STEVENS POINT – Mick Smith and Brad Lanning were hoping they would be playing along with Steve Stricker and Jerry Kelly on the weekend at SentryWorld Golf Course.
But a rough four-hole stretch for Smith and a triple bogey for Lanning led to both state golfers missing the cut Friday after the second round of the US Senior Open.
Smith, an Australian who lives in Summit, shot a 10-over-par 81 in the second round to finish at 13-over 155 and miss the cut by four strokes.
He was even for his round through five holes after making two birdies and two bogeys. He made a triple bogey on the sixth hole and then three consecutive double bogeys to shoot 9-over 44 for his first nine holes and shoot his way out of contention for making the cut.
“Those four holes, anything I could do wrong, I did,” said Smith, who qualified for the Senior Open by winning a qualifier at Stevens Point Country Club. “So that was a bad 40 minutes.”
Smith, who won the WPGA Championship in 2020 and 2021 and the WPGA Match Play Championship in 2022, shot 3-over 74 in the first round and would have easily made the cut had he shot a similar score in the second round.
Despite the disappointing finish, he said it’s an experience he won’t forget and mentioned playing with Mark O’Meara, Rod Pampling, Steven Alker and Jeff Maggert during practice rounds as highlights of the week.
“I really enjoyed it and loved everything about it,” said Smith, who made three birdies Thursday to go with the two Friday. “Loved it, except for that 40-minute window. Golf is tricky, isn’t it? Sometimes it catches you and sometimes you get around it.”
Lanning, who lives in Hortonville, followed a 79 in the first round with an 82 in the second round to finish at 19-over 161.
“I want to play well, but I really didn’t play well,” he said. “I just didn’t hit the shots. I hit some shots right, but it’s a tough test so you’ve got to have control of your golf ball and I just didn’t.”
He pointed to the par-5 fifth hole as an example, where he hit his tee shot into the lake to the left of the fairway both days. He made a triple-bogey 8 on the hole Friday.
“I never hit it in the water there in my life,” he said. “When I’m bad, the ball’s going left off the tee and I hit it left a lot this week. And that hole’s tough because the water is right there. Today I was aiming in the right rough and I pulled it in the water. Just didn’t play well.”
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Lanning, who played in college at Stanford University from 1990 to 1994 and played professionally on tours in Canada, South America and Asia, said he plans to be back Saturday watching the tournament and cheering on fellow Wisconsin golfers Stricker and Kelly, among others.
“I’m a fan. I can’t wait,” said Lanning, who made two birdies each day.
He also said the experience of playing in the Senior Open gives him motivation to try to qualify again next year.
“Oh, absolutely,” he said. “And after this experience you certainly get that taste, and now I want to make good on it. I want to get another chance and I feel like I’ll be better the next time.”
Smith and Lanning both said they plan to be back at SentryWorld to play in the Wisconsin State Open on Aug. 14-16.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Summit’s Smith, Hortonville’s Lanning miss cut at US Senior Open