Adrián Otaegui (PAR) missed the cut at the PGA Championship following the resumption this Saturday of the second round suspended yesterday due to lack of light. The Basque golfer had three holes and one putt left to play. He needed a one-under-par partial to get into the weekend and he achieved it very soon. He converted from one metre the extraordinary birdie option he made with the last shot he could hit on Friday before the suspension.
From there, it was about, at least, making three pars. He achieved it on the 16th, a very long par 4, especially early in the day. He hit the fairway, his second shot ended up a bit short on the left, at the entrance of the green, his third shot ended up about two and a half metres from the hole and he made the putt. A great putt. Made in Otaegui.
The big mistake came on hole 17, another par 4. Again, Adrián hit a great tee shot, hit the shot he needed, to the centre of the green, and left himself a birdie option of about ten metres. Here came the mistake. He overdid it. He got the force and the line wrong and left himself a two and a half metre return putt. This time it didn’t go in.
So, he faced the 18th hole, par 5, with a par result and the obligation to make a birdie to make the cut. Once again, a good tee shot, a slightly short placement second shot, but in the fairway and a third shot that did exactly what the Spaniard wanted. It bounced a metre behind the flag with the aim of getting it close with the backspin. However, the backward momentum of the ball bouncing on the green was much stronger than the Volvo China Open champion expected and the ball ended up going off the green. He tried to hole the chip he left at the entrance, it was all or nothing. He hit it very well in terms of force, but he missed the line, a palm to the right. Par and total par to stay out. A lot of anger. Otaegui couldn’t hide it because without having his best golf, he had the four rounds in his hand.
In this way, we will not have any Spaniard over the weekend at the PGA Championship. It is an absolute rarity. In fact, it is the first time it has happened in a Major, not only in the PGA, but in any of the four Majors of the year, since 1998, specifically the PGA Championship held at Sahalee GC. José María Olazábal and Nacho Garrido started the tournament and both packed their bags early with respective results of +8 and +9. The cut was closed at +5.
So, it has been 26 years since the last time we didn’t have a Spaniard in the cut in a Major. The streak is extraordinary and very valuable. At this point, it is worth making a point. There are people who mistakenly think that the last time there were no Spaniards in a cut in a Major was at the 2007 PGA Championship, at Southern Hills. But it is not so. Sergio García did make the cut and played the third round in full, before being disqualified for signing the card incorrectly. His marker was Boo Weekley. That is, Sergio did not play the fourth round, but he did make the cut and played the third.
We still have to go back further in time to find the last time Spain was left without players in a Major over the weekend having at least three representatives at the start, as has happened in Valhalla with Jon Rahm, David Puig and Adrián Otaegui. The last time something like this happened was at the 1986 PGA Championship at the Inverness Club. Manuel Piñero, José María Cañizares and Seve Ballesteros started the tournament and none of them made the cut. It was set at +4 and Piñero was the closest with +7.
As for the rest of the Majors:
– The last time no Spaniard made the cut at the Masters was in 1984. Only Seve Ballesteros played it.
– The last time no Spaniard made the cut at the US Open was in 1996 at Oakland Hills, where there was no Spanish presence. With players at the start, it was in 1993 at Baltusrol, with José María Olazábal and Seve Ballesteros.
– The last time no Spaniard made the cut at the Open Championship was in 1975 at Carnoustie. Ángel Gallardo, Manuel Ballesteros, Seve Ballesteros and José María Cañizares started and all were left out.
Interestingly, Spain is left without players over the weekend in the lowest cut in history. With the -1 finally established in Valhalla, it equals the two lowest records of all time, so far belonging to the Open Championships of 1990, at the Old Course and 2006, at Royal Liverpool. And it was not far from being -2 in Valhalla, thus becoming the lowest of all time.
The third round of the PGA Championship is already underway. It is being played three by three players and by two tees. The star match will start at 19.40, Spanish peninsular time.
