Michael Campbell fell one shot shy of the cut. Photo / Reuters
AUGUSTA, Georgia - Michael Campbell's Augusta National golf hoodoo is now seven from seven after he missed the halfway cut at the US Masters.
Campbell's chance of playing all four rounds of the season's traditional first major evaporated when he missed a metre par putt on the final
green in an eventual round of 77 for a nine-over-par 153.
It saw Campbell fall one shot shy of the cut, with any player lying within 10 shots of the lead at the Masters winning through to the final two rounds.
The pair of South African Tim Clark and American Brett Wetterich head the Augusta field on two-under-par.
Campbell's exit means it's the fourth occasion, and his third Augusta appearance in succession, that he's missed out on playing all four rounds by just a single shot.
He littered his second round scorecard with a trio of double bogeys, at three, seven and 10 with bogeys posted at 16 and the last.
His only birdies of the day were on second, 13th and 15th -- all par fives.
Campbell's woes were evident at the last when he had spectators ducking for cover when he played a misdirected shot left of the green.
After surveying the shot, Campbell chipped to a metre knowing that holing his par putt would see him play four rounds of the Masters for the first time in his 14-year professional career.
But his ball missed the mark right of the hole.
He tapped in for bogey and headed to the scorer's hut to sign off for a 77.
Overall, Campbell recorded four birdies, 23 pars, five bogeys and four double bogeys.
But the telling statistic was his poor performance with the driver.
He managed to hit just six of 14 fairways on both the first and second day, while he then hit eight of 18 greens on day one and one less during his second round.
Campbell was joined by illustrious company on nine-under-par with Scotland's Colin Montgomerie and former Masters heroes Tom Watson and Mark O'Meara also missing the cut.
Among those worse than Campbell's mark of 153 were fellow former Major champions Ernie Els, Ben Curtis, Bernhard Langer, Shaun Micheel, Todd Hamilton, Ray Floyd, Gary Player, Larry Mize and Seve Ballesteros who tailed the field with a 166 tally.
- NZPA
