Willett looking lost in France
DANNY WILLETT missed his second consecutive cut leading up to The Open as his recent struggles continued in France yesterday.
The US Masters champion could only add a second-round 72 to his opening 75 at Le Golf National near Paris to finish five over par.
In contrast, Rory McIlroy shares the lead after firing a secondround 66 in testing conditions for a halfway total of 137.
‘It’s a good day’s work,’ said McIlroy. ‘I’m in a great position going into the weekend.’
Willett, the world No 9, was 10 shots adrift of McIlroy at the French Open, having missed the cut in the BMW International Open in Germany last week.
‘The last three weeks, we’ve putted as badly as we ever have and things haven’t gone our way,’ he said. ‘When you keep shooting the worst score you can, it’s a tricky game.
‘I’ve just not done anything very well. I’ve missed a lot of putts, a couple of bad shots cost us and it was one of those days again. S*** couple of weeks.
‘You just have to keep working like you always do. There’s nothing else you can do.’
The last time Willett missed two cuts in a row was coincidentally in the US Open and French Open last year but he bounced back to finish sixth in The Open at St Andrews a fortnight later.
Padraig Harrington walked off the course having played his last three holes in double bogey, par, double bogey to be met by an official, who told him that after he signed his card he would have to submit to his first Olympic drugs test.
Two events to test the patience of any man, therefore, yet still you couldn’t wipe the smile off his face when asked about his unexpected call-up to Ireland’s team for Rio.
‘I’ve won three majors but this will add to my career to be able to call myself an Olympic athlete,’ said the 42-year-old double Open champion. And if I happened to win the gold medal, it would add substantially to it.’
Given all the negative press, you might have been under the impression there’s more chance of contracting Zika than finding a pro enthusiastic about golf’s return to the Olympics.
Let Harrington speak for the unheard majority.
‘We’re all set to go,’ he said. ‘We’ve got the accommodation sorted and we’ll be there for two weeks. The first week I’ll play and then the second week Caroline (his wife) and I will go to as many events as we can possibly squeeze in.’
M TIGER WOODS last night withdrew from this year’s Open Championship at Royal Troon. He is replaced by Marcus Fraser of Australia, with England’s Luke Donald now the first reserve.