RAINING BIRDIES FOR KOKRAK<\/p>\n
Jason Kokrak<\/a> was outside the cutline when he felt the first sprinkles of rain prior to his second shot at the par-4 15th. He hit it to 18 feet. Then the heavy stuff came down. Immediately.<\/p>\n \u201cBy the time I got to 15 green, I was drenched,\u201d Kokrak said.<\/p>\n He rolled in the birdie putt in the pouring rain. At the par-3 16th, he used a 4-iron off the tee, having to hold it up against the wind \u2013 not really his forte, but he found the fringe and rolled in a 15-footer for another birdie. \u201cA crazy little shot,\u201d he said. \u201cI think I got away with a little bit of water on the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n At the par-4 17th, his approach shot finished 10 feet from the pin. His third straight birdie. And just like that, Kokrak was inside the cutline, his 1-under 70 leaving him at 1 under for the tournament and tied for 26th. A pretty salty fight in the wet conditions as he made six birdies in his last 11 holes.<\/p>\n \u201cDidn\u2019t really need the rain to come up but I guess it caused me to focus a little bit more,\u201d said the Smash GC<\/a> veteran. \u201c\u2026 Every board everywhere had the projected cut line at +1 and I\u2019m cruising around +3. Told myself I better get my head out of my you-know-what \u2013 and I did.\u201d<\/p>\n Kokrak\u2019s best finish in his first 23 major starts is a T14 at the 2022 Masters. His best Open result is a T19 in 2018. He now has a chance to improve on both levels.<\/p>\n \u201cGlad the way I fought back today,\u201d he said. \u201cGlad to make the cut. We\u2019ll see what happens this weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n McKIBBIN ANNOYED<\/p>\n Tom McKibbin<\/a>, the Northern Irishmen and a member at Royal Portrush, had high hopes entering the week<\/a> but missed the cut at 3 over after his 2-over 73 on Friday.<\/p>\n \u201cA little big annoyed. A little bit pissed off,\u201d said the 22-year-old member of Legion XIII<\/a>. \u201c\u2026 Overall, I thought I played quite nicely. Just a few silly mistakes.\u201d<\/p>\n MICKELSON AMONG 11 LIV GOLF PLAYERS TO MAKE CUT<\/p>\n Nineteen LIV Golf players were in the field when The Open Championship began on Thursday and 11 made the cut, including major champions Bryson DeChambeau<\/a>, Sergio Garcia<\/a>, Dustin Johnson<\/a> , Phil Mickelson<\/a>, Jon Rahm<\/a> and Henrik Stenson<\/a>.<\/p>\n