In 1895, the first U.S. Open championship carried a total prize purse of $335, with winner Horace Rawlins taking home $150. More than a century later, the tournament’s purse has grown exponentially. The 2026 U.S. Open features a record $22.5 million purse, and the USGA continues to reward even those who fail to reach the weekend.

Of all the 69 professionals who missed the cut, the list included the 2021 U.S. Open champion, Jon Rahm, and two-time U.S. Open winner Brooks Koepka.  Despite their early exits, both received the standard missed-cut payout.

The cut line settled at 4-over par on Friday, and every professional who failed to advance earned $10,000. The USGA has maintained that figure since 2022, even as the overall purse has increased from $17.5 million to $22.5 million. Amateurs, however, remain ineligible for prize money.

For Rahm and Koepka, among the biggest names to miss the weekend, the disappointment was evident. Rahm, in particular, did not hide his frustration.

Speaking to Spanish outlet Ten Golf after his round, he said: “It bothers me more because I genuinely don’t feel like I played badly. I don’t feel like I did as badly as the final score suggests. Because if you had told me on the fifth hole, after hitting the shot I hit, I was going to finish at 8 over, I honestly wouldn’t have believed it.”

Rahm opened with a bogey-free 68, one of the cleanest rounds of the opening day at Shinnecock Hills. After play was suspended Thursday because of a two-hour fog delay, the Spaniard returned Friday morning to complete his opening round, finishing tied for fifth and just one shot off the lead.

His second round told a completely different story. Rahm started with three consecutive pars before making his first bogey of the championship at the par-4 fourth hole. He responded with a birdie at the par-5 fifth but followed it with consecutive bogeys at Nos. 6 and 7.

Despite a missed birdie opportunity at the ninth, Rahm made the turn at even par for the tournament and remained comfortably inside the projected cut line. Then came a stunning collapse on the back nine.

He made four consecutive bogeys on holes 12 through 15, hitting just one green in regulation during that stretch. The low point came at the par-5 16th, where his drive found a fairway bunker, his second shot landed in another bunker, and his approach finished in a greenside bunker. After failing to escape the sand with his fourth shot, Rahm eventually carded a double-bogey seven.

He signed for a second-round 78, finishing at 8-over par and four shots outside the cut line.

The missed cut was particularly surprising given the form Rahm brought to Shinnecock Hills. The world No. 8 arrived fresh off a runner-up finish at last month’s PGA Championship and had recorded two victories and three runner-up finishes on LIV Golf this season. Entering the week, he held the third-shortest odds to win the U.S. Open, behind only Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy.

The result also marked just Rahm’s second missed cut in a major championship since the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills. His only other missed cut during that span came at the 2024 PGA Championship.

Koepka’s week at Shinnecock unfolded differently but ended with the same result. The five-time major champion returned to the site of his 2018 U.S. Open triumph while managing an ulnar nerve issue that had forced him to withdraw from the RBC Canadian Open the previous week.

He opened with a 3-over 73 and remained within touching distance of the cut line. Friday, however, proved costly. Koepka carded a 41 on the back nine during his second round and finished the championship at 10-over par, six shots outside the cut line.

It marked Koepka’s first missed cut at the U.S. Open since making his tournament debut in 2012.

Rahm and Koepka were far from alone in leaving Shinnecock Hills early. Bryson DeChambeau missed the cut by a single stroke, recording the first streak of three consecutive missed cuts in major championships of his career. Defending champion J.J. Spaun, Viktor Hovland, Shane Lowry, Rickie Fowler, Patrick Cantlay, and Patrick Reed were also among the notable names who failed to reach the weekend.

Both Rahm and Koepka will now turn their attention to the final major of the season. Rahm is scheduled to play the Genesis Scottish Open before heading to Royal Birkdale for The Open Championship.