SA golfers struggle at US Open as only MJ Daffue makes the cut

It was a torrid second day for the South African contingent at the US Open, as only MJ Daffue made the cut at the third major of the year.

After a stellar first-round 67 that saw him just off the top of the leaderboard, Daffue only managed a 72 in the second round on Friday, leaving him four shots behind joint leaders Joel Dahmen and Collin Morikawa of the United States.

Branden Grace followed his first round 76 with a 69 but missed the cut by two shots.

Louis Oosthuizen also fired a 69, but his 77 in the first round always had him on the back foot, while Shaun Norris' 78 and Erik van Rooyen's 72 weren't enough to keep them in the tournament. 

Dahmen and Morikawa hold a one-shot lead over a  chasing pack of five golfers, including former major winners in Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm. 

Leading second-round scores on Friday in the 122nd US Open Golf Championship at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts:

135 - Joel Dahmen (USA) 67-68, Collin Morikawa (USA) 69-66

136 - Beau Hossler (USA) 69-67, Aaron Wise (USA) 68-68, Hayden Buckley (USA) 68-68, Jon Rahm (ESP) 69-67, Rory McIlroy (NIR) 67-69

137 - Patrick Rodgers (USA) 69-68, Matthew NeSmith (USA) 68-69, Scottie Scheffler (USA) 70-67, Nick Hardy (USA) 69-68, Brian Harman (USA) 68-69

138 - Adam Hadwin (CAN) 66-72, Sam Burns (USA) 71-67, Matthew Fitzpatrick (ENG) 68-70

139 - Callum Tarren (ENG) 67-72, Keegan Bradley (USA) 70-69, Will Zalatoris (USA) 69-70, Davis Riley (USA) 72-67, Xander Schauffele (USA) 70-69, Travis Vick (USA) 70-69, MJ Daffue (RSA) 67-72, David Lingmerth (SWE) 67-72

140 - Hideki Matsuyama (JPN) 70-70, Kim Jooh-yung (KOR) 72-68, Thomas Pieters (BEL) 72-68, Andrew Putnam (USA) 72-68, Brooks Koepka (USA) 73-67, Adam Schenk (USA) 70-70, Brandon Matthews (USA) 71-69

141