Uresti salvages 70 at Thornblade to make cut on number

Staring down a 25-foot downhill birdie putt on hole 17 at Thornblade, Omar Uresti didn't know where he stood. He figured he needed maybe one birdie in the last 2 holes to make the cut.

Uresti promptly rolled in the putt to move to 5-under on the tournament.

"I knew it was going to be kind of fast," Uresti said. "I actually read a putt properly. I hit it perfect speed and it went right in the center, so that was a nice relief."

What he didn't know for sure was that the cut was actually 4-under, so he had a shot to spare.

And he would need that shot, after proceeding to 3-putt the 18th from 30 feet. No worries, though. Uresti's 70 left him at 4-under after three rounds of play at the BMW Charity Pro-Am, good enough to make the cut on the number and snap a streak of 2 consecutive missed cuts.

Even though his missed 5-footer for par on the 18th left him thinking he was doomed.

"Bogeying 18 was a little bit of a drag," Uresti said. "I actually thought I needed a par there to make the cut."

Luckily for Uresti, the bogey sufficed, and he moves on to Sunday.

At the turn, it didn't look like missing the cut was any concern for Uresti. The Austin, TX native hit 8 of his first 9 greens en route to a 2-under par 33. At that point, the cut was only 3-under and Uresti had two shots to spare. The way he was striking the ball, it didn't look like bogeys were in the equation.

"I hit the ball real well the first nine holes," Uresti said. "But I missed a few short putts that I should have made."

Those misses were almost costly, because then came the back nine, and Uresti's form went south in a hurry. His tee shot on the par-3 11th sailed right of the green en route to a bogey, and hooked tee shots on 12 and 14 both led to bogeys.

Suddenly, Uresti was back to 2-under par, and 2 shots back of the cut. A late rally would be in order if Uresti wanted the chance to play Sunday.

"I took a few bad swings and missed a couple putts," Uresti said. "I missed my shots in the wrong place, so it was hard to get up and down."

So rally he did. Uresti took advantage of the short back-to-back par 5 15th and 16th, two-putting from 50 feet on 15 and draining a 8-footer on 16.

Uresti's group had a 10-minute wait on the 15th tee box. The Texan was able to use the break to relax and calm his nerves, he said. Settled down, he was able to bounce back and birdie the par-5's.

Then came the tough 17th, and Uresti was up to the task. A smart 3-iron tee shot left him in the center of the green, and the putt was true.

Uresti ends the day in a tie for 53rd and will need a big day tomorrow to earn a sizable paycheck. Uresti currently stands 52nd on the Nationwide Tour money list, and the top 25 at the end of the year earn PGA Tour eligibility for next season.

Missing the cut would have sent Uresti even further behind in the chase for the top 25. But he was up to the task, and he looks to use the strong finish as a spark moving forward.

"It's a bit of a confidence boost," Uresti said. "It's always important to make the cut."