Notebook: 2005 champ Campbell surrenders his crown
A run of four straight bogeys ends Michael Campbell's chance to retain is title. Plus, Darren Clarke goes off on the greens, Jay Haas sets a record for cuts made on the PGA Tour, David Howell runs out of steam again, and more.
By T.J. Auclair, Junior Editor
MAMARONECK, N.Y. -- At least for another year, Curtis Strange will continue to be the last man to successfully defend a U.S. Open title, a feat he achieved in 1989.
With rounds of 75-77 for a 12-over-par 152 total, defending U.S. Open champion Michael Campbell missed the cut by three shots at Winged Foot Friday.
Since 1991, only Tiger Woods and Retief Goosen have finished better than 40th in trying to defend their Open titles. Goosen had a three-shot lead after 54 holes in 2005, but tied for 11th. Woods finished 12th in 2001 after winning in 2000 and tied for 20th in 2003 after winning in 2002.
Campbell played the first two rounds with Woods and U.S. Amateur champ Edoardo Molinari. Like Campbell, Woods finished at 12-over, while Molinari finished at 13-over.
"All three of us suffered from the same disease, you could say," Campbell explained. "Nothing was meant to be for us at all, for us three guys. We just really struggled on the greens today. That's life, you know. You must carry on. There are lots of U.S. Opens to go in my career, so I'm looking forward to that. I'll put this behind me."
Australian Geoff Ogilvy, who was 1-over after two rounds, wasn't shocked to hear that Campbell struggled and cited his playing partners as examples.
"You can play well here and get a few bad breaks and shoot 80 before you know it," he said. "I played with David Howell and Bo Van Pelt. They did nothing wrong, and a couple holes in a row they hit a couple of bad shots and they're done for. It's pretty brutal out there. You've got to try and avoid the train wrecks. If you hit a bad shot, try and get a bogey and get away. You're only one bad swing away from a big number out there."
The last player to win the Open and then fail to make the cut the following year was Retief Goosen, in 2002.
AGELESS HAAS: Just weeks after claiming his first major championship title, the Senior PGA Championship, Jay Haas successfully made it through qualifying to earn the right to tee it up at Winged Foot for his 27th start in a U.S. Open.
Coincidentally, Haas' first U.S. Open was in 1974, a tournament also played at Winged Foot. And with an impressive 2-over 72 in the second round on Friday, the 52-year-old Haas made the cut at 7-over.
Was it special to make the cut at the site of his first Open?
"I thought about it a little bit, but I guess mostly I've just thought about trying to make another cut and trying to get to the weekend, trying to have a chance to win, play well here," he said. "I think the biggest thing for me here was getting here, being here four times in '74, '84, '97, now this year, and making the cut all four times. I think that maybe is one of my proudest moments thinking about Winged Foot itself and what this course means to me."
Of special note on Friday was that Haas also set a PGA Tour record by making the cut for the 591st time in his career, which began in 1976. He had been tied with Tom Kite.
Someone asked Haas if such a record means he's good -- or just old.
The answer: A little of both.
"Much more so that I've been out here a long time, and I've been good in spots and consistent," he said. "I've been healthy. I think that's a big part of it. But I guess I just hate missing cuts."
GREENS LEAVE PLAYERS WITH THE BLUES: A number of players participating in the 106th U.S. Open have voiced their displeasure with the poa annua greens, which they say are bumpy, slow, spongy and inconsistent.
"It's pretty tough, because you've got a birdie putt, you might have a 12-footer," Australia's Scott Hend, who was 4-over through two rounds, said. "You're thinking you want to have a go at it, but as soon as you have a go at it, you knock it five feet past and you're trying to make a five-footer on a bumpy green.
"Even on the birdie putts, you don't really want to have a crack at it. You've just got to be a little bit conservative with your putts. Occasionally, you might get lucky and roll one in, but if not, you just want a tap-in."
Despite shooting a 2-over 72 Friday -- one shot better than his first round score -- a very much in the hunt Darren Clarke wasn't very happy.
"I have made some very silly bogeys," said Clarke, who carded six bogeys Friday. "I had a 7-iron from 192 yards to the ninth green there, pitched it one yard on the green and it managed to run through into the collar of the rough. Pathetic."
But 72 is a good score at Winged Foot, isn't it?
"Seventy-two is by far the worst score I could have shot, and I managed to do it," he said.
Clarke's troubles weren't limited to his iron play. He had 32 putts on Thursday to go along with 34 on Friday on those nasty greens. That's not a good stat any week, let alone a major championship.
"The greens are poor, basically," he said. "They are poa greens and they are very poor. They are jumping about and with the combination of the slope and the speed it makes it very tough to hole putts on."
Are these the worst greens he's ever seen?
"Yes, comfortably," he said.
THE DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES: David Howell, a 30-year-old from England, got as low as 4-under in the first round before leaking some oil, taking a double-bogey on the last hole and finishing at an enviable even par, one shot off the lead.
The second round was a far cry from the first one.
In a round that included a sinful three double-bogeys, Howell shot a come-back-down-to-earth 8-over 78 that barely made him the cut.
What happened?
"Nothing I can say, really," he admitted. "Just played poorly coming in. I was going all right."
Howell played the back nine first and was spot-on in his assessment about playing poorly coming in. On his last four holes Friday -- Nos. 6, 7, 8 and 9 -- he finished bogey, double-bogey, par, double-bogey.
AMES IS OUT: Stephen Ames, winner of the Players Championship back in March, missed the cut at the U.S. Open after a 78 on Friday put him at 10-over for the tournament.
You'd think he'd be a bit disappointed. Instead, he's happy to be leaving.
"Seven-over, right now, is in," Ames said after his round, referring to the early cut line. "There's still the whole afternoon to go. I'm going, 'Oh, no, you mean I have to play this thing again? ' I'm serious. I'm really looking and saying I don't particularly want to play again."
TOMS WITHDRAWS: David Toms, winner of the 2001 PGA Championship, withdrew on Friday because of a back injury he suffered while playing the 12th hole on Thursday.
Toms finished his first round with a 9-over 79. He had finished in the top 20 in each of the last three U.S. Opens, with his best finish coming in 2003, a tie for fifth at Olympia Fields.
DIVOTS: Andrew Svoboda, a local golfer who has been playing Winged Foot since he was 10, shot 75 on Friday for a 150 total. He missed the cut by one. ... Tadd Fujikawa, at 15 the youngest person to play in the Open, will be headed back to Hawaii after following his opening 81 with a 77. He finished 140th in the 156-man field. ... Madalitso Muthiya, the first person from Zambia to play in the Open, finished at 81-80--161 and missed the cut by 12.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.