Kiwi golfer Ryan Fox has missed the cut at the US Open, after another trying - albeit improved - round at The County Club course at Brookline, Massachussests
Starting the day tied for 102nd, Fox carded a one-over par 71 in his second round to shave three shots off his previous day's efforts and climb to a share of 82nd place.
That took the Aucklander's overall score to five-over par, falling below the cut-line of three-over, bringing a premature end to his bid for his first Major.
Americans Collin Morikawa and Joel Dahmen finished joint leaders at five-under overall at the halfway stage of the tournament.
Fox's round included two bogeys and a birdie through the front nine, then two birdies and a bogey through the back nine.
It's a disappointing finish for Fox, who's been in career-best form in 2022, having recorded one title win and two second places on the DP World Tour to climb to No. 63 in the world rankings.
Compatriot Danny Lee fared much worse, with rounds of 76 and 75 to finish 11-over par to comfortably miss the cut.
Morikawa and Dahmen are one shot clear of a pack that included defending champion Jon Rahm and pre-tournament favourite Rory McIlroy.
Morikawa, the only player currently in the top 10 of the world rankings without a PGA Tour win this season, fired a four-under-par 66 that was the day's low round.
Dahmen (68), who considered skipping a recent US Open qualifier so he could concentrate on upcoming PGA Tour events where he figured he would fare better, missed a 10-foot birdie putt at the last that would have given him the solo lead.
World No. 2 Rahm (67) enjoyed another solid day on the greens to move up the leaderboard, while a resilient McIlroy (69) overcame a shaky start to share third place along with Hayden Buckley (68), Aaron Wise (68) and Beau Hossler (67).
Lurking a further shot off the pace were a pack of five golfers that featured reigning Masters champion and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler (67), setting the stage for what could be a wild weekend at Brookline.
Six-time US Open runner-up Phil Mickelson, who has become the face of the Saudi-backed LIV series, missed the cut after an 11-over total that was better than only two other competitors from the breakaway circuit.
Meanwhile over on the LPGA tour, Kiwi Lydia Ko has carded a four under-par 68 in her second round at the Meijer Classic at Belmont, Michigan.
The world No. 4 shot five birdies to climb to a share of 17th place at six-under overall, eight shots behind leader Jessica Korda.
Reuters/Newshub.
