Many big names fail to make cut

Retief Goosen already turned in the U.S. Open trophy that belonged to him for the past year.

Now, he won't be around to see it passed off to the next guy on Sunday.

Soaked and miserable, Goosen finished two brutal days at the Bethpage Black Course with ''14 over'' written on his scorecard. Not exactly the way he wanted to end his reign as U.S. Open champion.

The laid-back South African held up so well a year ago after missing a 2-foot putt to win the Open on the 72nd hole at Southern Hills.

Instead of bemoaning the gaffe, Goosen got a good night's sleep and came back the next day to claim his first major title, beating Mark Brooks in an 18-hole playoff.

The Bethpage experience left him less amicable.

``I'm not interested in any questions right now,'' he said softly, brushing off a reporter before ducking into dry warmth of the clubhouse.

Goosen, heading home with an ugly 154, wasn't the only one in a foul mood on a day better suited for a duck.

British Open champion David Duval finished with an 11-over 151 and missed the cut by one stroke -- even though it soared to the highest level in a U.S. Open since Shinnecock Hills in 1986 (also 10-over).

Brooks didn't come close to making another playoff after rounds of 75 and 78. Coincidentally, the other player involved in last year's wacky Open finish wasn't around, either.

Stewart Cink, who had made the cut in all six of his previous Open appearances, soared to an 82 that left him at 152. It was the worst Open round of his career by four strokes.

A year ago, Cink missed a short putt on the 72nd hole that cost him a spot in the playoff with Goosen and Brooks. He wound up third, one stroke back, but won't get a chance to make up for missing the gimme.

Fans who wore ``Be Nice to Monty'' buttons can put them away: Colin Montgomerie was eliminated with a 151.

Among the other notables who headed home: two-time Open champion Lee Janzen (153), Jim Furyk (153), Tom Kite (153), Hal Sutton (154), Bob Estes (154), Paul Azinger (157) and Hale Irwin (163).

``It's cold and wet and hard to hold the club,'' said Duval, who had a chance to get in until a double-bogey and triple-bogey at the end of his round. ``When you're not playing your greatest, you've got no chance.''

This will be the second straight major in which Duval gets the weekend off. He also missed the cut at the Masters in April.

Getting to play on are Andy Miller, son of 1973 Open champion and NBC broadcaster Johnny Miller, and Kevin Warrick, the only amateur to make the cut.

Goosen shot himself out of contention with a 79 on Thursday, and any hope of making the cut ended Friday at the par-3 8th, the same hole where his playing partner Duval took a triple.

Goosen hit his tee shot under a tree behind the green, nearly disappearing from view when he ducked into the limbs to get it out. With hardly any room to swing, he couldn't even reach the green with his punch-out.

The ball landed well short of the putting surface, gobbled up by the carnivorous rough. Goosen wound up with a triple-bogey and finished with a 75.

He became the first defending champion to miss the cut since fellow South African Ernie Els in 1995.

Even so, it's not unusual for a returning winner to struggle in defense of his crown. Since 1991, only one golfer (Tiger Woods, of course) finished better than 40th the following year. Two others besides Els and Goosen have missed the cut.

Goosen was fighting even longer odds to win consecutive Opens. The last player to win two straight was Curtis Strange in 1988-89; before that, it was Ben Hogan in 1950-51.

Sixteen-year-old Derek Tolan, the youngest player in the field, knew his chances of making the cut were slim. But he never expected to shoot an 88 Friday, leaving him near the bottom of the scoreboard with a 166.

Hey, at least things can't get much worse.

``It was probably the hardest round of golf I'll ever see in my life,'' said Tolan, a high school junior-to-be from Colorado. ``It beat me up. Making the turn today, it was like, 'This course is killing me. No way I can play out here right now.'''

Steady showers exaggerated the already brutal conditions: fairways that seemed to stretch for miles; knee-high rough better suited for a machete than a golf club; greens that somehow managed to stay hard and fast despite all the rain.

``When you have to hit every shot perfect, and then your grips are wet and there's nothing you can do about it, that's when I figured out, 'What am I doing out here?''' Tolan said.

He wasn't alone.