Colin Montgomerie makes cut after amateur bogeys last hole to let 15 players in

Big-name players including Sergio Garcia, Colin Montgomerie and former champions Webb Simpson and Angel Cabrera were already planning an early departure from Chambers Bay after finishing 36 holes at five-over 145, which looked all but certain to be one shot too many for weekend action.

But Hardy, in the final group of the day, did them all a favour with his bogey, which was also enough to let him sneak above the cut-line on five-over.

The late change did not help Martin Kaymer, who is no longer the defending champion, while Tiger Woods also packed his bags early after another shockingly poor performance.

Twelve months after blowing away the field at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina, Kaymer found Chambers Bay less accommodating as he carded rounds of 72 and 74.

He was not the only big name to struggle on the quirky course next to Puget Sound, with two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson also bowing out early for the third time in four years.

Several other former champions also packed their bags early, including Graeme McDowell and Retief Goosen.

The biggest name to miss the cut was Woods, who finished equal 150th at 16-over after rounds of rounds of 80 and 76, his worst 36-hole score as a professional.

The 14-times major champion, just a shadow of his former greatness, came into the event on the back of the worst round of his career, an 85 at the Memorial just two weeks ago.

It is only the second time as a professional that Woods has missed the cut at the U.S. Open, but it speaks volumes of his decline that it raised no eyebrows.

"On a golf course like this you get exposed and you have to be precise and dialed in. And obviously I didn't have that," Woods told reporters.

The 39-year-old has only one month to find something in his swing in time for the British Open at hallowed St. Andrews, where he won in 2000 and 2005.

"Obviously I need to get a little better for the British Open," he said in perhaps the understatement of the week.

Players from traditional golf nations are most plentiful among the 75 players who made the cut.

Forty Americans will play the weekend, more than half the field, along with seven Englishmen, six South Africans and six Australians.