OAKMONT, Pa. — As the sun began to set on Friday evening at Oakmont, Bryson DeChambeau was hard at work on the driving range, the only player left hitting balls under the drizzling rain.
However, these efforts were in vain as DeChambeau’s journey in this year’s U.S. Open ended sooner than expected.
He became the first defending champion to not advance past the cut since Gary Woodland in 2020.
DeChambeau’s day was plagued by wayward drives, challenging shots out of the rough, and putts that refused to drop.
His score of 7-over 77 over two days brought his total to 10 over, three shots shy of making the cut.
The highlight from last year’s triumph at Pinehurst was DeChambeau’s spectacular 55-yard bunker shot that set the stage for victory on the 18th hole.
This year, however, the defining moment was marked by a more tumultuous scene – an erratic swing from the rough on the same 18th hole and his visible frustration as he questioned his own shot while heading towards the green.
Despite salvaging par, the subsequent holes proved his undoing.
A sequence of holes – a double bogey after a poor drive, a bogey from missing a six-footer, followed by another bogey from a missed seven-footer on holes 5, 6, and 7 – dashed any hope of advancing.
A well-loved figure on the tour, DeChambeau has previously dominated at courses like Winged Foot in 2020 and performed admirably across the past few majors.
He clinched the previous year’s U.S. Open, played alongside Rory McIlroy at the Masters, and closely contended with Scottie Scheffler at this year’s PGA.
Yet this weekend, he’ll have no role at Oakmont.
In contrast, Xander Schauffele’s consistency was on display as he successfully made the cut, continuing his impressive streak to 66 consecutive tournaments – a feat surpassed only by Tiger Woods’ run of 142 ending in 2005.
Schauffele hasn’t missed a major cut since the 2022 Masters, marking 14 consecutive appearances.
Last year’s champion, Matt Fitzpatrick, managed to make the cut right on the mark after birdieing the challenging par-4 ninth hole, one of only five to do so.
On the other hand, several former champions struggled.
Dustin Johnson, 2016’s Oakmont winner, and Gary Woodland each finished at 10 over.
Lucas Glover ended at 8 over, and Wyndham Clark narrowly missed making the cut when his long par putt just slid by the hole.
Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen also failed to advance after a wayward tee shot on the 18th left him taking a penalty shot, leading to a double bogey and 8 over finish.
Phil Mickelson’s future in the U.S. Open seems uncertain as well.
Playing on his final exemption from his 2021 PGA Championship win, Mickelson encountered trouble on the 17th when his tee shot landed in the greenside rough, needing five attempts to finish.
This double bogey moved him to 8 over, potentially marking the end of his U.S. Open runs.