THERE WAS RELIEF Saturday for Irish amateur Kevin Phelan as he made the cut at the US Open, despite a bogey on his final hole.
The Waterford golfer, who held a share of second place on day one, finished his second round at +8 early on Saturday morning, just inside the cut mark.
He is one of just four amateurs to make it through to the weekend and will look for a strong finish over the next two days at the tricky Merion Golf Club in Philadelphia.
Just two players, Phil Mickelson and Billy Horschel, finished round two under par (both -1) as clear skies helped dry out the rain-soaked Merion course.
The cut line of 8 over saves both defending champion Webb Simpson (+5) and Masters champion Adam Scott (+7) while both Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy are in a better position to strike on 3 over.
“It’s hard with the wind and the pin locations,” Woods said after his second-round 70.
“They’re really tough. … We didn’t think they were going to be as severe as they are.”
Third-round play is scheduled to start at 19:15 with threesomes teeing off at holes 1 and 11 in a tournament that fell behind schedule when storms moved through the Philadelphia area on Thursday.
Additional reporting by The Associated Press.