Christmas 7—SILVIS, Ill. — Bogeys on the last two holes were costly for William McGirt in the second round of the PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic Friday in Silvis, Illinois.
The Fairmont native stood at 5 under par for the event on the 17th tee, but the tough finish resulted in him missing the cut by one stroke.
McGirt hit a short drive to the left on the par-5 17th, recovered to be greenside and pin-high after his third shot, but failed to get up-and-down for par. His approach on the par-4 18th found a greenside bunker, from which he hit his next shot to 10 feet, but he was unable to make the ensuing putt for par, finishing the day with a 1-under-par 70.
After making one birdie and one bogey over the first 10 holes of his round Friday, McGirt then birdied three of the next four holes, making putts of eight, 13 and eight feet at the 11th, 13th and 14th.
He finished the second round tied for 70th, with the top 65 and ties making the cut and advancing to the weekend.
In Thursday’s opening round, after starting at the 10th hole, McGirt made three straight birdies from the 12th through the 14th holes. He added two more birdies with three bogeys the rest of the way to shoot a 2-under-par 69.
McGirt missed his third straight cut, and the sixth in his last seven PGA Tour starts, dating back to late March. He entered the John Deere Classic ranked 199th in the FedExCup standings, and will not earn any points for the missed cut.
Cameron Young leads the tournament at 13 under par, two strokes ahead of Adam Schenk, Garrick Higgo and Brendon Todd. Ludvig Aberg, who was the top-ranked collegiate senior this spring before turning professional, is among the players tied for fifth at 10 under par.