US Open Golf Standings 2012: Phil Mickelson and Stars in Danger of Missing Cut

The projected cut at the US Open is five over par, and Phil Mickelson is one of the star golfers in danger of not making the third and fourth rounds at the Olympic Club in San Francisco.

The course has proved difficult for several top players, which is why we have seen so many poor scores over the first two rounds.

Let's look at three star players who could surprisingly miss the cut.

Phil Mickelson

Lefty missing the cut would be a major disappointment for him because he was one of the favorites to win the US Open coming into the week.

Mickelson will tee off at 4:18 p.m. ET for his second round and will begin the day at six-over par, just one stroke above the projected cut line.

Mickelson made seven bogeys in the first round, four of which came on the back nine. If he takes advantage of the par fives, Mickelson should be able to make the cut by a small margin.

Zach Johnson

The 2007 Masters champion is one of the better young players in the sport of golf, will begin his second round at 4:25 p.m. ET at seven-over par.

He will need a much better second round performance on Friday because his round on Thursday was just awful.

He bogeyed or double-bogeyed six of the first nine holes and couldn't recover from his bad start. Johnson will need to putt well on Friday or he won't make the cut at the 112th US Open.

Rory McIlroy

McIlroy was absolutely dreadful in round one, finishing seven over par and two strokes from the projected cut line of five over par.

As of 2:52 p.m. ET, McIlroy is now nine-over par and it doesn't seem that he will play on the weekend. This is another sad chapter in McIlroy's career, one that has come crashing down since his win at the 2011 US Open.

Place	Golfer	Score	Thru
1	Michael Thompson	-4	3:52
2	Graeme McDowell	-2	14
T-3	Tiger Woods	-1	4:18
T-3	Davis Toms	-1	4:40
T-3	Jim Furyk	-1	14

Follow @NicholasGoss35