Branden Grace and Charl Schwartzel are set for the weekend off after failing to turn the tide during the second round of The Open Championship at Carnoustie.
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Grace kept himself in line for the weekend until a mistake on the 17th hole saw him drop to +4 for the championship while Schwartzel finished one further back.
Six straight pars and a birdie on the 7th was good progress for Grace, who’s 62 during the same event’s third round in 2017 made history. A bogey on the 9th started a wobble that included drops at 10th and 12th as his hopes looked miserable with the rain coming down in Scotland.
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Back to back birdies at 13th and 14th saw the 30-year-old give himself an outside chance but in all reality, another birdie during the closing stretch was still required. All hope of a weekend spot disappeared with a bogey on the penultimate hole that saw his round drop over par and at +4, two shots over the predicted cut line.
Schwartzel’s missed cut is his second in a row with his last start, the US Open, suffering the same fate. The 34-year-old hit 40% of fairways and 39% of greens, not the kind of golf that allows you to play yourself into the weekend.
In the end, his round contained four drops and just two birdies as he moves onto the rest of the season.
Amateur champion Jovan Rebula fired a second 79 to finish at +16.
Photo: Andrew Redington/Getty Images
