Canadians feel the heartbreak of missing the cut

Derek Gillespie told his buddies before the Canadian Open that he had a good chance of winning the golf tournament.

For a while Friday, it looked like the Canadian Tour regular wasn't just talking out of his hat, or visor in his case.

The Oshawa, Ont., native reached five-under par after 10 holes, and was just four shots off the lead. It was heady territory for a 29-year-old pro who usually competes far removed from the spotlight and multimillion-dollar purses of the PGA Tour.

Then a mistake and some bad luck on the par-five 11th hole sent him into a downward spiral that hit bottom until he made a double bogey on the final hole to miss the cut.

"I'm thinking in the middle of the 11th fairway: I'm hitting it on in two and going to six under, and I'm in the golf tournament. Then I'm missing the cut. It was weird."

Weird is one word. Heartbreaking is another. But he wasn't alone in his anguish. Gillespie was one of 16 Canadians to miss the cut at the national championship, which hasn't had a homegrown winner since 1954.

Gillespie's troubles on the 11th began when he hit his second shot a little off-line. The ball hit a mound left of the green and kicked further left into a water hazard. He made a bogey — then followed with another bogey at the 12th and a double bogey at the 13th.

"One little bad thing that happened on 11 carried over for three holes," Gillespie said. "Even though I tried to stay positive, it was hard for me to get back."

On the 18th hole, his tee shot found deep rough and he chunked his second shot into a weedy water hazard 30 yards in front of him. The double bogey took his two-day total to one-over 143, two shots over the cut line.

"I'm pretty upset," said Gillespie, who's had two runner-up finishes on the Canadian Tour this season and ranks third on its money list. "I don't know what I'm feeling right now. If I'm five or six under going into the weekend, I have a chance to win the golf tournament. Now I'm watching it on TV."

Danny King, a club pro from Milton, Ont., went through a similar drama only to fall painfully short.

Playing in Gillespie's group, King reeled off five consecutive birdies on the back nine to reach one under for the tournament.

His bid for a sixth birdie in a row narrowly missed when his putt on the par-three 17th hole lipped out. Then on the 18th, he also hit his tee shot into the rough and had to chip out. His third shot to the par-four final hole landed in a green-side bunker and he ended up making a double-bogey on the hole. He had the same two-round score as Gillespie.

James Lepp, one of Canada's brightest prospects, also finished at one over to miss the cut, although his two days at Angus Glen Golf Club's North course lacked the wild drama of Gillespie and King's rounds.

The 23-year-old rookie from Abbotsford, B.C., was four over after four holes in the opening round Thursday and then slowly fought back. But he didn't come back far enough, shooting a one-under 70 to go with his opening 73.

"Today was a pretty boring day as far as golf-wise," said Lepp, who won on the Canadian Tour in Vancouver this year. "Nothing really happened. Nothing too bad, nothing too good."

Still, he gained some valuable experience in his sixth trip to the Canadian Open and said he's starting to feel comfortable at the level of golf he'd like to soon reach.

"I'm comfortable out here. I wasn't even nervous," Lepp said. "This is probably the best I've felt [at the Canadian Open] — the most comfortable, the most at home. In the other ones I've played, you've got to get used to everything. But there's no excuses to miss the cut. I know I'm good enough to make the cut."

Canadians who missed the cut:

Danny King, Milton, Ont. (75-68—143)

James Lepp, Abbotsford, B.C. (73-70—143)

Wes Heffernan, Calgary (72-71—143)

Derek Gillespie, Oshawa, Ont. (70-73—143)

Graham DeLaet, Weyburn, Sask. (68-75—143)

James Love, Calgary (76-68—144)

Jim Rutledge, Victoria (73-71—144)

Andrew Parr, London, Ont. (79-66—145)

Richard Scott, Kingsville, Ont. (73-72—145)

Ian Leggatt, Cambridge, Ont. (74-73—147)

Victor Ciesielski, Cambridge, Ont. (73-75—148)