Jordan punches out early at Open
SOUTHAMPTON — Jordan Spieth slammed his right hand against the column of the scorer's clubhouse after he finished his second round Friday, a surprising display of emotion from the normally even-keeled Texan.
But Spieth had reason to be frustrated. He made four straight birdies on the back nine to put him in position to make the cut, only to see his hard work undone with bogeys on No. 17 and 18. With a second-round 71, Spieth was at 9-over par and missed the cut by one shot.
"I don't see any good in it," Spieth said when a USGA official asked him if he would talk to the media as he walked to the player's clubhouse. Spieth did sign numerous autographs outside the scorer's clubhouse after he had pummeled the column.
Rory McIlroy, who was paired with Spieth and Phil Mickelson, also missed the cut despite shooting an even-par 70 Friday. McIlroy finished 10-over after two rounds and did himself in with a disastrous opening round of 80. Not surprisingly, the Irishman blew off the media after missing the cut.
For the 24-year-old Spieth, his meltdown Friday on the links had shades of his 2016 meltdown at the Masters, where he blew a five-stroke lead on the back nine. The three-time major champ had one birdie, two bogeys and a double-bogey through the first 11 holes Friday, before ripping off birdies on 13, 14, 15, and 16.
Other notables to miss the cut were Sergio Garcia, Ernie Els, Jason Day, Bubba Watson, Jon Rahm, Adam Scott and St. John's University product Keegan Bradley.
Six-time Open runner-up Phil Mickelson is still alive at Shinnecock Hills, after Lefty carded a 1-under-par 69 in his second round. Mickelson is at 6-over after two rounds.
"We got lucky with the conditions, getting much easier. Our wave of tee times was significantly easier, and it shows how impressive Dustin Johnson is playing because he played in much more difficult conditions and he's beating everybody by a lot," Mickelson said after his round, referring to the sunnier conditions in the afternoon.
Mickelson turns 48 today, and he heard numerous birthday wishes from the gallery throughout his first two rounds. Lefty returned the favor by signing autographs and taking selfies with fans for 10 minutes after he had finished his second round.
Who says it's impossible to put up a decent score on this course? Tommy Fleetwood and defending champion Brooks Koepka each fired a 4-under par 66, the low rounds so far in the tournament.
“I think especially at a U.S. Open, you have to keep your head down. You have to keep going,” said Fleetwood, who is 1-over entering the third round, five shots behind leader Dustin Johnson. “I made a bunch of bogeys (Thursday) on that back nine in a row … and then get a round like today and you're back in it. It just shows that you have to keep going.”