World-ranked names struggle, don’t survive cut for weekend
Phil Mickelson just squeezed in at the evenpar 144 36-hole cut line Friday.
Lefty will play in Saturday’s third round of the Shell Houston Open, but three of the four players in the top 10 of the golf world rankings playing this week at the Golf Club of Houston can’t say the same. Among the missing: Fifth-ranked Henrik Stenson (5 over), who finished second here a year ago, sixth-ranked Jordan Spieth (2 over) and seventh-ranked Adam Scott (1 over), the 2007 SHO winner.
Stenson had three top-three finishes in his previous five SHO appearances. Recent past winners also didn’t fare well. Last year’s champion Jim Herman (1 over) and 2015 SHO winner J.B. Holmes (3 over) also missed the cut. Patrick Reed, ranked 12th, also failed to advance at 2 over.
Ninth-ranked Rickie Fowler (9 under) and 13th-ranked Justin Rose (6-under) easily advanced.
Eighty-one players out of 144 made the cut. With more than 78 players making the 36-hole cut, a 54-hole cut will take place (70 players and ties).
McClain survives double bogey
A double-bogey 6 on the 18th hole nearly cost former Houston Cougar Wesley McClain a chance to play on the weekend in his first PGA Tour event.
McClain, who earned one of four qualifying spots after shooting a 63 on Monday on the Tradition Course at Cypresswood Golf Club, shot even-par 144 to make the cut on the number.
After opening with a 4-under-68 on Thursday, McClain was poised to make the cut before hitting his tee shot on the 18th hole in the water. There were some anxious moments as the projected cut line at the time was 1-under. McClain, who played at UH from 201014, had a 76 in front of friends and family.
“A great experience. I want to get back out here,” said McClain, who next week is scheduled to play an Adams Tour event in Louisiana. “I want to work my way up. I know I have a lot of work to do; I mean, these guys out here are really good. I learned a lot this week and I got something to set forward and go from.
“I wouldn’t have picked any other place to play my first PGA Tour event. I love this golf course. People here are awesome, it feels like home. I had a good crowd out there supporting me. I wish a few more putts would have dropped to get them going.”
Stroud misses cut at 1 over
Thursday was a good ball-striking round for Chris Stroud. Friday was a good tee-ball round for the Houstonian, but he couldn’t score well, shooting a 3 over.
After opening with a 2-under 70 on Thursday, Stroud finished 1 over and missed the cut.
“At the end of the day, I didn’t strike my irons very well, I didn’t hit it close and I couldn’t score,” said Stroud, who lives near the Golf Club of Houston and as a junior played in Houston Golf Association events. “You can’t make birdies if you can’t hit it close. I don’t know if I got one shot inside 20 feet.”
Odds and ends
Hudson Swafford and Russell Henley, who share second at 10 under, both played at Georgia. … Aaron Baddeley (8 under) is the only player without a bogey. … Si Woo Kim withdrew during the round with a back injury, and Alex Cejka was disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard.