Sure, making it into the 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club is tough, but staying the weekend is tougher. Are we going to see a redemption in Rory McIlroy’s play or a successful defense by Bryson DeChambeau? Well, whatever happens, the top golfers have to make it to the weekend first. And it’s not going to be easy, considering how difficult the U.S. Open cut is.
The cut line at the U.S. Open is particularly challenging because it requires the top 60 golfers and ties after the first 36 holes to advance to the weekend. This is a stricter standard compared to other major tournaments. For instance, The Masters has a cut line of the top 50 and ties, but it features a much smaller field at Augusta National each year. The larger field at the U.S. Open, combined with its demanding course conditions, makes it significantly tougher for players to secure a spot for the weekend. And that’s evident in the top names projected to miss the cut this year.
Joaquin Niemann
Whether or not you follow LIV Golf, Joaquin Niemann is one of the surprising names expected to miss the cut at the 2025 U.S. Open. Why? Well, look at his 2025 season, for instance. Last week, Niemann secured his fourth win of the 2025 season at LIV Golf Virginia. The 26-year-old shot a final-round 63, finishing at 15 under and winning by one shot. Additionally, he finished T8 at the 2025 PGA Championship and T29 at the 2025 Masters. Unfortunately, he couldn’t keep the hype for the 2025 U.S. Open.
At the 2025 U.S. Open, Joaquin Niemann recorded a driving distance of 313.2 yards, ranking 36th. However, he struggled with accuracy, hitting only 12 out of 28 fairways, placing him T115. The result? Niemann finished below the projected cut line, with a total score of +10 after rounds of 75 and 75. If he misses the cut, it will be his second missed cut in 6 U.S. Open appearances, with the last missed cut coming at Erin Hills in 2017.
Ball up against the collar? Bust out the toe putter!
Joaquin Niemann shows how it’s done. pic.twitter.com/AiAjEZ3gCy
— U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 13, 2025
Justin Thomas
What has happened to Justin Thomas? No, we are not talking about his PGA Tour performance, where the American has posted 6 top 10 finishes in his 13 appearances, including a win at the 2025 RBC Heritage. Outside that, it’s another story. In the first two men’s majors, Thomas finished T36 at the Masters and missed the cut at the 2025 PGA Championship. If that wasn’t enough, he seems to have continued a poor series of finishes at the ongoing U.S. Open at Oakmont.
Coming off his six-over-par 76 on Thursday, Thomas’ second round was just as disastrous. He bogeyed the par-4 11th after a penalty drop and lost more strokes at the 15th and 18th, despite a birdie at the 14th. His scorecard suffered with two double bogeys, including one at the par-3 16th, and another at the par-5 12th, where he missed a 22-foot birdie putt and saw his short par putt lip out twice. The result? He is currently sitting below the projected cut line, moving him back to 12 over.
He is likely to miss the cut, marking his seventh in the last 11 major tournaments. While Thomas has two top-10 finishes in 10 U.S. Open appearances, he has missed the cut in the past two years.
Dustin Johnson
Now, this is a name that you must not be shocked to find here, considering how Dustin Johnson has played in recent times. However, that does not mean it’s not disappointing to see him here. In his 8 LIV Golf appearances, Johnson has finished inside the top 10 only twice. Outside that, he missed the cut at both the 2025 Masters and the 2025 PGA Championship by a mile. Unfortunately, he continued that trend at the 2025 U.S. Open.
At the 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont, Dustin Johnson recorded a driving distance of 296.2 yards, hit 18 out of 28 fairways, and averaged 1.85 putts per hole. The result? He now sits below the projected cut line at 10 over par with scores of 75 and 75. He is most certainly going to miss the cut. But it isn’t going to be news for the Dustin Johnson fandom. Since 2023, Johnson has missed five cuts in 10 major starts. This will be his 4th missed cut at the U.S. Open and first consecutive missed cut at the third men’s major.
Sepp Straka
Sepp Straka has led an almost beautiful 2025 season, if you’re not counting his major finishes. In his 14 PGA Tour appearances, Straka finished inside the top 10 five times, including winning the 2025 The American Express and the Truist Championship. Outside of that, he has not played impressively. Sepp Straka missed the cut at both the 2025 Masters and the PGA Championship, and has continued that trend in the 2025 U.S. Open.
At the 2025 U.S. Open, Sepp Straka recorded a driving distance of 302.8 yards and hit 18 out of 28 fairways, achieving a 64.00% accuracy rate. He averaged 1.95 putts per hole but now sits below the projected cut line at 11 over par, with scores of 78 and 73. This marks his third missed cut at the U.S. Open in five starts, with the other coming at the 2022 and the 2023 U.S. Opens. Currently ranked 8th in the PGA Tour, Straka’s best U.S. Open performance came in 2019, where he finished T28.
Stephan Jaeger
For the German golfer, the 2025 season has been upsetting for the most part. In his 16 PGA Tour appearances, Stephan Jaeger finished inside the top 10 only three times, with the last one coming at the 2025 Truist Championship (T7). Outside of that, his performance in the majors has been nothing impressive. At the 2025 Masters, he finished T52, and at the PGA Championship, he finished 70. However, he seems to have done even worse at Oakmont.
At the 2025 U.S. Open, Stephen Jaeger recorded a driving distance of 310.5 yards and hit 14 out of 28 fairways, achieving a 50.00% accuracy rate. He averaged 1.81 putts per hole but now sits outside the projected cut line at 9 over par. He is likely to miss the cut at Oakmont, and this would be his first missed cut at the U.S. Open since the 2015 U.S. Open.
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