U.S. Open projected cut 2016: Phil Mickelson likely out, and maybe Rickie Fowler

OAKMONT, Pa. – The U.S. Open hasn’t been good this year to big names Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler.

Mickelson has finished his second round at 7-over, carding a 74 and a 73 on the difficult terrain at Oakmont Country Club. In his 26th appearance at American golf’s national championship, he’ll miss a top-60 (plus ties) cut.

The current projection for that cutline is 5-over, with 65 of the field’s initial 156 players slated to stay safe.

Fowler, the world’s No. 5 player, is still working his way through his second round. He’ll need to shoot somewhere below par on Saturday morning to move himself to safety, and that’s a difficult ask as Oakmont firms up and quickens as Thursday’s rainfall moves farther into the rearview mirror.

Both Mickelson and Fowler have known U.S. Open heartbreak before, so maybe it’ll at least be less wrenching to fall away from contention earlier this year. Mickelson is a six-time runner up and will wrap his 26th appearance in the event without a victory, while Fowler, who tied for second last year at Chambers Bay, could miss his fourth cut in eight tries.

A handful of other prominent players appear likely to miss the cut: Justin Rose, Luke Donald, Brandt Snedeker and Ernie Els, who won the U.S. Open at Oakmont in 1994.

Conversely, some of the sport’s other popular names are doing well. Dustin Johnson and Lee Westwood are parked at and near the top of the leaderboard, with Sergio Garcia, Jim Furyk and Bubba Watson very much in the hunt.

Weather postponed much of Thursday’s first-round play, and the USGA’s plan to catch up includes teeing off third-round play from split tees at approximately 1:45 p.m. ET. It’ll be quite a stretch to finish the third round by nightfall on Saturday, but the tournament is at least slated to wrap up close to on-time on Sunday.

Here’s the late-morning cut projection on the leaderboard: