British Open cut line: Bryson DeChambeau squeaks into the weekend, while Brooks Koepka is among big names heading home
"I woke up this morning and I said, you know what, I can't give up," DeChambeau said. "My dad always told me never to give up, just got to keep going, and that's what I did today. I was proud of the way I fought back, really persevered through some emotionally difficult moments, and to hold myself together and not get pissed and slam clubs and throw things and all that like I wanted to."
That perseverance rewarded him with two weekend tee times, which he did not get a year ago.
The top 70 and ties make the cut at The Open. That number toggled between 1-over and 2-over all afternoon. It finally settled at 1-over, meaning a birdie on 17 loomed large for DeChambeau.
Notable names who are on the wrong side of the cut line include Jason Day (+2), Zach Johnson (+3), Patrick Cantlay (+3), Patrick Reed (+5), Min Woo Lee (+6), Brooks Koepka (+7), Sahith Theegala (+7), Collin Morikawa (+7) and Adam Scott (+9).
For Cantlay, Reed and Koepka, missing the cut is a blow to their Ryder Cup chances, in that they're not giving captain Keegan Bradley good reasons for him to make them a captain's pick.
The last time the tournament was played at Royal Portrush, in 2019, the cut stood at +1. The lowest cuts relative to par since 1969, when the R&A began keeping stats for the category, were -1 in both 2006 (Royal Liverpool) and 1990 (St. Andrews). The lowest cut by total strokes was 141 in 2021 (Royal St. George's); a +2 cut would be 144 strokes.
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Ashworth left Newcastle United before his short-lived stint at Manchester United, with his replacement Paul Mitchell announced that he was also parting company with Newcastle last month after less than a year in the role — leaving the club with the task of appointing their third sporting director in rapid succession. Liverpool's appointment of Hughes brought stability to the club last summer after a disruptive 18 months that saw Jorg Schmadtke hired on a short-term contract following the departure of previous sporting director Julian Ward — who had only replaced Michael Edwards a year before. Had a long-term sporting director been in place, the public contract sagas involving Van Dijk, Salah and Alexander-Arnold might have been handled differently. The common thread is that nothing is ever guaranteed on the pitch, but the good sporting directors will find a way to control the controllable and give the club long-term improvement, regardless of short-term ups and downs. 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