Jason Day misses cut by one stroke after closing with double bogey in Houston

HOUSTON – Not even Jason Day, a former major champion and world No. 1, is immune to cut-line pressure.

Day made double bogey on the par-3 ninth in Friday’s second round of the Texas Children’s Houston Open, his final hole of the day, to miss the cut by one stroke at Memorial Park Golf Course. Day, 36, finished at 2-over 142, one stroke outside the final cut line of 1-over 141.

Tony Finau, who matched a tournament record Friday with an 8-under 62, carries a two-stroke lead over Alejandro Tosti into the weekend in the Lone Star State. Finau stands at 9-under 131.

At various junctures on Friday, it looked like the cut line could fall anywhere from even-par to 2-over, as steady and variable winds challenged the field at Houston’s beloved public municipal golf venue. Eighty-three players finished inside the cut line, with players to advance on the number (1-over) including Will Zalatoris, Kurt Kitayama, sponsor exemption Sam Bennett and last week’s Valspar Championship winner Peter Malnati.

Notables who finished outside the cut line included Day, Kevin Kisner (3-over), last week’s PGA TOUR Champions winner Padraig Harrington (4-over), Joel Dahmen (4-over) and Jake Knapp (5-over).

None perhaps suffered more of a closing heartbreak than Day, who flew the green off the tee at the 157-yard par-3 ninth, which utilized a tricky front-left hole location on Friday, guarded by a severe runoff. Day’s second shot from 73 feet failed to reach the putting surface. He chipped to 13 feet and two-putted for a costly 5.

Day, who had made four cuts in six prior Texas Children’s Houston Open appearances, entered the week at No. 18 on the FedExCup and No. 20 in the world. After opening with a 2-over 72 at Memorial Park, he battled to 2-under through 17 holes on a windy Friday, positioning himself for a weekend tee time before his costly final hole.

They “turned the fans on” Friday afternoon at Memorial Park Golf Course, as first-year TOUR member Chan Kim put it, with steady winds leading to challenging conditions. The field averaged 71.365 in Friday’s second round, after par-70 Memorial Park played to a 70.43 average in Thursday’s opening round.

Third-round tee times will begin at 9:30 a.m. CT on Saturday, in threesomes off two tees. The final grouping of Finau, Tosti and Thomas Detry will begin at 11:40 a.m. CT off the first tee.