KEY POINTS:
HOUSTON - "Houston - We have a problem!"
New Zealand golfer Michael Campbell has certainly been left searching for answers after his Masters preparations took a serious turn for the worse today.
The 2005 US Open champion had his final outing ahead of the year's first major cut short when he comfortably missed the second-round cut at the Houston Open.
Campbell posted an 80 in the opening round yesterday, his worst score since 2004, and his 75 today left him in second last position.
He held himself together well to start with today, recording 10 successive pars ahead of holing a 55 foot birdie putt at the par-four 11th.
The world number No 38 then parred the 12th and 13th holes before revealing some bad habits on the closing holes.
He double bogeyed the 14th then bogeyed the 15th and 17th holes holes ahead of a closing par.
At the par-three 14th, Campbell found a greenside bunker with his tee shot and was forced to take a penalty drop when his second shot, from 45 feet short of the flag, dramatically flew the green and went out-of-bounds.
He had to drop from the sand and got up and down for a five.
Campbell will remain in Houston this weekend to work on his game before travelling north to Augusta National on Monday to begin preparations for the season's first major.
It will be Campbell's seventh appearance at Augusta National where he has failed to make the halfway cut in his prior six showings.
- NZPA
