Appleby's putt cutting for 11 players

SAN DIEGO — With a 45-foot putt on the par-5 18th, Stuart Appleby rolled into the lead of the U.S. Open and knocked out 11 players, including 2007 Masters winner Zach Johnson.

"Bingo," the Australian said about his putt Friday that gave him a 1-under 70 and a two-day total of 3-under 139. He's a stroke ahead of Tiger Woods, Rocco Mediate and Robert Karlsson.

Appleby's putt certainly was worth a salutation of "Good on ya, mate."

He got his line right and tried not to hit it too hard.

"Typical stuff when you're at 50 feet," he said. "You're trying to just use your natural feel. I hit it and I thought, 'Well, that looks up, it doesn't look long.' Because it didn't have that feeling off the putter. Probably a couple seconds out, I thought, 'This could go in.' Then the crowd does their thing, and it all adds to what looks like a good putt."

Had the putt missed, Johnson and 10 other players who were 8-over-par would have made the cut to play the weekend. Instead, their tournament was over.

Also missing the cut were two of the last three U.S. Open winners. Defending champion Angel Cabrera's struggles on Torrey Pines' South Course ended with a 13-over 155, and 2005 champion Michael Campbell shot 83 on Friday to drop to 19-over 161.

In all, 80 of the 156 players made the weekend, including Irishman Padraig Harrington and Spaniard Sergio Garcia, who both had been in danger of missing the cut.

Harrington, the reigning British Open champion, started the day seven strokes over par, but his 4-under-par 67 Friday was the second-best round of the tournament and gave him a two-round total of 3-over 145.

Garcia shot a 1-under 70 in the second round for a 146 total. After starting 6 over for his first seven holes Thursday, he was 2 under for his last 29.

"I knew I made four birdies yesterday and I said to myself if I can make four more today and keep the rest of it tidy, I knew I'd have a good score. I was aiming for 69, but 67 is a nice return. It even felt like it might have been one or two better than that."

Harrington kept it tidy all right, by playing bogey-free golf. He said the difference from the first round to the second was that he "just holed the odd par putt here and there."

"I am in good shape in the championship now and if the wind picks up and the greens firm up, we'll see where I am at the end of the day," he said. "The positive thing is that I'm right back in the tournament and I'll try to have a great weekend."

Three amateurs also made the cut: Derek Fathauer at 146, Michael Thompson at 147 and Rickie Fowler at 149. No amateurs made it the last two years.

Cabrera was the second defending champion in three years to miss the cut. Campbell failed to make it at Winged Foot in New York two years ago after winning the 2005 Open at Pinehurst.

Cabrera opened at Torrey Pines with an 8-over 79 and followed that with a 76 on Friday for a 13-over 155.

Perspective

Mark O'Meara, the 1998 Masters and British Open winner, was among those who missed the cut by a stroke, but he took it in stride.

"I'm 51. What the hell. I'm out here," he said.

O'Meara once lived in San Diego County and won the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines in 1997.