94-year-old man died while watching the tournament, the USGA said. He stopped breathing while in a grandstand on the sixth hole and died of what appeared to be natural causes, Washington County officials said. … The pilot of a blimp that crashed Thursday near the course remained in serious condition.