Australian world No.4 golfer Adam Scott missed the cut with a disastrous second round on Friday at the halfway mark of the US PGA Tour’s Valspar Championship in Florida.
After firing an even-par 71 in round one, Scott bombed four putts inside five feet during his second round, shooting a four-over-par 75 to miss the cut – the first time anywhere in almost three years.
It ended the PGA Tour’s longest active streak, after Scott had made 45 consecutive cuts dating back to the Byron Nelson Championship in May 2012.
“It had to happen eventually,” he said.
Even so, Scott raised his cap and scratched his head when asked the last time he had a weekend off at a golf tournament. He finally remembered Byron Nelson in 2012.
The Australian used a conventional putter for the second straight week, having used a long putter anchored to his chest the previous four years, including his Masters victory.
In his debut with a conventional putter, he tied fourth last week at Doral, and said the short stick wasn’t to blame in Florida.
“It was pretty scrappy out there Some loose shots, and some loose lag putts and some loose short putts. There’s not many courses we play you can get away with that.
“I’ve got to tighten it up a little bit. Overall, I feel pretty good. There’s a lot of good stuff in there.”
Scott said no one should be surprised if he used the long putter at Augusta National, adding with a smile that “it’s nice to have options”.
“I feel fine with it (conventional putter),” he said. “It can happen. You can miss some short ones. Obviously, it’s not what you want and there’s no excuse. But there’s a couple of things I’d like to make an adjustment with on different greens, different green speeds.”
He used the long putter in practice this week, and said it helped as a training aid. “I see myself practising with it forever,” he said.
Scott couldn’t help but smile when he suggested one problem he faced this week.
“If you can blame fatigue after a layoff, in fairness, I feel like I’ve crammed more into my last month than I have in a year.
“With the birth, spending nine days at home with a newborn, coming over and practising and play in an event, all in three weeks … I feel like a lot has happened.”
He missed the cut, but the Australian didn’t miss a single autograph request for the next 15 minutes as he worked his way along a rail fence, signing Masters flags, balls and taking a half-dozen selfies with fans.
Brendon de Jonge, who has never won on the PGA Tour, rolled in two long putts on his way to a two-under 69 for the 36-hole lead at six-under 136 in the Valspar Championship.
De Jonge rolled in a 50-foot birdie putt on the 7th hole and finished with a birdie on the uphill 9th for a one-shot lead over Jordan Spieth, Henrik Stenson, Ryan Moore, Derek Ernst and Kevin Streelman.
Lucas Glover, Sean O’Hair, Ricky Barnes and Ian Poulter were two shots behind.
