Shane Lowry missed his first cut for six months in the Wyndham Championship but Seamus Power survived to keep his chances of making next week’s FedExCup Playoffs alive.
Lowry, who hadn’t missed a cut since the American Express at the end of January, didn’t make a putt longer than five feet as he added a two-under 68 to his opening 70 in the weather-delayed event in Greensboro.
At two-under par, he will miss the four-under cut when the remaining 20 players still left on the course on Saturday night complete their second rounds early today.
The good news for Lowry is that he can still hang on to his $1 million bonus for finishing tenth in the FedExCup standings at the end of the regular season.
After dangermen Akshay Bhatia and Robert MacIntyre missed the cut, Lowry will remain in tenth place in the Comcast Business Tour Top 10, providing Brian Harman or Christiaan Bezuidenhout, both tied 46th with Power on four-under, don’t win.
The Comcast Business Tour Top 10 rewards season-long performance for the top 10 players in the FedExCup standings at the end of the FedExCup Regular Season this week with the group sharing a $40 million bonus; the top-ranked played earning $8 million and the tenth getting $1 million.
The battle for those who survive the cut is to make the top 70 in three FedExCup standings and qualify for next week’s first playoff event, the FedEx St Jude Championship in Memphis.
Power was 69th in the standings starting the week, but after following a delayed first-round 66 with a 70, he’s projected to fall to 70th and needs a solid final 36 holes to avoid missing the Playoffs and being forced to play the Fall Season events.
Following the washout of Thursday’s first round due to Tropical Storm Debby, Power faces a marathon Sunday with officials hoping to complete the remaining 36 holes today.
The third round is scheduled to start at 12:50 pm Irish time with players going off in threeballs from split tees.
The Tour estimates it must start the final round by 8:10 pm Irish time if it is to have any chance of completing 72 holes today.
It will be a long day for Matt Kuchar (46), who shot a second successive six-under 64 to lead by a shot from Chad Ramey, Max Greyserman and Cameron Young on 12 under as he seeks the win he needs to become the first player to play in all 17 editions of the FedEx Cup Playoffs.
He entered the week ranked 111th in the season-long standings but needs a win to extend the streak to 18.
“I really don’t think much about it,” Kuchar said of the points projections and what he needs to do. “Listen, I try to play well every week. Certainly not work out, glad it’s worked out this week.
“I was telling somebody yesterday I don’t focus on my point positioning, where I stand. I just don’t know how that helps you to play good golf.”
Kuchar is one of many men who need a good Sunday.
Victor Perez, who was projected to remain 71st after a 69 left him tied for 26th on five-under, must make up two shots and finish tied 15th or better to move on.
Chad Ramey, who is 106th, needs to win.
As for Power, he will need to move up the leaderboard on the final day to avoid any last-minute drama.
