SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. – Shinnecock Hills took a toll on the game’s best and brightest this week.
Four of the world’s top 10 players, Nos. 4 Jordan Spieth, 5 Jon Rahm, 6 Rory McIlroy and 8 Jason Day, failed to make the cut. They will be joined on the sideline by Sergio Garcia and Tiger Woods following the toughest two days in golf this season.
Spieth’s plight might be the most difficult to digest. Although he opened his week with a 78, he rallied on Friday in perfect conditions with four consecutive birdies starting at the 13th hole to move inside the cut line at 7 under par. But the 2015 champion three-putted the 17th hole and hit his approach long at No. 18 for a bogey to miss the weekend by a shot.
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The biggest surprise, however, may have been McIlroy’s week, which began with so much promise. After immersing himself in Long Island golf, the Northern Irishman stumbled to an 80 on Day 1 and came up two strokes short of making the cut despite a 4-under-par closing nine.
“I felt like my game was good coming in here. I think I was just blown away by the wind yesterday,” said McIlroy, who closed with a 70. “I haven’t played in wind like that for quite a long time. I just felt like I couldn’t hit it far enough left or right to allow for the wind.”
Rahm made just two birdies for 36 holes on his way to a 15-over total, and Day wasn’t much better with just three birdies for a 12-over total. Garcia closed with a 79 to tie for 112th and Woods finished at 10 over despite back-to-back birdies to finish his week.
Source: Internet
