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Posted April 7, 2017, 7:22 pm
BY
David Lee
|
Staff Writer

Defending champion Willett misses cut

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    Defending champion Willett misses cut
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    Danny Willett tees off on No. 4 during his second and final round as the defending Masters Tournament champion. Rounds of 73-78 for 7-over 151 caused him to miss the cut by one stroke. SARA CORCE/STAFF

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    Defending champion Willett misses cut
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    Danny Willett hits a shot from the edge of a bunker on No. 1, headed for a quadruple-bogey 8 on the hole to start his second and final round as defending Masters champion.. CHRIS THELEN/STAFF

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    Defending champion Willett misses cut
    Photos description

    Danny Willett watches his drive from the No. 4 tee. Rounds of 73-78 for 7-over 151 caused him to miss playing the weekend by one stroke. SARA CORCE/STAFF

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    Defending champion Willett misses cut
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    Danny Willett reacts after his chip toward the No. 2 green. “It really would be nice to make it into the weekend,” the defending champion said. “We had that in our own arms, but we let it slip.” MICHAEL HOLAHAN/STAFF

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    Defending champion Willett misses cut
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    Danny Willett looks on after a drive from the edge of a bunker on No. 1. The hole was not good to him in either round, yielding a double-bogey Thursday and a quadruple-bogey Friday. CHRIS THELEN/STAFF

A tough start to the year continued this week for Danny Willett.

The defending Masters Tournament champion shot rounds of 73-78 to card 7-over-par 151 to miss the cut by one stroke.

Willett became the first defending champion to miss the weekend since Mike Weir in 2004.

“It’s an amazing place to be, especially with the weather that’s coming in,” Willett said. “It really would be nice to make it into the weekend. Like I said, we had that in our own arms, but we let it slip.”

The first hole Friday did Willett in as he made a quadruple-bogey 8. After dealing with low tree branches on his second shot, his third went over the green. The tricky pin location resulted in his leaving two chips off the green, followed by a missed six-footer.

Willett had chances to regain some of those strokes but struggled to get close to holes and missed potential birdie putts. The cut line was still uncertain at the time, and he missed a four-foot par putt on 18 that would’ve earned him two more rounds.

The missed cut is a continuation of inconsistent play for Willett this year. He has no top-25 finishes in four PGA Tour events, while he’s posted two within the top 25 in six European Tour events.

“It’s been a tricky 12 months; we haven’t played great golf,” he said. “But, by the same token, if you look at the career that we’ve had, we’ve not really had a slump in form in two years. We’ve had two fabulous years.”

Reach David Lee at (706) 823-3216 or david.lee@augustachronicle.com.

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