DiMarco & Harrington top names to miss cut

Chris DiMarco and Padraig Harrington were the top-ranked casualties at the U.S. Open on Friday, failing to make the weekend despite one of the highest cuts in the major's 105-year history.

American DiMarco, rated one of the hot favourites after losing the last two majors in playoffs, had looked poised to challenge again after carding an opening round one-over 71.

But the world number eight suffered a massive collapse to a 12-over 82 and missed the eight-over cut by five strokes.

The round began badly and then got worse for DiMarco, whose scorecard included eight bogeys and a pair of double bogeys.

Harrington, who claimed his maiden PGA Tour success this year with victory at the Honda Classic, was shown the exit after carding rounds of 77 and 74 to finish at 11-over.

But the 11th ranked Irishman could be forgiven if his mind was elsewhere with his gravely ill father, who is back home in Dublin battling cancer.

Major winners Todd Hamilton (2004 British Open), Ben Curtis (2003 British Open), Shaun Micheel (2003 PGA championship) and Rich Beem (2002 PGA championship) will also not add the 2005 U.S. Open to their trophy cases and now have the weekend off.

U.S. Ryder Cup captain Tom Lehman will get the weekend to scout potential players for next year's showdown with Europe at the K Club in Ireland after returning 77 and a 72 to miss the cut by a single stroke.

Spanish Ryder Cup player Miguel Angel Jimenez, twice a winner on the European Tour this season, missed the cut on his third straight attempt after finishing runner-up at the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach.

Former world number one David Duval enjoyed one of his better efforts of this season with two rounds of 76 but still missed out by four shots.

Mired in a devastating slump, Duval has not made the cut in eight events this season and has not made it to the weekend at a U.S. Open since 2001.