There’s a saying in golf: you can’t win a tournament on the first day, but you can certainly lose it.
Kiwi golfer Ryan Fox has been the latest to prove that to be true, failing to recover from his poor front-nine performance at Augusta National yesterday, ultimately missing the cut by one shot.
He put a much better second round together, however, shooting an even par 72, coming within arm’s reach of the cut line multiple times during the back nine.
It looked like he’d missed his best chance at making it to the weekend after paring the par-5 15th after being greenside in two shots.
Then, at the par-3 16th, a three-putt bogey put it almost out of reach.
A remarkable chip-in after his approach went over the green at the 17th put him right back in it, needing a birdie at the last to scrape inside the cut line.
An unremarkable approach shot left him a long putt, which he ended up missing.
He currently sits at T-55, with the final few groups still finishing up their rounds.
Meanwhile, reigning champion Rory McIlroy has charged into the solo lead, birdying six holes on the back nine on his way to a 7-under 65, leading by six shots, 12-under for the tournament.
McIlroy is followed by Americans Sam Burns and Patrick Reed, both at 6-under par. Golf fans may remember the fiery Ryder Cup singles match Reed ultimately won against McIlroy in 2016.
In a three-way tie for fourth at 5-under: Irishman Shane Lowry, and Englishmen Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Rose – last year’s runner up.