Oh, Snap! Reed Flubs Chip and His Wedge Pays the Price
- Details
- Category: Inside Golf
- Published: 2019-06-15
By EDDIE PELLS and JOSH DUBOW, Associated Press
PEBBLE BEACH, California — Patrick Reed flubbed the chip. That lob wedge paid the price.
The 2018 Masters champion snapped the wedge over his thigh after leaving the ball in the rough on a delicate chip from right of the 18th green at the U.S. Open on Friday.
After taking it out on the wedge, he tossed the club shards toward his bag, grabbed another wedge, and chipped onto the putting surface. His putt to save double bogey helped him make the cut on the number at 2 over ... all of which gave him about 12 hours to find a new wedge (or fix the broken one) for Saturday’s round.
CLUTCH PUTTS
Nobody would’ve blamed last year’s runner-up, Tommy Fleetwood, for making alternate plans for the weekend after he drove into the water off the 18th tee.
A 14-foot putt from the fringe that dropped assured he wouldn’t have to leave so soon.
Fleetwood’s make saved bogey and left him at 2-over par after Friday’s round, among the 79 players who finished in a tie for 60th or better and made the weekend.
Rhys Enoch will join him. Enoch sank a 4-foot slider on 18 to finish a round of 5-under 67 — tied for the second-best score of the day — and also make the cut on the number.
Among those going home include Justin Thomas (4 over), 2009 champion Lucas Glover (3 over), whose 10-year past-champion exemption is now over, Tony Finau (3 over), who played in the final group in last year’s U.S. Open and finished fifth, and Ernie Els (6 over), who received a special exemption to this year’s Open at age 49.
CAP, GOWN, AND DRIVER
Brandon Wu will have to skip graduation at Stanford this weekend.
Wu was among the biggest surprises at Pebble Beach, shooting 2-under 69 to easily make the cut.
Wu won his final match at Stanford as the Cardinal won the NCAA title over Texas. Then, he flew to Ohio and qualified for his first U.S. Open. Wu said after that qualifier that his goal was to make the cut in the U.S. Open, and that maybe he would wear his cap and gown down the 18th fairway of Pebble Beach if he can’t make the commencement.
“This is honestly the dream ending I could have had in my senior year at Stanford,” he said.
WISE UP
Aaron Wise had a wild ride to end the second round of the U.S. Open right where he started.
Wise posted a round with five birdies, three bogeys and one double bogey to finish at even-par 71, leaving him four shots behind leader Gary Woodland. He closed with a flourish, birdieing the 17th and 18th holes to get back to where he started the day, at 5 under for the tournament.
“The hardest part of playing an Open, especially when you’re playing well and maybe not having your best day, is staying patient and not trying to force things,” he said. “I felt I did an amazing job. I was able to stay patient, wait for the birdies to come to me. And 17 was a huge birdie, and to get one on 18 and finish even for the day makes me feel good.”
This is the 22-year-old Wise’s best performance yet at the U.S. Open. He missed the cut in 2016 and 2018, posting a combined score of 21-over par in those four rounds.
OLD MAN FURYK
Jim Furyk will stick around for the weekend in his 24th consecutive U.S. Open.
It didn’t look like that would be the case when the 2003 champion stood at 4-over par through 14 holes in the opening round. But he birdied two holes own the stretch and carried that momentum into the second round where he posted the lowest score of the morning with a 4-under 67.
That left the 49-year-old Furyk at 2 under for the tournament, five shots off the lead.
“I needed to come out today and play a solid round,” Furyk said. “I think that finish the last six holes yesterday I played very well, and that allowed me to kind of get out there today and kind of build off of it.”
DIVOTS
Sergio Garcia made his first cut in the last eight majors by backing up his opening-day 69 with a 1-under 70. Garcia, who won the 2017 Masters, hadn’t made a cut in the majors since the British Open later that year. ... In search of that elusive U.S. Open title, Phil Mickelson shot 2 under to get into the red numbers and make it to the weekend. He’ll start eight shots behind leader Gary Woodland. ... Brooks Koepka shot his second straight 69 to stay in the hunt for his third straight title. ... A day after Koepka nearly went out of bounds to the right on No. 18, his buddy, Dustin Johnson, hit the same shot to nearly the same spot on the cart path. Unlike Koepka, who hit off the path, Johnson took a drop and made an easy par to head into the weekend at 2 under.