Viktor Hovland, Cameron Smith, and Cameron Young among big names to miss cut at U.S. Open

BROOKLINE, Mass. – PGA TOUR rookie Cameron Young was a dejected soul Friday afternoon at the U.S. Open despite an incredible hole-in-one fueled rally late in the second round.

Young, who finished T3 at the recent PGA Championship, was languishing at 9-over par with just five holes remaining at The Country Club on Friday afternoon, well back of the necessary 3-over to make the weekend.

A quadruple bogey eight on the third hole, his 12th of the round, had seemingly ended his championship but the New Yorker refused to give up and almost pulled off a miracle. Almost.

A birdie on the drivable par-4 fifth started an incredible rally that continued with a hole-in-one on the 165-yard par-3 sixth.

“I've been hitting it right all week, so I flipped an 8-iron, and kind of went straight at it, and by some miracle it went in,” Young said afterwards of his shot that landed softly near the pin and bounced twice before disappearing in the hole.

Young followed the ace with birdies on the seventh and eighth holes leaving him just one shot outside the cut line with one to play.

Unfortunately for the 25-year-old his approach from 154-yards on the ninth came up short of the green and he was unable to hole out, settling for a second straight 2-over 72 and 4-over total, not enough to make the cut.

“It's hard to sit here and be that pleased that I made a hole-in-one when I missed the cut,” he lamented before giving a wry smile when he was asked about his failed high-five celebration with his caddie, whom he refused to blame.

“I think that was a team effort on that miss,” he smirked. “I'm sure that will be on some social media telling us how unathletic golfers are, but so be it.”

Young wasn’t alone in having a tough time at the office. Viktor Hovland might be suffering whiplash after a dramatic collapse at The Country Club.

Hovland, who shot 70 on Thursday, was in the top 10 of the leaderboard after two early birdies but the Norwegian star was left in near disbelief after making nine bogeys in his last 11 holes to shoot 77.

Beginning on the 10th tee, the former U.S. Amateur champion birdied the 12th and 13th holes to jump to 2 under par for the championship. He was still tied for sixth as he strolled to the 17th tee. 

At that point, the USGA’s prediction model gave Hovland a 99.5% chance to make the cut. Even after the 24-year-old bogeyed both the 17th and 18th holes, he was still given a 97% chance.

Hovland made seven bogeys on his back nine, however, to miss the cut of the top 60 and ties that fell at 3-over.

Other big names who fell outside that line included Tony Finau (73-72), PLAYERS champion Cameron Smith (72-74), 2021 U.S. Open runner-up Louis Oosthuizen (77-69), PGA Championship near winner Mito Pereira (70-74), Sergio Garcia (74-70), Sungjae Im (72-72), Tommy Fleetwood (72-75), former U.S. Open winner Webb Simpson (70-74), former Open champion Shane Lowry (72-72), top-ranked amateur Keita Nakajima (73-75) and Phil Mickelson (78-73).

Smith, who ranks fifth in the FedExCup with two wins this season, had shortened his driver to help with his accuracy off the tee this week but he still missed the cut after finishing in the top 15 in the past two majors.