Jordan Spieth and Henrik Stenson miss the cut at Houston Open
Sunday 2 April 2017 00:10, UK
Jordan Spieth and Henrik Stenson will have unscheduled time off to prepare for next week's Masters after both crashed out of the Shell Houston Open.
Spieth and Stenson are both expected to be among the contenders at Augusta National, but they will need to sharpen their games after missing the halfway cut in Houston as Sung Kang powered into a commanding six-shot lead after firing a superb nine-under 63.
Overnight leader Rickie Fowler got to within four of the leader before dropping three shots in two holes late in his second round, while Justin Rose will head into the weekend 10 shots off the pace following an erratic 71.
But a high-quality field was left trailing by a remarkable performance from Kang, who put himself in pole position to grab the final place on offer for the first major of the year.
The South Korean, ranked outside the world's top 200, started at the 10th and rolled in lengthy birdie putts at the 11th and 17th either side of a good four at the long 15th.
He then followed a birdie at the first with two more putts of outside 20 feet at the second and fourth holes, and his red-hot putter was on target again from similar distance at the seventh before nailing a 30-foot putt for eagle at the next.
Kang was only a fraction away from holing another long-range effort at his final hole as he set the early clubhouse target at 16 under par, and his lead was not under serious threat throughout the remainder of the day.
Hudson Swafford and Russell Henley both matched their opening rounds of 67 to share second on 10 under, with Fowler one further adrift after a sloppy finish in his 71.
Fowler turned in 34 and carded three birdies in four holes to start the back nine, but he hacked from rough to rough at the 15th and then duffed a pitch and missed a four-foot putt as he ran up a wretched double-bogey seven.
The Honda Classic champion bunkered his tee-shot to the short 16th and dropped another stroke, although he parred safely in to remain at nine under and within striking distance of Kang.
Rose had problems finding the fairways from the tee and hit a marshal with his drive at the 17th - his eighth - and he walked off with a bogey before pulling his second into the water at 18 and carding a six.
But the Englishman rallied on the front nine and birdied the third and fourth before rattling in a birdie putt of close to 50 feet on the ninth green to salvage a one-under 71.
Three-time Masters champion Phil Mickelson scraped into the weekend with nothing to spare after signing for a second level-par 72, but Spieth, Stenson and 2013 Augusta winner Adam Scott all bowed out.
Scott's card was littered with errors as he stumbled to a 77 to miss the cut by a single stroke, while Spieth slumped to two over after he bogeyed three of his last five holes as he also returned a 77.
Open champion Stenson made four birdies on day two, but he also had three bogeys and two double-bogeys in a wayward 75 which left him outside the top 120 on five over, while last year's Augusta runner-up Lee Westwood slipped to seven over after rounds of 77 and 74.
Crowd favourite Andrew "Beef" Johnston looked set to make the weekend on the number, but he bogeyed his final hole to drop to one over par.
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