Jon Rahm raced back into contention for the weekend, but Ryder Cup-winning team-mate Shane Lowry missed the cut, on the second day of Open de Espana presented by Madrid.
The European pair had both disappointed on their returns to action on Thursday a fortnight after helping Luke Donald’s side claim a memorable away win in New York, each shooting over-par opening rounds around the Club de Campo Villa de Madrid.
And while both were back under par on Friday, Lowry’s three-under 68 left him one shot outside the level-par cut line.
Lowry had got himself back to par for the tournament after going four under through 14 but a dropped shot for the second consecutive day at the par-four 16th proved costly.
After a par at 17, the Irishman gave himself a chance of making the weekend by leaving a 15-footer on the 18th green but, two weeks after sinking the putt that saw Europe retain the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black and cue wild celebrations, this time Lowry’s ball trickled agonisingly past the right-hand side of the hole, sealing his fate in the Spanish capital.
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Shane Lowry narrowly misses a birdie putt and falls short of the cut at the Open de Espana
Lowry bent down to his knees and slapped the outside of his legs in frustration.
Moments later and playing partner Rahm, left frustrated amid the windy conditions on Thursday, sunk his seventh birdie of his impressive day for a round of 66 to get to five-under for his home event.
Image:
Shane Lowry and Jon Rahm shake hands after completing the second round in Madrid
But the three-time tournament-winning Spaniard remains five shots off the lead with everyone chasing England’s in-form Marco Penge.
The Race to Dubai contender finished his round with back-to-back birdies to claim the outright lead on nine-under after a four-under 67.
Penge is a two-time winner on the DP World Tour this year and came into the week in third place in the overall season rankings behind Rory McIlroy and Tyrrell Hatton.
“Very patient day, nice to have a bogey-free round,” said Penge. “I played pretty solid, still a couple of bits there that I can improve on, but all in all it was a steady round of golf.
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“I had a good range session after my round yesterday so today was slightly better – still probably only about a seven out of 10 but hopefully I can play some better golf over the weekend.”
The Englishman leads Denmark’s Jeff Winther – who shot the joint-best Friday round of 64 – and Switzerland’s Joel Girrbach (65) and Canada’s Aaron Cockerill (67) by one shot.
Another Englishman, Dan Brown, is in a six-way tie at seven under after a second-round 66, with that group also including Swede Joakim Lagergren after he matched Winther’s 64.
Spain’s Sergio Garcia, the 2002 winner, shot a one-under 70 to secure his place in the weekend’s field at one-under overall.
Watch the Open de Espana presented by Madrid this week with third round coverage from Saturday at 12.30pm, live on Sky Sports Golf. Stream the DP World Tour, PGA Tour, LPGA Tour and more contract-free with NOW.
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