Matt Every’s bogey-free 62 catapulted the American to the second-round lead in the USPGA Tour’s Greenbrier Classic on Friday, but Phil Mickelson missed the cut.
Every rolled in a 10-foot birdie putt at his final hole, the par-four ninth, for a 36-hole total of nine-under par 131 on the Old White TPC course.
“I played really well tee to green, finally made some putts,” Every said. “I haven’t made anything all year and it just finally happened today — been waiting for it.”
However, four-time major champion Mickelson had a disappointing return to action in his first tournament since a heartbreaking sixth runner-up finish at the US Open at Merion.
He shot 68 on Friday, but that was not enough to overcome his first-round 74, so he will not be among the 80 players who made the halfway cut at one-under 139.
In second place, one stroke behind Every, were Australian Steven Bowditch and Americans Daniel Summerhays, Bill Lunde, Russell Henley and Johnson Wagner.
Henley carded a 65, Lunde posted a 66, both Bowditch and Summerhays shot 67 and Wagner, who had posted a 62 on Thursday to share the overnight lead with Tommy Gainey, carded a 70.
Bowditch, who has just one top-10 finish in four seasons on the USPGA Tour, briefly led on Friday, but his round was marred by a three-putt bogey at his penultimate hole, the eighth.
Gainey’s second-round 71 left him two shots off the pace on the tightly bunched leaderboard.
Gainey was in a group of four players on 133, along with England’s Greg Owen, Sweden’s Jonas Blixt and fellow American Ben Curtis.
Another half-dozen players were on 134.
FRENCH OPEN
Reuters
Paraguay’s Fabrizio Zanotti, one of the nearly men of the European Tour, grabbed a one-stroke lead in the second round of the French Open near Paris on Friday, while overnight leader Anders Hansen had a day to forget.
Zanotti, three times a runner-up on tour, the last time at last year’s Irish Open, shot his second 68 to finish six-under-par and ahead of a group that included 42-year-old Dane Thomas Bjorn.
Overnight leader Hansen, another 42-year-old Dane, dropped four shots in his first 11 holes, following up his 66 with a 78 and was two over along with former world No. 1 Martin Kaymer of Germany, who carded a 76.
Zanotti, 30, ranked 391st in the world, had four birdies and a single bogey in his round at the testing Le Golf National course, venue for the 2018 Ryder Cup.
Defending champion Marcel Siem of Germany missed the cut and others who struggled were Luke Donald and Ian Poulter, the Britons both on two over. American Matt Kuchar was three over after a 75.
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