India's Anirban Lahiri and Shiv Kapur made an early exit after missing the halfway cut at the US Open at Chambers Bay in University Place, Washington.
The duo played well in patches but were hit on putting surfaces, which in general was very demanding for everyone in the field.
Lahiri scored 75-72 while Kapur shot 72-77. The cut came at five-over and Lahiri missed it by two and Kapur missed it by four, on Friday.
Lahiri looked set to make his second cut in a Major this year till the 12th hole of the second round before running into a rough patch on the second nine, when he bogeyed three times in six holes to miss the cut by two. He shot 75 and 72 and at 147, he fell short by two, as 75 players made the cut. The top 60 and ties made the cut.
Kapur, who came through a qualifier, had another disastrous start, this time from the tenth. He dropped shots on three of his first four holes -- the 10th, 11th and 12th. A birdie on 15th was his lone consoling moment of the day, as he added bogeys on 18th, first and then three in a row from fifth to seventh for a 77 after his first round 72 that saw him finish at nine-over 149 and way off the cut mark.
"I had my chances, but it just did not happen. I was placed alright after the second birdie on second, but the last six holes had three bogeys and I missed some smallish putts for birdies and pars," Lahiri said.
"Nothing worked for me today and I was disappointed as I felt I was playing well before coming for the event," said Kapur.
The lead was shared by Masters champion Jordan Spieth (68-67) and Patrick Reed (66-69) of the United States, who were both five-under 135 for 36 holes. South African Branden Grace (69-67) and first round leader Dustin Johnson (65-71) were tied third.
Phil Mickelson (69-74) was tied 35th and Rory McIlory (72-72) was tied 44th but Tiger Woods (80-76) missed the cut by a huge margin.
Other prominent stars missing the cut included two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson, former US Open winners, Martin Kaymer, Graeme McDowell and Lucas Glover.
A big surprise missing out was Rickie Fowler (81-73), who was in top-5 at each of the four Majors last year.
Lahiri, starting on 10th, dropped a shot at his first hole when he went into the greenside bunker on the second shot. He was unable to hole from about 17 feet for par and it was a bogey start. A birdie on the drive-able par-4 12th, he had a nice drive to about 50 feet from the hole and he two-putted for a birdie.
Turning in an even, he had a great drive on the third and his second shot from 136 yards landed six feet from the pin, which he holed for his second birdie.
At that stage with most of the field still on course or yet to start and the conditions looking tough, Lahiri at one-under for the day and four-over for the tournament looked good for the weekend.
But then came the horrible ride as he missed a 9-footer for par on Par-4 fourth, and then bogeyed the sixth to fall to six-over. He still has his chances on the seventh and again on par-5 eighth when he had a 15-footer for birdie but left it short and managed only a par. Disappointed he dropped a final bogey and exited from the tournament.
Among the Asian Tour players, Australian Cameron Smith shot a second consecutive even-par 70 to make the halfway cut in tied-17th position at the US Open.
Asian Tour honorary member Ernie Els of South Africa signed for a 70 to stay seven shots off the pace in tied-27th place.
Asian Tour players missing the cut were Thai veteran Thongchai Jaidee (71-77), Korea's Baek Seuk-hyun (74-82), and Japan Masahiro Kawamura (70-77) missed the halfway cut, which was set at five-over-par 145.
