Cory Johnston first man outside the cut

The Day 2 Top 35 cut may have been the cruelest cut of all. In 36th place, with two ounces less than 35th place Seth Feider, was Cory Johnston. He made a heroic jump from 60th place on Day 1, weighing 21 pounds, 7 ounces Friday.

It’s all about “ifs” for Johnston. Despite a blown engine and a malfunctioning trolling motor on a borrowed boat Thursday, he would be in 9th place in this tournament with 43-12…IF he hadn’t been looking at his borrowed boat graphs, which hadn’t been reset to Daylight Savings Time.

Instead of making his check-in time plenty early, he arrived seven minutes late, resulting in a seven-pound penalty. This one is going to hurt for awhile. Johnston entered this event third in Toyota Angler of the Year standings, only 12 points out of first place. He can take some consolation in salvaging as many points as he did with his 36th-place finish.