Unhappy Mickelson falls just short

Mickelson came to Oakmont seeking redemption after last year's shocking final hole meltdown. Instead, he was sent packing early.

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He struggled to 77 in his morning round at Oakmont, posting an 11-over-par 151 total.

For most of the afternoon, however, it seemed he would scrape through to the weekend under the rule that anyone within 10-strokes of the lead makes the cut.

Angel Cabrera put an end to that with an unlikely birdie at his final hole, the brutal par-four ninth, sending Mickelson and 18 others who were at 11-under packing.

For Mickelson, at least, the early execution put him out of his misery, because he clearly was not firing on all cylinders, due to his sore left wrist. The injury even prompted him to leave his driver in the clubhouse Friday.

He said: "It's disappointing spending all this time getting ready. You're trying to win and hit great shots but you're also trying to not end your career on one shot, or at least suspend it for a while."

Mickelson, who injured his wrist hitting out of a rough at Oakmont during a practice round three weeks ago, launched a verbal attack at the US Golf Association for keeping the rough so long until tournament week.

"This really was dangerous what I did, because the rough was twice as long and I thought they may play it like that," he said of his visit last month.

Mickelson wasn't the only big name eliminated on Friday, with five of the world's top 10 players bowing out early - Adam Scott, Henrik Stenson, Luke Donald and Retief Goosen the others.

After an opening 76, Scott needed a good second round just to make the cut, but he made just about the worst possible start, with a triple-bogey at the par-4 first.

It was a long day after that as the world number four stumbled to a 12-over 82, matching his highest single-round score in a major, posting a 18-over 158 total and ending a run of 11 consecutive made cuts in the majors.

"I was just swinging poorly," said Scott, who did not make a birdie in 36-holes. "You can't get it done with smoke and mirrors around here.

"It's disgraceful, embarrassing, but I don't really have the answers right now, other than poor rhythm. I just didn't have it on the range this morning."