-Playing in only his second event of the year, Bob Heintz needed a nice payday in Utah to move up reasonably in the next reshuffle. It's getting to the now-or-never point for Heintz, for whom each start is a key chance to salvage the season.
The good news for Heintz? He played his best golf of the week down the stretch on Friday, making three birdies around the turn and holding on to make the cut at 3-under.
Unfortunately for Heintz, the weekend wasn't as kind. He struggled to a 71-73 finish, mired in a tie for 62nd. So in two events this year, Heintz has made both cuts - but finished outside the top 60 each time.
Better than missing the cut, sure. But not much more than that.
-Heintz' ability to make it to the weekend was more than Kevin Johnson, Jeff Gove, or Omar Uresti could say. Each posted a two-round total that came up short of the cut line, and each went about it in a different way.
Johnson played the best of the trio on opening day, posting a solid 68 that left him well within the cut line in Utah. But a Friday meltdown was in the cards for Johnson, and it came quickly.
The Clemson product got off to the start that nobody wants to see - bogey, double, par, bogey. Just like that, Johnson went from right on the cut line to four shots back. All he could manage the rest of the way was 1-under for his last 14, which left him three outside the number.
Johnson righted the ship for a few weeks - making two cuts in a row, after a frustrating swing of eight consecutive missed. Hopefully he doesn't let the Friday failure in Utah deter him for the rest of the season. There's still plenty of golf to be played for the veteran. And unlike Heintz, he has the comfort of knowing that his full status allows him to play whenever he would like.
-Jeff Gove's season has completely came apart over the late spring and early summer, and Utah seemed to represent the crescendo. After a first-day 77, Gove found himself in dead last place, needing to shoot 9-under 62 on Friday just to make the cut. A respectable Friday 70 was nowhere near enough, and Gove has now missed 7 of his last 8 cuts on the year.
Seems like a wasted season so far for the 41-year old Gove, who has made less than $16,000 in 14 events played. That's life in the minors, if you go without a top-20 finish for half the year, as Gove has.
Next week in Columbus, it is near-essential that Gove plays half-decently. His confidence can't be too high at the moment, and he needs to salvage something the rest of the season to keep his spirits alive for the future. As we all know, golf is a fragile game - and at 41 years old, Gove isn't getting any younger.
-The saddest Friday tale of them all happened to Uresti. Coming into the par-3 18th hole at 4-under on the event, Uresti could make the cut and earn a paycheck with a simple bogey. And considering the hole was a par-3, he would have no trouble playing safe and assuring a bogey.
But Uresti hit a bad shot at the wrong time, finding the hazard - which forced him to take a penalty. Just like that, the Texan missed the cut, and he found himself packing his bags in Utah - with no financial reward for his efforts.
-Maybe the grinders will see better days next week in Columbus, at the Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational. The event is played at Ohio State's Scarlet Course - one of the toughest tracks on the circuit, where the cut line never makes it too far under par.
Precision play is rewarded in Columbus, and a bushel of birdies is not necessarily needed. Maybe the experienced veterans can take comfort in that knowledge, and turn in solid weeks. They need it.
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