Westwood, Donald among those who missed the cut

Associated Press

SANDWICH, ENGLAND

Lee Westwood was full of bluster and confidence on the eve of the British Open. He said he had the patience to conquer Royal St. George’s and win that elusive first major.

By Friday, he was gone.

A second-round 73 sent a frustrated and irritable Westwood tumbling out of the tournament at 4 over, a stroke below the cut.

The second-ranked Englishman wasn’t the only big name out before the weekend. Top-ranked Luke Donald hit the exits, as did former winners Padraig Harrington, Ernie Els, Ben Curtis and Mark Calcavecchia.

The undulating links course in southeast England also took out No. 7-ranked Matt Kuchar and 2010 U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell.

Of the 71 players remaining, only 13 occupy positions in the world’s top 30. And two of the leftovers are amateur players — 20-year-old Englishman Tom Lewis (1 under) and 21-year-old American Peter Uihlein (2 over).

The only crumb of comfort for Donald, who bogeyed his last four holes for an uncharacteristically sloppy 75, is that he’s assured of retaining his No. 1 ranking next week.

That’s because Westwood followed him out of Sandwich.

After his bold claims on Tuesday that he would master Royal St. George’s, he sloped off with barely a whimper, refusing to talk to reporters.

Both of Westwood’s rounds were played when the course conditions were at their most benign, when the breeze of the English Channel had largely relented. No wonder he was so glum for much of his two rounds.

The same could be said for McDowell (5 over), two-time British Open winner Harrington (4 over) and Kuchar (11 over), one of 25 Americans to miss the cut.

Coming off a win at the Scottish Open last week, Donald also seemed primed to make a run at his first major victory.

Even after a first-round 71, Donald — who has been atop the rankings since the end of May — said his game was there but he missed out by two shots.

“It’s very disappointing not to be here for the weekend,” said Donald, a winner of four tournaments in 2011. “I believe in my ability but for whatever reason, it’s just not happened for the last two majors.”

He finished tied for 45th at last month’s U.S. Open at Congressional.

Els missed the cut in his first Open as an amateur in 1989, and he didn’t miss another until last year. He won the event at Muirfield in 2002, the last of his three majors.

The 41-year-old South African finished 8 over like Mark Calcavecchia, the 1989 champion who was 1 under after the first round.