Big names home for weekend

Baltusrol didn’t “suit” Rory McIlroy, after all.

McIlroy talked a big game in his pre-PGA Championship press conference, telling reporters the Springfield, N.J. course “suits me,” but it had the opposite effect.

McIlroy was one of several big names to fail to make the 2-over cut, shooting a 1-under 69 that left him at 3-over. As was the case on Thursday, when he shot a 4-over 74, his putter betrayed him.

“Tee to green was good, but just pathetic when I got [on the green],” said the 27-year-old McIlroy. The world’s fourth-ranked player, McIlroy failed to win a major this year after winning the Masters last year and the PGA Champi- onship and British Open in 2014. “I was driving the ball well, hitting good iron shots. If you had given anyone else in this field my tee shots this week, they would’ve been up near the top of the leaderboard.

“So it just shows you how bad I was on the green. I’ve hit the ball really well this week and I’m walking away not playing the weekend. It’s really disheartening.”

The world’s No. 2ranked player Dustin Johnson (9-over) also missed the cut and so did Sergio Garcia (5-over), Ernie Els (2-over), Justin Rose (2-over) and J.B. Holmes (4-over).

Henrik Stenson matched his openinground 3-under 67 with another 3-under 67 Friday, leaving him three shots behind leader Jimmy Walker at 6-under. His first major title, less than two weeks ago at the British Open, seems to have carried over.

“I think it’s just carrying on the same mind-set as much as I can,” said the 40year-old Swede, who is ranked fifth in the world. “Of course [your] confidence level is always going to go up when you manage to accomplish what I did at Troon [at the British Open].

“I can’t guarantee that it’s going to happen again, if I’m in a similar situation. But at least you’ve got the belief that you can do it.”