Kiwi pair struggle, miss cut at Open
GETTY IMAGES KIWI golfers Ryan Fox and Michael Hendry have missed the cut at the British Open.
Windy and challenging conditions put the world’s best players to the test during round two at Royal Birkdale in northwest England yesterday.
Fox, who opened with a fourover-par 74, shot a respectable two-over to finish at six-over for the tournament but it was not enough as he finished an agonising one shot below the eventual cut-line at five-over.
Day two was more of a battle for Hendry, who started at threeover but struggled his way to a seven-over 77 to finish at 10-over.
American star Jordan Spieth held the outright led at the halfway stage, firing a one-under 69 to be at six-under and two clear of compatriot Matt Kuchar.
England’s Ian Poulter and American Brooks Koepka were tied for third at three-under.
Coming into the championship with a pair of top-five finishes on the European Tour, Fox was seven-over by the time he made the turn after a front nine which included six pars but three bogeys.
He made a spirited back-nine fightback, with birdies at the 10th, 15th and 16th holes, but dropped shots at the 14th and 17th proved his undoing as he narrowly missed making the weekend.
The 30-year-old Aucklander hit 43 per cent of fairways and 56 per cent of greens in regulation in an improved round.
Hendry had played solidly on day one but was unable to back it up in tougher day two conditions, mixing four bogeys with a lone birdie on the front nine to move out to six-over.
A double-bogey six at the 13th made his task even more difficult, before he came home with three more bogeys and a consolation birdie at the 15th.
Also from Auckland, Hendry hit just 21 per cent of fairways and 50 per cent of greens in regulation.
Meanwhile, Lydia Ko has survived the cut at the LPGA Tour’s Marathon Championship following a much-improved second round display.
After shooting a two-over 73 on day one in Sylvania, Ohio, the Kiwi world No 4 and defending tournament champion carded a three-under 68 to move to oneunder, where the cut was made.
Ko, who made three birdies in a blemish-free round at the Highland Meadows Golf Club, was in a tie for 56th.
American Gerina Piller led the event at 11-under, with countrywomen Nelly Korda and Lexi Thompson, South Korea’s InKyung Kim and Peiyun Chien of Taiwan in a four-way tie for second at 10-under.
On the PGA Tour, Hamilton veteran Steve Alker reached the halfway point of the Barbasol Championship in a four-way tie for sixth.
Alker started day two at fourunder par in a tie for ninth but with five holes still to complete in his first round after bad weather and bad light affected the opening day of the event.
The Kiwi closed out round one with four pars and a birdie to move to five-under, before beginning what was a topsy-turvy second round effort.
Alker had three birdies and an eagle with two bogeys on the front nine, making the turn three shots to the good at eight-under. The mixed nature of the round continued, but with three more birdies and two bogeys he improved to nine-under overall.
American Chad Campbell was the runaway leader at 15-under, four clear of countrymen Grayson Murray and Cameron Tringale.