Fox fumes over not seizing Open opportunity
New Zealand golfers Ryan Fox and Michael Hendry joined 12 former winners in missing the 146th Open championship cut at Royal Birkdale links.
The duo endured overcast skies, strong winds and the threat of rain for the most part of their second rounds, a contrast from the finer weather in the latter half of their opening efforts.
Further inclement weather is forecast to arrive from the Irish Sea across the weekend, with the prospect of hail, thunder and blustery winds along the dunes.
Sandy Lyle (the 1984 champion), John Daly (1995), Tom Lehman (1996), Mark O’Meara (1998), Paul Lawrie (1999), David Duval (2001), Todd Hamilton (2004), Padraig Harrington (2007, 2008), Stewart Cink (2009), Louis Oosthuizen (2010), Darren Clarke (2011) and Phil Mickelson (2013) also checked out early.
Fox started the second day at fourover-par, but three bogeys blew him out to seven-over-par on the front nine. He clawed back to six-over with birdies on holes 10 (par-4), 15 (par-5) and 16 (par-4) alongside bogeys on the 13th (par-4) and 17th (par-5).
Fox entered his second Open after earning more than $1 million from three European Tour events in as many weeks. He needed golfing contagion to strike the field in the deteriorating afternoon conditions to make the five-over cut — and it nearly did.
“It was frustrating,” he told Radio Sport. “I left myself a lot of work to do [from the first round], and actually played some nice golf for the most part [of the second] in pretty horrendous conditions.
“It was blowing 20 miles per hourplus and gusting more than that most of the day,” said Fox. “I gave myself plenty of chances, and struggled with the putter.
“A lot of holes were played with a cross wind, rather than straight into or with it. It was hard to get the ball on the fairway and close to the pin. Plenty of guys were having nightmares.”
Fox lamented not seizing more of an advantage on the opening day.
“Those conditions weren’t overly difficult. It was windy to start and calmed down in the afternoon, but I struggled from tee to green. Being three-over for the front nine on the second day hurt, too.”
Hendry overcame a back injury to compete in his maiden major. He finished with a seven-over-par 77 to be 10-over for the tournament.
“It was hard to get your rhythm back sometimes in those conditions,” Hendry said.
“That’s what makes playing in the wind so difficult. It’s not necessarily what it does to the ball, but what it does to your swing.”