Day two is cut day, and the weather made that feat even more…of a feat. Tee sheets were bumped up 80 minutes, to avoid the incoming, ominous storm. The weather did arrive, but not before the #WomenWorthWatching had finished for the day.

The weird weather brought some weird outcomes. No one would have laid any odds for this little option: two of the three golfers in Saturday’s final group will be amateurs, AND neither one will be named Zhang or Ruffels (more on that later.) Much like the Masters in November, this Open in December has delivered much oddity. That should make the weekend a blast, so strap in, get your Peacock and your Golf Channel on, and #WatchWomenWork.

Here are the five things that we learned on day two of the 75th USGA Women’s Open golf championship.

1. Turn around…every now and then I fall apart

Day two offers who collapsed after opening strong, and who turned a missed cut into two more rounds. Let’s begin with the collapses so that we end on a high note (which means, a low-score note.) Pobre Nuria Iturrioz. The Spaniard opened with 71, then crashed to a three-double, four-bogey 80. She missed the cut by those three double bogeys or any other combination you wish to order. Germany’s Caroline Masson went 71-78 and is on a plane to somewhere happy. One of my favorites, Sung Hyun Park, went 70-78 and said later. Local heroine Gerina Piller, a Texas girl through and through, added ten strokes to her opening 69 and, well, you know the denouement.

Let’s get to the happy, already! Topping the charts on this Friday in December is the USA’s Jennifer Song. Dead in the water after opening plus-six, Song rewrote the melody and signed for 68 today. She made the cut on the number. What’s even more amazing is, she made bogey at the second hole to go to plus-seven, before grinding out four birdies and 12 pars the rest of the way. In the words of Hee-Haw, Salute! Joining Song on the Never-Give-Up podium were Eri Okayama (76-69), Kana Mikashima (75-69) and Seon Woo Bae (75-68.) For all you kids out there, do try this at home.

2. Who else missed the cut?

In the Biggest-Name category, we have Nelly Korda, by one rotten chip (or putt, or drive.) In the Tallest-Name category, we have Lexi Thompson. Not even Bryson DeChambeau’s caddie could help Flexy Lexi, who missed the weekend by two of those rottens. In the Youngest-Name category, we nominate Rose Zhang. The ingenue with the stellar resume was never bad, but her twin 73s left her one shot adrift on the seas of not coming back. Georgia Hall opened with 81, and fought valiantly on day two with 68, but Saturday was never really in her plans, sadly.

3. Let’s talk about Hinako Shibuno

Shibuno is the 2019 British Open champion and came out of nowhere to win that title. She then returned to nowhere but decided to venture forth again to play in her first U.S. Open. So far, the decision looks to be a good one. Shibuno has ten birdies over two days, and has kept the bogeys to three. The USGA doesn’t do statistics like, say, the LPGA tour, so we can’t really tell you how Shibuno drove, putted, approached, and recovered. Suffice it to say, the 22-year old played great. She had every opportunity to collapse at Woburn in 2019, but she would not go away. Something tells me, she ain’t going nowhere nowhere, she ain’t going nowhere, uh-UH!

4. Let’s talk about playing for no money

That’s right. In second place sits Linn Grant of Sweden and Arizona State. She finds herself three back of Shibuno, after twin 69s. Grant has been near the top of a U.S. Open before, with less than ideal results. Her education at Shoal Creek two years ago should serve her well on Saturday. Joining her in the final pairing is Kaitlyn Papp, of the USA, Texas, and the University of Texas. After in-state favorites like Kristen Gillman, Angela Stanford, and Gerina Piller missed the cut, Papp ascended to favorite-daughter status with the snap of two fingers. In all, one-quarter of the 24 amateurs in the field made the cut, but will one of them be able to pull a Jenny Chuasiriporn (look her up) and tie for first place? Tune in Saturday!

5. Tee times to watch

It’s a given that we’ll be all over that final trio to see if Shibuno can move toward a second major title…and to see if either or both amateur(s) make(s) good on their/her promise. That group departs the first tee just after 11:35. The Jutanugarn sisters (is this a first in Open history?) match with Stacy Lewis, Team USA stalwart and super mom, and they might push each other all the way to top billing on Saturday night. That triumvirate tees off the first hole at 11:03. Finally, I stand by my prediction of a low number from Danielle Kang. She is paired with super-am Gabriela Ruffels (US Am champ in 2019, runner-up in 2020) and Jin Young Ko.