• Women's Open

Hull makes cut but Wie misses out

Michelle Wie was unable to duplicate her US Open magic, missing the cut at the Women's Open just three weeks later © Getty Images

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England's Charley Hull ensured she will stick around for the weekend for the first time in three attempts at the Women's Open but Michelle Wie missed the cut on Friday.

Wie followed her opening 75 with a second-round 78 at Royal Birkdale. Having won her national championship at Pinehurst less than a month ago, the 24-year-old American has struggled this week at a venue where she finished third as a 15-year-old amateur nine years ago.

She was right on the cut line when she drove into the right rough on the 16th hole. The ball was in a thick bush, and as she approached it, Wie figured her only hope was to get relief from a plaque in the ground.

"I actually was glad there was a plaque there," she said. "And then ... it was too far away to get free relief."

She was too upset to read the plaque, and only later did she realise why it was there - and for whom.

Arnold Palmer was in the same spot 53 years ago in the 1961 Open when he took a six-iron and slashed it out of the bush and onto the green for a two-putt par on his way to a one-shot victory.

Wie listened to this tale after her 78, smiled and said, "That didn't happen for me." She took an unplayable lie.

Wie pulled her next shot into a pot bunker, did well to get out and made double bogey. She made another six on the par-five 17th when it took two big hacks to get out of the hay left of the fairway. That all but ended her hopes of making it to the weekend.

A three-putt par on the 18th gave her a 78, her highest score since the wind-swept third round at St. Andrews last summer. Just like that, Wie went from major champion to her first missed cut of the year.

"It really sucks," Wie said. "But it is good motivation to find out how I can improve. I didn't hit it well and I didn't putt well. I was always just a bit to the left or a bit to the right of where I needed to be. I was in difficult positions and always fighting for pars. Bogeys happen here but I never made the birdies I usually do."

Hull's struggles on the 18th continued - she is three over for that hole and two over for the other 34.

Also sitting on five over is American teenager Lexi Thompson, who bounced back after putting her first two balls out of bounds off the tee before a 10 at the first to play the rest of her round in one under.

Anerican Mo Martin hit a second successive 69 and leads the way on six under, three shots ahead of Spain's Beatriz Recari (67) and Ryu So-yeon (70) of South Korea.

England's Georgia Hall is the best-placed home player after hitting a 72 to move one-over in a tie for 16th place alongside defending champion Stacy Lewis.

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