Louis Oosthuizen failed to produce the spectacular on Friday as he missed the halfway cut following a second round 73.
READ: Ernie stays in the picture despite no birdies
Oosthuizen was always in danger of missing the cut after his opening 78, and the writing was on the wall as he opened with a bogey following a wayward opening tee shot on the first.
Playing in the worst of the conditions as the rain bucketed down, the South African made two bogeys on the outward nine – at the 4th and 8th holes – to all but seal his fate. A birdie at the par 5 15th helped get the shot he dropped at the 13th back, but in truth he had no chance of undoing the damage from his catastrophic first round on Thursday.
Joining Oosthuizen on the plane home are fellow South Africans Jbe Kruger, Dylan Frittelli and Darren Fichardt.
Frittelli had an outside chance of making the halfway cut, but instead of securing a much-needed birdie on the 17th, he made a double to end his chances as he moved to +8 before a closing par.
Oosthuizen hit 50% of both fairways and greens in regulation on a day when only 8 of 156 players went under par – one of those being overnight co-leader Jordan Spieth.
Spieth leads by two after a wonderful round of 69 in some testing conditions. His round had it all – from an opening birdie to missing a very short par putt on 16 – as he went toe to toe with the rain and gusting winds. After dropping a shot on the par 3 14th, he sank a lengthy eagle putt to erase any doubt that he would allow the field an even start on Saturday.
Despite his wobble on 16, which was followed by a terrible hooked drive on 17, he closed with two pars to hold a two-shot lead over fellow American Matt Kuchar, who shot 71 on Friday. Two shots further back are Ian Poulter (70) and US Open winner Brooks Koepka (72). Rory McIlroy is in the group on -1 after he came out of the blocks firing on Friday, following his late rally on Thursday before a back nine struggle halted his march up the leaderboard.
South Africa’s best-placed golfer is Ernie Els, who shot 73 before the wind and rain took their toll on the afternoon starters.
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Photo: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
