An ''under the weather'' Jason Day suffered a rare missed cut at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in California today, but rookie professional Ryan Ruffels continued to impress by getting through to the weekend.
Day, who began the week with a virus, carded 72-74 to finish two-over par and outside the cutline for the first time in a US PGA Tour tournament since July, 2015. He missed just two cuts all last season, his breakthrough year in which he won five times, but Day's whole family has been impacted by illness in the past week and he said he did not pick up a golf club until Thursday's opening round in California.
"It's just one week. You can't live and die by one week,'' said Day. "It's not the last cut I'm going to miss. Hopefully it is the last cut I miss this year.''
Ruffels, the 17-year-old Melbournian who turned professional a few weeks ago, is playing on invitation and hoping to make enough money in a few starts this season to secure a playing card for 2017.
He reached four-under at one point today playing on Torrey's south course, the same course that he won the Callaway world junior championship, but he gave back shots with bogeys at the 11th and 12th holes and another from the greenside bunker at the 17th.
The Victorian Institute of Sport graduate and member of Golf Australia's rookie squad of young professionals carded a one-over par 73 for the day and is one-under overall through two rounds.
Day was not the only big name to miss the cut; world No. 3 Rickie Fowler also suffered the same fate and so did Phil Mickelson. Gary Woodland of the United States and KJ Choi of South Korea lead the Open at nine-under par through two rounds.
Meanwhile Perth's Minjee Lee is three-under par, five shots from the lead, after two rounds of the LPGA's season-opening event in the Bahamas. Lee is tied-20th.