Brooks Koepka, Shane Lowry among big names to miss cut at Zurich Classic

The defending champs were down but not out.

With six holes remaining  in the second round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, the only team event on the PGA Tour schedule, Ben Griffin and Andrew Novak were sitting at 7 under and two strokes on the wrong side of the cut line. Adding to the challenge at hand was the fact that the second round was being played in foursomes, or alternate shot, the harder of the two formats used at TPC Louisiana in Avondale.

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But never fear, because the Griffin-Novak stepped up to make an eagle and two birdies coming home to join the top 33 and ties with weekend plans.

Griffin got things started by belting a 351-yard drive at the par-4 13th. Novak took care of the rest, chipping in from 28 yards for eagle and suddenly the defending champs were riding the cutline. Birdies at 15 and 18 were offset by a dropped shot at 17 but it was good enough for 3-under 69 and a 36-hole total of 10-under 134. That was a shot better than the cut, which came at 9-under 135, and left 35 teams in the trophy hunt. First-round leaders Alex Smalley and Hayden Springer, birdied two of their last three holes, to claim the 36-hole hole lead.

Let’s take a look at some of the teams that were sent packing.

Brooks Koepka and Shane Lowry

Lowry joked that he only partnered with players with five or more majors under their belt. But things didn’t go as swimmingly with Koepka as they had with Rory McIlroy, his partner when they won two years ago. Koepka and Lowry followed up a 66 in four-ball with a 69 in foursomes. They needed a birdie on one of the last two holes on the front nine, their second nine, but could only manage pars. Lowry, a Zurich ambassador, and Koepka, a five-time major winner who had previously played in this team event with his brother, Chase, are a big loss to an event already lacking star power.

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Tony Finau and Max Greyserman

Finau had made seven cuts in a row but also finished dead last last week in the 82-man, no-cut RBC Heritage. He and Greyserman shot bogey-free 67 in four-ball and 4-under 68 in foursomes. They made par on their final five holes when they needed a birdie and missed the cut by one.

Cam Davis and Geoff Ogilvy

Davis, an Aussie, got a chance to audition in front of his Presidents Cup captain. But they shot 8-under 136 to miss the cut. An even-par second nine on Friday in foursomes kept them from a weekend tee time.

Michael Brennan and Johnny Keefer

These two teamed up after Brennan won the Utah Championship in the fall. Brennan gave it his all, removing his shirt to play a shot from the penalty area. They did shoot a best-ball nine-hole 7-under 29 on Thursday but Friday foursomes was more of a struggle. They were 5-over after five holes and never recovered, posting 75. They shot 8-under 136 and missed by two.

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Mackenzie Hughes and Taylor Pendrith

The Canadian duo got off to a fast start with 10-under 62 in four-ball but four bogeys in foursomes led to a 2-over 74 and a weekend off.

Chris Kirk and Patton Kizzire

The former Georgia Bulldogs struggled to make birdies in the four-ball, shooting even-par 72. But birdies weren’t a problem in foursomes: they made seven, which is excellent. The only problem was they made six bogeys, signing for 1-under 71. The best-ball score dug too big a hole to recover from and it’s a missed cut as partners.

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: PGA Tour Zurich Classic: Koepka- Lowry, Finau-Greyserman miss cut