ASHEVILLE — The Biltmore Championship cut fell at 3-under 139 after 36 holes Friday at The Cliffs at Walnut Cove, sending Tony Finau, Denny McCarthy, Joel Dahmen, Beau Hossler and several other PGA Tour veterans home early in a low-scoring week. Neal Shipley seized the outright lead at 15-under 127 to head into the weekend on top.
Finau, a six-time PGA Tour winner, opened with a 7-over 78 on Thursday and could not recover despite an even-par 71 in the second round to finish at 7-over 149, 10 shots outside the cut line. McCarthy followed an opening 73 with a 71 to finish at 2-over 144, five shots shy of the weekend, while Davis Thompson went 70-75 to finish at 3-over 145 and Kevin Kisner posted 74-72 to finish at 4-over 146.
The cut line was especially costly for a group finishing one stroke short at 2-under 140. Hossler and Tom Hoge both shot 70-70, Aaron Wise went 69-71 and Kevin Streelman carded 71-69 to miss by one. Christiaan Bezuidenhout fired a 4-under 67 after an opening 73 to reach 2-under, and Patrick Fishburn made an eight-shot turnaround with a 5-under 66 after an opening 74 to also finish at 2-under. Dahmen went 69-72 to finish at 1-under 141, two strokes below the cut, while Taylor Pendrith followed an opening 3-under 68 with a 2-over 73 to finish at 1-under.
Alejandro Tosti finished at 1-over 143 after rounds of 72 and 71, four shots outside the cut, a day after caddie Cliff Ellis abruptly walked off during Thursday's round in the 18th fairway and removed his bib, forcing Tosti to find help from the gallery. The incident followed Alejandro Tosti joking after his caddie quit mid-round at Biltmore. Luke List (74-69) and Davis Riley (69-74) also finished at 1-over, Max McGreevy and Luke Clanton finished at 2-over after Clanton followed an opening 69 with a 75, and Emiliano Grillo went 68-74 to finish at even-par 142.
The struggles below the line contrasted with the pace at the top. Shipley followed an opening 6-under 65 with a 9-under 62 on Friday to reach 15-under, with Ben Kohles one back at 14-under after rounds of 65 and 63. Ricky Castillo matched Shipley's 62 after an opening 69 to climb to 11-under, joined by Max Greyserman at 11-under after rounds of 64 and 67. "I had a great year last year," Shipley said. "Start of the season wasn't really what we wanted. Been kind of clawing back to get my game back where it should be. I feel like a lot of that work is finally showing. It's weird. Golf is one of those sports where you don't get instant gratification. You got to work for a long time to see results. I feel like I'm seeing kind of the fruits of that labor. And really pumped about where we are right now."