Kiwi Ryan Fox's bid for a career-best finish at a Major has gone up in flames, after his second-round struggles saw him miss the cut at The Open Championship on Saturday (NZ time).
Starting the day tied for 35th after an opening round of 71, Fox carded three-over par 75 to sit two-over total and fall below the even-par cut mark to 97th, bringing a premature end to his tournament.
The Aucklander missed several birdie opportunities through the first seven holes, before converting one at the eighth. But he bogeyed two of the next three, before a disastrous double bogey at the 16th essentially sealed his fate.
The 35-year-old has been in career-best form this year and seemed primed to improve on his previous best finish at a Major - a 16th placing at the US Open in 2019.
Meanwhile, Australian Cameron Smith lit up St Andrews in bright afternoon sunshine to take the lead, as Tiger Woods' challenge fizzled out meekly in the second round.
Smith birdied his first three holes and picked up three more shots, before sinking a long snaking eagle putt on the 14th green on the way to a flawless 64 that lifted him to 13 under par.
Overnight leader Cameron Young was the closest challenger on 11 under, two shots ahead of Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy, who made three birdies in a row around the turn to keep his bid for a fifth Major title firmly on track.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler was a further stroke back alongside Briton Tyrrell Hatton.
Woods needed a huge improvement on his opening 78 to make the cut at the scene of his 2000 and 2005 Open triumphs.
The American 15-times major champion, continuing his comeback from serious injuries sustained in a car crash last year, flickered into life with a birdie at the third before two bogeys quickly halted his momentum.
He played steadily on the back nine until finding a bunker on the 16th and the ensuing double-bogey took the 46-year-old to nine over par, ending any faint hopes he had of returning at the weekend.
Woods received a standing ovation from the galleries, as he walked up the 18th fairway before he missed a short birdie putt to complete a round of 75 that left him tied for 148th place in the 156-man field.
"It's very emotional for me," Woods said. "I've been coming here since 1995. I think the next one comes around in 2030 and I don't know if I will be physically able to play by then.
"My two-day play is I made my share of mistakes," he added. "Struggled again today to get the feel of the greens."
Smith, the 28-year-old world No. 6, won this year's Players' Championship, the unofficial fifth Major, and was tied third at the Masters but his best performance in four previous British Opens was tied 20th in 2019.
"Obviously, got off to a really hot start," he told reporters.
"And it's very easy to just keep going, getting on the front foot and maybe trying to hit some shots that are a little bit too aggressive. But just stayed patient and holed some really nice putts."
American Young, the world No. 32, bogeyed the first, before picking up two birdies to revive his challenge and birdies at the ninth, 14th and 18th holes helped him to a tidy 69.
McIlroy started his second round solidly and three straight birdies around the turn closed the gap on the leader, before he dropped back with a bogey at the 15th.
Twice Major champion Johnson shot a composed 67, recovering from a bogey at the first to ride a hot putter and make six birdies.
"I thought I played really nicely, just drove it well, hit a lot of quality iron shots, gave myself a lot of looks at birdie," Johnson said.
"Obviously, if you look at the history of the tournament, it's a trophy I would love to have in the office when I'm done with my golf career."
Scheffler also bogeyed the first but soon rediscovered his usual smooth rhythm to conjure up four birdies around the turn, before signing for a second successive 68.
Hatton moved into contention with a bogey-free 66 to finish one ahead of Americans Talor Gooch, Patrick Cantlay and Sahith Theegala, and Australian Adam Scott, the former Masters champion who tore up the Old Course with a sparkling 65.
South Korean Si Woo Kim, Australian Min Woo Lee, Thai Sadom Kaewkanjana and Briton Matthew Fitzpatrick, who won last month's US Open, finished on six under.
A raft of former Open winners looked destined to miss the cut along with Woods, including defending champion Collin Morikawa, Americans Phil Mickelson, Stewart Cink, David Duval and Mark Calcavecchia, Sweden's Henrik Stenson, Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke and Scotland's Paul Lawrie.
Reuters/Newshub.
