Macclesfield golfer Jamie heads back to Europe

Macclesfield golfer, Jamie Donaldson, is heading back to Europe to begin his preparations for the Open Championship after missing the cut at the US Open last week.

He missed the weekend at Pinehurst after carding an 81 on Friday – finishing 11-over-par.

His efforts were also hit by the two-shot penalty he and playing partner Hunter Mahan incurred – after playing each other’s ball on the 18th fairway, their ninth hole of the round.

Donaldson opened with a level-par 70 at the US Open on Thursday.

But his second round – which included the penalty for playing the wrong ball – cost any chance of making the cut.

Mahan’s caddie John Wood took responsibility for the incident although Donaldson admitted he had been at fault, too.

Donaldson said: “It was one of the freak things that happen. Carelessness on both our parts, nobody’s to blame, you just check your golf ball don’t you?”

Mahan added: “It was one of those things I couldn’t explain to you.

“Off the tee it looked like that’s where my ball should have been and I couldn’t explain to you how it ended up where it did. Just got to pay more attention.

“It’s one of those fluke things. I’ve played a lot of rounds of golf now and it’s happened maybe one time before.”

A shot taken using the wrong ball does not count towards a player’s score.

When the error was noticed on the green, the duo had to return to the spot from where they had hit their second shots and drop the ball under penalty.

If they had teed off with the wrong ball on the next hole, they would have been disqualified.

Wood said: “It was 100 per cent on me.

“I was the first one to the ball. It’s a rhythm you get into as a group. And if I’m the first one there, I go to a ball, I get a yardage.

“There’s no reason for Hunter to think that I went to the wrong ball or Jamie or Mick (Donaghy, Donaldson’s caddie) to think that I went to the wrong ball. So I think it’s mostly mine.

“Off the tee it looked like Hunter’s was in the left centre and Jamie’s was on the left edge. And we got up there and they were switched and we didn’t realise it.”

Martin Kaymar was the eventual winner after leading the pack from start to finish.

His second major triumph moved the German ahead of Donaldson in the Race to Dubai standings.

Kaymar, who also won the Players Championship in May, said: “It is always special when you come to courses with big history.

“I played very solidly in the first two days and that gave me a very good foundation, but to shoot one over for the weekend is not easy.”

Although he isn’t in the field for the Irish Open this week – the tournament that gave him his first European Tour win in 2012 – Donaldson is set to play in the BMW International Open in Germany, the French Open and the Scottish Open – before teeing off at Hoylake on July 17.