Appleby's late putt sends 11 players home

With a 45-foot putt on the par-5 18th on Friday, 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 that gave him a 1-under 70 and a two-day total of 3-under 139. Heading into the weekend, he was 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 past 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.

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.

No fix needed

There's nothing "The Mechanic" needs to do to fix his golf swing.

Miguel Angel Jimenez played his way into contention by shooting a 5-under 66 to move within two shots of the lead.

Jimenez hit 15 of 18 greens, made seven birdies against two bogeys and made up a lot of ground after his opening 75.

"Every chance I had for birdie, I made the birdie," the Spaniard said.

Jimenez, who finished eighth at the Masters but still is looking for his first major championship at age 44, gave himself a chance to do just that with the round of the tournament.

"It's very important," he said of his chances of winning a major. "This is my 26th year on the tour, and I'm 44. I would love to have one for my career."

Jimenez, who got his nickname because of his affinity for high-performance vehicles, is not only hitting the ball well but playing with a lot of confidence. He is coming off a win in his last tournament, the BMW PGA Championship on the European Tour, where he has won twice this year.

Flood of concerns

Zach Johnson made only four birdies to go along with eight bogeys and two double bogeys in his 36-hole total of 8-over 150, but he was more concerned with the situation in his hometown of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where rising floodwaters Friday forced the evacuation of a downtown hospital and sent thousands of residents fleeing for higher ground.

"I'm playing golf, you know? In the grand scheme of things, it really means nothing," the 2007 Masters champion said. "I'm trying as hard as I can out here. I'm not saying my play has anything to do with the situation back home, but it's on my mind. It's impossible not to be.

"You look at all the situations that have gone on, the tornadoes, obviously the flooding, and, you know, I'm chasing a white ball," Johnson said. "So the deaths from the tornadoes and certainly the evacuations from the floods, that's perspective right there. I'm very lucky."

Johnson said his mother's office at the Archdiocese of Eastern Iowa was under water and she didn't know when she'd be able to return to work. His father's chiropractic clinic, also downtown, is closed, with sandbags surrounding the sewer system.

"My charity's there, too," Johnson said. "It's probably under water. I don't know."

-- The Associated Press