British Open champ Zach Johnson tops list of notable missed cuts
SHEBOYGAN, Wis. — Did Zach Johnson forget his driver back in Scotland?
The reigning British Open champion missed the cut at the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits after continually missing off the tee during the first two rounds and finishing 3-over. Johnson hit only 12 of 28 fairways, leaving him to wonder what went wrong with his driver.
“That’s my strength and it was not my strength this week,” said Johnson, who completed his round before weather suspended second-round play on Friday afternoon. “Very frustrating.”
Johnson’s troubles mirrored some early hiccups that he experienced with his driver last week at Bridgestone. There, Johnson went 14 of 28 for fairways on Thursday and Friday before recovering a bit on the weekend to finish tied for 33rd.
“I’ve got to go back to the drawing board,” Johnson said. “I’m very frustrated with it. You can kind of figure it out when you’re missing it one direction, but when you’re missing it both directions, it’s difficult.”
Johnson recorded a 75 on Thursday at Whistling Straits while playing with Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy. It looked like he might recover on Friday after birdies on the first three holes. But the rest of the round wasn’t friendly. Johnson recorded only one birdie to four bogeys the rest of the way to finish at even par for the day.
Here are other notable players who missed the cut (+2):
Tiger Woods (+4): Woods had an outside chance at making the cut when play resumed on Saturday morning. But an early bogey on No. 14 dashed his hopes. He says he’ll watch the rest of the tournament from his new sports bar in Jupiter, Fla.
Shaun Micheel (+3): The 2003 PGA Championship winner hasn’t made the last four cuts at this event.
Shane Lowry (+3): The Irishman must’ve been exhausted after recording his first win on tour at Bridgestone last week. Lowry shot 78 on Thursday, digging a hole so deep that not even a three-under 69 on Friday could get him out of. He should still be feeling pretty good, though, with the win at Bridgestone securing his card for the next three years.
Graeme McDowell (+5): McDowell won’t see the weekend after posting a 76 on Friday.
Adam Scott (+7): The Aussie recorded top-10 finishes at both the U.S. and British Open, but never got in the swing of things at Whistling, posting 76-75.
John Daly (+10): ‘Nuff said.
Brett Jones (+9): While his brother Matt surged to the top of the leaderboard, Brett had a decidedly different experience. On the bright side, the PGA club pro will be on hand for what could be a very big moment for Matt this weekend. It’s possible he’ll be the only golfer who missed the cut to stick around for the next two days.
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Kevin Kaduk is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!Follow @KevinKaduk
