KNYSNA GOLF NEWS - Buffalo Bay-raised golfer Branden Grace had a disappointing time at the 2021 Open Championship last weekend, falling two shots short of the cut at the end of the second round.
Grace was one of 13 Saffas taking part in the 149th Open at Royal St George's from 15 to 18 July and was making his 10th appearance at the major tournament after last year's tournament was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
He came into the week off of a largely positive set of results in his last three tournaments - 4th at the Memorial Tournament; T7 at the US Open; and T54 at the Scottish Open.
Hoping to channel the spirit of his 2017 Open Championship efforts where he carded the first and only round of 62 ever at a men's major championship, he teed off on Thursday 15 July with British caddy Lee Warne on his bag. His first round got off to a decent start with four pars until he bogeyed the par 4 fifth hole.
Another bogey at the par 5 seventh saw him card a two-over opening nine holes. His second nine got off to a less than ideal start with a double bogey on the 10th hole before a bogey on the 11th.
After settling himself with a par on the 12th hole, a string of three birdies on 13, 14, and 15 followed by three more pars saw Grace finish the first round on +2. His second round started similar to the first with five straight pars before a bogey on the sixth hole.
Grace hit back immediately afterwards with an eagle on seven, but this was also cancelled out with a quadruple bogey on the ninth hole to finish his opening nine on +3 and +5 for the tournament.
A birdie on the 10th would have given Grace hope of recovering his round and making the cut, but seven straight pars followed before he ended his week with a birdie on the 18th hole. Despite a solid second nine,
Grace finished the round on one over and +3 for the tournament, missing the cut by two shots. It is only the second time in his 10 appearances at the Open that he has missed the cut.
Grace is now ranked 63rd in the world and lies 51st in the FedEx Cup standings. He currently qualifies for the Northern Trust (18 to 22 August) and BMW Championship (26 to 29 August). He is still 21 spots off the top 30 which will see him qualify for the Tour Championship (2 to 5 September).
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