Defending champion misses cut in Australia
Cam Smith missed the cut in his Australian PGA Championship title defence after slumping to 9 over Friday after a 78 in the second round, finishing 21 shots off the pace.
Min Woo Lee took the lead at 12-under at the halfway point after a 5-under 66 on Friday, and Adam Scott was next at 11 under after shooting 65 in the second round.
Hometown favourite Smith was 2 over after the first round but the 2022 British Open champion only slid further out of contention with a double-bogey, six bogeys and a solitary birdie in the second.
He missed the cut by nine strokes and said he couldn't remember playing a worse round as a professional.
“Yeah, no words,” an emotional Smith, one of the stars of LIV Golf, said of his performance. “I've performed under pressure before and it's not acceptable. A bit upsetting, actually.”
John Lyras was third at 10 under and two other Australians, Lucas Herbert and Curtis Luck, shared fourth place at 8 under with Joel Moscatel of Spain.
Luck's ace on the 17th helped him to a second round 67, while overnight leader Moscatel, who opened with a course record-equalling 63, carded a 71 on Friday.
Rikuya Hoshino of Japan was among the three players at 7 under.
The tournament is being played at Royal Queensland Golf Club, the proposed golf venue for the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane.
Smith missed putts, struggled with his driver and left irons short on the riverside course.
He turned at 4 over but double-bogeyed the 10th and his title defence was all but over there.
He's next due to play the Australian Open in Sydney next week.
South African golfer Nikhil Rama rose to the top of the leaderboard at the Joburg Open after hitting an 8-under 62 in the second round on Friday in Johannesburg.
Rama, who is ranked No. 1,214, made an eagle and six birdies at Houghton Golf Club in his 10th European tour event. He leads Thriston Lawrence, another South African, by one shot at 13-under 127 total.
“What can I say, it was a great round,” the 22-year-old Rama said. “It's my lowest score on tour so far so I'm really excited about that. I'm enjoying the pressure, enjoying the fans, which is great, and just trying to have fun.”
Lawrence, who won the event in 2021, had a three-shot lead after the first round.
He shot 4 under in the second round after bogeying twice and making one eagle.
The Joburg Open is the season-opening event on the European tour. The 2024 season began on Thursday only four days after the 2023 one finished in Dubai.
The event marks the start of three straight tournaments taking place in South Africa and co-sanctioned with the country's Sunshine Tour.
Three places in the British Open are available for the leading three players not already exempt who make the cut.