AUGUSTA, Ga. — Augusta National undresses players in all kinds of ways. Misjudged irons disappearing into Rae’s Creek. Untidy tee shots trundling into the pines. Pin-seeking wedge shots blown askew by the wind.
In the second round of the 89th Masters, Cameron Young met his fate on the inward nine’s two par-3s. His first spot of bother came on the famed 12th, where he airmailed his tee shot into the bushes behind the green and had to take to a drop. A chip and two putts later, he had made a double-bogey 5 to drop to a still respectable two over for his round (and for the tournament) on what was a breezy and difficult day at Augusta National.
Young went birdie-bogey-par on his next three holes, which brought him to the par-16th still at two over, which was the projected cutline. If Young could par out, he would play the weekend.
But his putter had other plans.
After missing the green right, Young chipped on to 12 feet. That putt ran by the right edge, stopping 2 feet past the hole.
Kick-in, right? Err, not so fast.
Young’s short bogey try caught the right edge of the hole and rimmed out, leaving him 11 inches for double.
Kick-in, right? Err, not so fast.
Young missed that putt, too, on the low side, zipping it about 3 feet past the hole.
Kick-in? Yes! Mercifully, this attempt dropped, and Young walked off the green with a shocking triple-bogey 6.
Worse yet, he had plummeted to three off the cutline with only two holes to play. An eagle-birdie finish seemed unlikely, and indeed it was. Young bogeyed both 17 and 18 to shoot 79 and miss the cut by five.
Cruel game.
This was Young’s third missed cut in five Masters starts. But he also has two-top 10s, in 2023 (T7) and ’24 (T9).
You can check out the jarring sequence here:
