DeChambeau, Mickelson slip late, head home early

OAKMONT, Pa. -- There won't be a back-to-back U.S. Open champion this year.

Bryson DeChambeau, who won at Pinehurst in 2024, missed the cut at Oakmont after shooting a 7-over 77 on Friday to finish 10 over through two rounds.

DeChambeau, 31, stumbled out of the gate with a bogey on No. 10, but he recovered with a par on 11 and a birdie on 12. But he recorded only two more birdies the rest of the afternoon while finishing with seven bogeys and one double bogey.

He wasn't the only former U.S. Open winner to fall victim to Oakmont's monstrous course.

Justin Rose (14 over), Gary Woodland (10 over), Dustin Johnson (10 over), Wyndham Clark (8 over) and Lucas Glover (8 over) are also expected to miss the 7-over cut (second-round play was suspended late Friday with a small group of players yet to finish), which will be the highest in any major since the 2018 U.S. Open was 8 over.

Phil Mickelson, playing in the final year of his five-year Open exemption for winning the 2021 PGA Championship, also missed the cut after a second-round 74 left him at 8 over. Mickelson has missed the cut at the U.S. Open four consecutive times, and 2025 marked his 11th attempt at completing the elusive Grand Slam.

Earlier in the week, the 54-year-old acknowledged there was a "high likelihood" this would be his final U.S. Open appearance. Asked in a news conference June 4 if he would participate in open qualifying for future U.S. Opens if he isn't exempt, Mickelson demurred.

"I don't know," he said. "I haven't thought that far."

Though Mickelson has never won the U.S. Open, he has finished runner-up six times in 33 berths.

Mickelson declined interview requests Friday after missing a putt for birdie on No. 18 that would have put him at the cut line. Mickelson was 1 over on the front nine and pulled even with a birdie on 11. But after making three straight pars, he double-bogeyed two of the final four holes.

As he walked off the green at 18, the LIV Golf headliner was greeted by a smattering of "Lefty!" shouts by a few fans in front of the clubhouse. He offered them a couple of low waves and head nods as he exited the course and headed to record his score.

Ben Griffin, who at even par is tied for fourth, stopped to chat with the six-time major champion during what could be his last U.S. Open round.

"Yeah, unfortunately my memories of him are not winning, because I know he needs it for the Grand Slam," Griffin said. "But yeah, growing up as a kid watching him and Tiger [Woods] battle it out and some other big names was really cool.

"Phil is a guy that I definitely watched throughout my junior golf and throughout childhood and was a good guy to kind of follow and be inspired by."

Shane Lowry, the No. 12 player in the world, also missed the cut after two dismal rounds to finish 17 over.

"I let it sort of do what I said I wouldn't do, but that's Oakmont," Lowry said. "That's the U.S. Open, and I just made obviously too many doubles, too many big mistakes, and then when I got a couple of chances, I didn't convert them. I didn't really do much right to be honest, other than I drove the ball as good as I've probably driven the ball in a long time."

A microcosm of Lowry's week came on No. 14 as the Irishman picked up his ball on the green without marking it. He was assessed a one-stroke penalty for the mental lapse, leading to a double bogey.

"Probably one of the stupidest things I've ever done," Lowry said with a chuckle. "I picked the ball up, had the ball in my hand, turned around to [caddie] Darren [Reynolds], and he basically said to me, 'What you doing?'

"My mind was somewhere else. But I fought. I still tried. I fought over every shot. I still tried over every shot, and that's all you can do, I suppose, in a week like this."