Cabrera survives, Oakmont thrives

The course proved too much for Phil Mickelson, who shot 11 over and missed the cut.

OAKMONT, Pa. (AP) — It was a simple shot on a difficult golf course, a 135-yard sand wedge from Angel Cabrera that skidded to a stop a foot from the hole, a rare birdie at Oakmont that changed so many things.

It put Cabrera atop the leaderboard as the sole survivor to par Friday at the U.S. Open.

And it sent Phil Mickelson home early from a major for the first time in eight years.

“I did not knock out Mickelson,” Cabrera said. “Mickelson knocked himself out. He shot 11 over par.”

But whether it was the 37-year-old Argentine holding a one-shot lead, Paul Casey with a score 11 shots better than the field or Tiger Woods salvaging his hopes out of Church Pew bunkers and devilish rough, there was one consensus.

Oakmont figures to pack the biggest knockout punch of all.

Cabrera’s birdie on his final hole gave him a 1-over 71 and a one-shot lead over Bubba Watson. It also ended this U.S. Open for Mickelson and 18 other players who no longer were within 10 shots of the lead.

Tough weekend ahead

Considering what the weekend holds, maybe Cabrera did them all a favor.

“If you’re a 10-handicapper, there is no way you’re breaking 100 out there,” Woods said, presumably speaking more to fans watching this horror show than the 35 players who couldn’t break 80 Friday.

Cabrera was at even-par 140, the first time since the 1974 U.S. Open at Winged Foot that no one was under par after 36 holes.

“It’s a real test of golf, all the way through,” Watson said after a 71. “Just walking through the parking lot is tough.”

Mickelson found it tougher than ever. He slashed out of the rough and chased putts around the hole, leading to a 77 that caused him to miss the cut for the first time in 31 majors, since the 1999 British Open at Carnoustie.

He headed back to his room to “watch the carnage on TV.”

And that’s what it was.

Greens that had been cut three times and rolled twice, combined with warm sunshine that cooked the course, led to only two rounds under par and the highest weekday scoring in 21 years.

“I don’t know what the average score was, but I think I shot under par,” Woods said after a 74 that put him five shots back.

Shocking round

Even more shocking than the toughness of Oakmont was seeing Casey with a 66, a round so superb that players on the practice green who watched him finish on No. 9 applauded when he knocked in his final putt.

The average score Friday was 76.933, the highest before a cut at the U.S. Open since it was 77.8 in the wind-blown first round at Shinnecock Hills in 1986.

“I consider the U.S. Open to be the toughest test in golf,” Casey said. “This is possibly the toughest golf course I’ve ever played, and I feel very, very lucky to have shot 66 on it.”

Stephen Ames had the other subpar round (69), leaving him at 142 along with Aaron Baddeley (70), Justin Rose (71) and Niclas Fasth (71). Casey was at 143, with David Toms in the group another shot behind.

Trevor Immelman leaned against a wall in the locker room after a 79 that eventually sent him home. He stared blankly at the television, watching other players suffer, trying to come to grips with how Casey posted five birdies and only one bogey.

“The greatest round I’ve ever seen in my life,” said Immelman, who played with the Englishman. “He beat me by 13 shots. That’s almost giving him one shot per hole.”

Defending champion Geoff Ogilvy shot a 75 and was still in the game at 146, but it sure didn’t feel like it.

“You’re satisfied when you look back on it and see that you did it better than anybody else,” he said. “But fun? No.”