ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — The bite returned to Sea Island Resort’s two courses—Seaside and Plantation—on Friday after a day of record scoring on Thursday. Some players in the 155-man field found it more challenging than others.
South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen, for one, didn’t make it to the first tee, withdrawing from the RSM Classic with a back injury. Robert Streb won’t defend his title as he missed making the weekend by a shot.
Those two weren’t the only notable names to be sent home from the final tournament of the fall portion of the 2021-22 PGA Tour season.
Here’s a list of some of the big names who have the weekend off after flaming out with a not-so golden performance on the Golden Isles of South Georgia.
Harris English struggled at his home game. He shot 3-under 69 on Thursday at Plantation Course, failing to take advantage of soft greens and drooping flagsticks. It was an erratic round with six birdies and an an eagle offset by three bogeys and double bogey.
On Friday, at Seaside Course, his round was steadier but his approach game let him down. Ranked No. 12 in. the world, he made only one birdie and a bogey in shooting even-par 70. English will attempt to defend his title at the QBE Shootout in December and then his victory at the Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua in Maui.
Jason Day’s slump continues. The Aussie finished T-64 at the CJ Cup, T-54 at the Hewlett Packard Enterprise Houston Open last week and missed the cut in three fall starts to his 2021-22 campaign. Day shot 70 at Plantation Course and 69 at Seaside Course for a 36-hole total of 3-under 139, and one stroke too many.
Trunk slamming on a Friday may put a tiny damper on Max Homa’s 31st birthday.
Homa, No. 33 in the world, shot 66 on Thursday at Seaside Course but the windy conditions on Friday got the better of him as he skied to a 3-over 75 at the Plantation Course.
Still, it was a very fruitful fall for Homa, who picked up a win at the Fortinet Championship in Napa to kickoff the season. Still plenty of reason to celebrate his big day and no tee times to wake for this weekend.
Niemann, World No. 30, can blame his driver for a rare weekend off. He shot 3-under 67 on Thursday, but made two double bogeys on Friday as he posted 75 at the Plantation Course. He hit only 17 of 28 fairways, which tied for 125th in the field.
On a day when Sea Island was there for the taking, Kisner got taken to the cleaners. He shot 4-over 76 at the Plantation Course, failing to record a single birdie. In fact, he didn’t make a birdie until his 34th hole of the tournament. That is a recipe for a missed cut, his second in three starts this season.