Rio 2016 Olympic champion Justin Rose, the 2013 US Open victor, is another to exit the competition prematurely after he finished on two-over for the tournament.
It was the first time since the rankings system was launched in April 1989 that the world's top three players have all failed to make the third round of a major.
"It was a surprise as I really like this golf course".
England's Paul Casey and compatriot Tommy Fleetwood were bunched on seven under alongside Americans Brooks Koepka and Brian Harman at the top.
Only eight shots separate the leaders from the players who made the cut on the number.
Kaymer got the good end of the draw when rain arrived at Pinehurst No. 2, and he opened with rounds of 65-65 to reach 10-under 130 and build a six-shot lead going into the weekend.
The leader board even reserved the right to produce names only lightly discussed through the week, such as 2010 British Open champion and 2012 Masters playoff participant Louis Oosthuizen, who snared a 4-under 68 despite a double bogey on No. 17. I don't know what else it was.
A birdie on No. 7 steadied the Spaniard's nerves on Friday, and further birdies on No. 15 and No. 18 completed a good day.
The U.S. Open is wide open going into the weekend.
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Casey took his place amongst the leading group after recovering from an early implosion that sent him plunging down the leaderboard.
Rickie Fowler, who is two shots back, said after his round Saturday that he was hoping the wind would pick up to make the course tougher. Spieth has said that he feels that he is striking the ball well, but that he is trying to get more consistent on and around the greens. "It was a bit of a roller coaster".
Johnson finished on four-over, McIlroy on five-over and Day on 10-over.
Johnson bogeyed the ninth and got the shot back at the 12th, but bogeys at the next two holes dropped him back to three over and another dropped shot at the 17th sealed his fate.
"I was in the hay too much over the last couple of days", Day said. He stands 4 under for the tournament.
His problems deepened at the par-four 12th, when his second shot rolled off the back of the green.
Despite a flurry of late birdies it was not enough to turnaround an erratic round littered with errors and missed opportunities. "Hopefully I've got a lot of the bad stuff out of my system yesterday and some parts today".
"I'm optimistic with where my game is", he said. Wasn't exactly seeing that, but I'm looking forward to hearing about that when I get back to the house since J.T. and I are staying together.
And despite blasting it with heavy criticism, some of the world's best golfers don't seem opposed to Chambers Bay getting a second chance - just not during their own playing careers. "And I'm kind of going out there and just doing it, and letting it go".
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