Justin Thomas birdied four of his last five holes but could still only manage an even-par 71 as he missed the cut at the 3M Open in another dent to his late push for a Ryder Cup spot; watch the third round from Minnesota live on Sky Sports from 7.30pm on Saturday evening
Highlights from the second round of the 3M Open from TPC Twin Cities in Blaine
Lee Hodges extended his lead to four shots at the 3M Open on Friday while Justin Thomas missed the cut in another major blow to his Ryder Cup hopes.
Overnight frontrunner Hodges birdied four of his last six holes for a seven-under 64 and a four-stroke lead over Tyler Duncan after two rounds in Blaine, Minnesota.
A nearly two-hour afternoon weather delay led to play being suspended due to darkness with six players yet to finish – none within 10 shots of the lead.
Hodges, 74th in the FedEx Cup points race, opened with a 63 for the first-round lead and had a 15-under 127 total to break the tournament 36-hole record of 128 set by Bryson DeChambeau in 2019.
He was three-under on the front nine and added a 33-foot birdie putt on No. 13, followed by birdies from 14 feet on No 14 and 11 feet on No 17.
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“I’ve got a great attitude out there. Me and my caddie (Andrew Medley), we’re 70-something on the points list, like what do we have to lose, you know?” Hodges said. “We’ve committed to every shot we’ve hit so far, which has been great. We’ll continue to do it, because what do we have to lose.”
A lengthy last-hole putt was not enough to overcome a couple bad holes as Thomas aims to make the FedEx Cup playoffs for the eighth straight season.
He birdied four of his last five holes to shoot a shot an even-par 71, leaving him two-under for the tournament and two strokes short.
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Thomas, at No 75 in the FedEx Cup standings, has missed five cuts in his last seven starts. The top 70 next week after the Wyndham Championship will advance to the playoffs.
Looking to stay in strong consideration for the US Ryder Cup team, Thomas has just two top-10 finishes in 14 tournaments since mid-February.
Starting on the back nine, Thomas put two balls in the water on the par-five 18th, falling to one-under. An errant tee shot and poor chip led to another double bogey on the par-three fourth, before a strong finishing stretch was punctuated by a 30-foot putt on No 9.
“This is a good chance for me to learn a little bit about myself and push myself and become better,” Thomas said before the tournament.
“I mean, this game, nothing’s given to you. I’ve had great chances to win the FedEx Cup the last five or six years and now I’m trying to make the playoffs. That’s just the way that this sport is. And it can happen to anybody, so you’ve just got to go out and get it.”
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He wasn’t the only player to put untimely dents in possible playoff plans by missing the cut. No 70 K.H. Lee (one-under), No 72 Davis Thompson (two-under) and No 90 Gary Woodland (three-over) also get the weekend off.
Duncan, who has missed six cuts in his past eight events and 17 of 27 this season, shot a 67. He has back-to-back bogey-free rounds.
“You never know when it’s coming, but I’ve been putting in the work and you always hope it shows up,” Duncan said.
“But it doesn’t always show up when you want it to.”
Defending champion Tony Finau (66), J.T. Poston (66), Brandt Snedeker (68) and Kevin Streelman (68) were 10 under.
With one top-10 in 25 starts this season, Streelman is in a rare position.
“I haven’t been in the final groups in a while on a Saturday, so looking forward to that. At my age I don’t have much to lose, so go out and have some fun this weekend,” the 44-year-old Streelman said.
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