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Cameron Young hits his second shot, and drops his club, on Friday at the 10th hole at The Country Club.
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BROOKLINE, Mass. — Cameron Young scored nine-plus in 31 holes at The Country Club, and that was surprising. Since the start of the year, he has posted an impressive four top-five finishes, including a tie for third at last month’s PGA Championship.
Young then birdie, hole-in-one, birdie, birdie on his next four holes, and that was surprising. That’s five under, which is also the number at the top of the leaderboard.
Young missed the cut by a blow, and that it was amazing once again.
It was full of surprises. So yes, Young tops our list of the 10 amazing golfers who didn’t make the cut at the US Open. The rest are shown below.
10. Fran Quinn
What shot: 76, 77 (+13)
Surprising because: Well, maybe not entirely surprising; after all, Quinn, 57, was the oldest player on the field. But the US Open is usually full of sentimentality, and this would have fit the bill.
9. Myth Pereira
What shot: 70, 74 (+4)
Surprising because: OK, okay, we like a good story. But after his tragic end to the PGA Championship last month, Pereira deserved a better fate.
8. Shane Lowry
What shot: 72, 72 (+4)
Surprising because: He hadn’t missed a cut this entire year. A birdie in the first round cost him.
7. Tony Finau
What shot: 73, 72 (+5)
Surprising because: This has been Finau’s career starting with the Masters, tied for 35th there; tied for second at the Mexican Open; tied for 41st in the Wells Fargo Championship; tied for 30th in the PGA Championship; tied for fourth in the Charles Schwab Challenge; and second at the Canadian Open. In other words, it’s surprising that he missed the cut this week.
6. Billy Horschel
What shot: 73, 71 (+4)
Surprising because: Another player in top form, after his win at the Memorial two weeks ago. But Horschel couldn’t overcome eight bogeys and a double. His main struggles continue.
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5. Victor Hovland
What shot: 70, 77 (+7)
Surprising because: He’s eighth in the world, and you would have thought his hitting the ball would be a good fit for TCC. And things were looking good on Friday, until he played his last 11 holes in a whopping nine.
4. Cameron Smith
What shot: 72, 74 (+6)
Surprising because: He’s sixth in the world, and you would have thought his short game would have cruised the greens at TCC.
3. 11 of the 15 Livers
What they shot: Sergio Garcia (74, 70, +4); James Piot (69, 75, +4); Talor Gooch (74, 71, +5); Kevin Na (75, 70+5); Branden Grace (76, 69, +5); Sam Horsfield (73, 73, +6); Louis Oosthuizen (77, 69, +6); Shaun Norris (70, 78, +8); Phil Mickelson (78, 73, +11); Jinichiro Kozuma (76, 77, +13); Jed Morgan (82, 74, +16)
Surprising because: You would have believed that more than four of the 15 LIV-associated players on the field would have made the cut. Here are the four who did: Richard Bland (+2); Bryson DeChambeau (+2); Dustin Johnson (+1); and Patrick Reed (+1).
2. Phil Mickelson
What shot: 78, 73 (+11)
Surprising because: You expected more than this. Notably, everyone in Lefty’s group didn’t make the cut: Oosthuizen and Shane Lowry did, too.
1. Young Cameron
What shot: 72, 72 (+4)
Surprising because: He played average for 32 holes, and out of his mind for four.
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