U.S. Open 2017: Big names miss the cut at Erin Hills

Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson among early departures as several of world’s top players miss the cut at the 2017 U.S. Open.

If you looked at the top of the U.S. Open leaderboard right now, you probably wouldn’t realize what you’re watching. While the USGA has been known to put some diabolical course setups in play, this year’s national championship seems as tame as ever before. However, that hasn’t kept some of the world’s best players from playing their way into a long weekend at home.

Six of the top ten players in the Official World Ranking stumbled through 36 holes at Erin Hills, along with a handful of other stars of the game. And, for the first time since 1986, none of the top three are there for the weekend. We’re taking a brief look at what went wrong, player by player. Here’s what went down.

Dustin Johnson, +4 (75-73)

Dustin Johnson had arguably the toughest week of anybody at Erin Hills, and for good reason. He’s the defending U.S. Open champion and he’s been white-hot all year. While the course looked to play into all of DJ’s strengths, he never really got into a rhythm.

Johnson made birdie on his first two holes Friday and looked ready to make a run into the weekend. A bogey on No. 9 and a birdie on No. 12 kept him in position, but bogeys on three of his final six holes took all the air out of his title defense.

Jason Day, +10 (79-75)

If Johnson didn’t have the worst week of the “Big Four”, then that title definitely goes to Day. When Jason Day opened the tournament with a 7-over round of 79, he knew he’d have his work cut out for him. The cut line never really moved on Friday, finishing where it started at 1-over. Day, starting on the back nine, was 2-under for his first six holes but couldn’t keep up the momentum. Playing his final eight holes 5-over par, Day will look to bounce back next month at The Open Championship.

Rory McIlroy, +5 (78-71)

McIlroy made a valiant effort to bounce back from his 6-over opening round but simply couldn’t overcome Erin Hills’ many challenges. While he won’t give any excuses, this beast of a course couldn’t have been his first choice for a return to action.

McIlroy has now missed three U.S. Open cuts since his 2011 win at Congressional and four of nine in his career. He’s in something of an all-or-nothing mode at majors recently, with three missed cuts against five top-ten finishes in his last nine. If McIlroy can find some type of consistency again, he’ll be a force to be reckoned with sooner than later.

Jon Rahm, +5 (76-73)

If Rahm was frustrated on Thursday, he was outright furious on Friday and didn’t do much to disguise it. From ESPN’s Kevin Van Valkenburg:

Credit where it’s due, Rahm acknowledged his awful behavior, admitting that he’s an emotional player, but also saying that it keeps him from carrying it further.

"“It does help me,” he said. “I know golfers are supposed to try to internalize everything. I wish I could. Every time I try to keep it to myself. Just imagine a Coca-Cola bottle. You shake it once. You shake it again. Once you open it, it’s a complete mess. That’s what happens when I try to keep it down. I’m going to miss a shot that’s not that bad and I’m going to lose it. Sometimes I need to get mad.”"

Rahm’s expectations were understandably sky-high with his meteoric rise this year, but a little dose of reality can’t hurt in the long run. He’ll get his, but he’ll need to find a little more balance in his game to truly dominate.

Henrik Stenson, +3 (74-73)

Stenson had one of the best shots of the tournament on Thursday, dunking his approach shot on No. 11 from 152 yards out for an eagle that seemingly amazed everybody but himself.

However, as great as that shot was, this U.S. Open was basically his year in a nutshell. Four birdies on Friday were offset by three bogeys and a double. While his score of 73 wasn’t terrible considering the course conditions, it has to sting that he only needed to be 1-under on Friday to play the weekend and couldn’t get it done.

Stenson is far too good to stay down for long, but the U.S. Open has often been a tough one for the big-hitting Swede. His search for a second major will have to wait.

Alex Noren, +6 (73-77)

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Speaking of big-hitting Swedish stars, Alex Noren will join his countryman with some extra time off this week. The 34-year-old out of Oklahoma State has risen all the way to No. 8 in the world ranking, up from 108^th just one year ago.

Noren came into the U.S. Open in solid form. After a 10th-place finish at The PLAYERS Championship, Noren enjoyed a massive come-from-behind win at the BMW PGA Championship. A tie for 15^th at the Nordea Masters should have given Noren some much-needed confidence.

Noren opened his round Friday at 1-over, eagled the first and birdied the 18^th. In the middle, however, six bogeys and a double ruined any chance he had of stopping his missed-cuts streak at the U.S. Open at three.

Next: Hideki Matsuyama makes a big move at the U.S. Open

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