Kisner makes cut at Masters despite windy conditions

Kevin Kisner was escorted to a small group of three reporters waiting for an interview after his second round at the Masters wrapped up.

Seeing how the number of reporters shrank compared to his first day, Kisner deadpanned a self-deprecating joke at the expense of the round he put in.

“I must not have played that well,” he said.

Kisner shot a 3-over par 75, which puts him at 5 over for the first two days. While Kisner might not have been pleased with his performance, his first two days were good enough to make the cut and allow him to keep playing during the weekend.

Kisner, who played college golf at Georgia, has now experienced six rounds of windy golf at Augusta National Golf Club. While last year’s Masters calmed down a bit Sunday, each day in his two appearances has experienced some high winds.

Friday’s outing was more of the same, with sudden gusts of wind making things difficult in just about every phase of the game.

“You’re hitting balls distances you never dreamed you would,” Kisner said. “You’re trying to hit such small areas. You got to get in the fairway. It’s not as easy as it seems getting in the fairway with these winds.”

Kisner birdied No. 4 but followed it with consecutive bogeys on Nos. 5 and 6.

Those two holes set him back a bit and caused him to play in survival mode the rest of the way as opposed to attacking the course like he would prefer.

“I’m looking forward to playing in some better conditions and actually attack, and not be holding on for dear life,” Kisner said.

The wind at Augusta National is expected to dial down from more than 20 mph to less than 5 mph for the remaining two days of the Masters. Kisner and everyone else left in the competition will certainly benefit from the much friendlier weather conditions.

Kisner was in danger of being right on the cut line on No. 18 after his approach shot landed just off the green and next to a bunker. With the wind drying the greens and making them faster, Kisner went for the long putt and nearly sank a birdie.

It just missed, with Kisner putting the next shot in for par.

“I was just happy it wasn’t hauling ass when it came up on the green, to tell you the truth,” Kisner said. “At that point, I was just hoping to make four and live. But that’s one spot I can tell you I never thought about practicing from, just by that bunker.”

Other former Bulldogs at the Masters

Kisner and Russell Henley, who is 3 over after the first two days, were the only two former UGA golfers to make the cut.

Bubba Watson missed the cut after shooting a 6-over 78, placing him 8 over and out of the competition. Hudson Swafford, who played at Georgia from 2006-11, shot a 4-over 76 on Friday, which placed him outside of the cut line.

Swafford’s first-ever Masters appearance ended 9-over par.

Swafford double-bogeyed No. 17 and bogeyed Nos. 1, 7, 12 and 17. But he also recorded birdies on Nos. 13 and 18 on the back nine to close his tournament.

This story was originally published April 7, 2017 at 8:23 PM with the headline "Kisner makes cut at Masters despite windy conditions."