SILVIS, Ill. - The home cooking didn't necessarily agree with Zach Johnson this week.

Johnson, who reached the high point of his career about three months ago when he won the Masters, reached one of the low points of his season when he missed the cut in the John Deere Classic.

Johnson, from nearby Cedar Rapids, is a member of the JDC Board of Directors and has been the poster boy for this year's tournament, one of its marquee attractions. And now he won't even be around for the last two rounds.

"Very disappointing," Johnson said after shooting an even-par 71 that left him a stroke short of the cut.

"I'm just very rusty. I took a lot of time off, which I needed. I don't regret that, and I certainly would do it again. But it's very evident that my game is rusty all around."

Johnson, the first-round leader in last year's JDC, nearly made it. He was at 3-under before taking bogeys at Nos. 11, 12 and 14.

At No. 18, he hit his second shot to within four feet of the pin and made his putt for birdie, but it wasn't enough.

"I was just trying to make birdies," he said. "That's all I was thinking about. I was trying to hit it close and make some putts."

He received a huge ovation from the fans as he walked up to the final green even though the knowledgeable fans in the crowd had to know his tournament was over.

"The crowd was awesome," Johnson said. "I could have shot 104 today. It felt like 104. I could have shot 104 today and they still would have been behind me, which is pretty special."

Meanwhile, Brock Mulder didn't quite make the cut either, but the Waterloo native pronounced his first PGA Tour appearance a success.

"It was a good experience for me," Mulder said after shooting an even-par 142 in the first two rounds of the JDC.

Mulder, 26, shot a 70 on Friday after carding a 72 in the opening round. The cut came at 2-under 140.

"I just had problems with my putter (Thursday)," he said. "I had a lot of chances to get some birdies today but I didn't take advantage."

The former Southern Methodist University golfer got into the field by shooting a 64 in a Monday last-chance qualifier at Pinnacle Country Club in Milan, Ill. He had tried twice before to get into PGA events in Monday qualifiers, at the JDC and Byron Nelson Classic in 2005.

Mulder was a regular on the Canadian Tour in 2005, but played in only three tournaments last year, missing most of the year with a back injury. He said the back is healthy now, however.

University of Northern Iowa golf coach John Bermel also played in the JDC for the 10th time - the seventh time in eight years - and missed the cut, also for the 10th time. He shot back to back rounds of 76 to miss it by 12 strokes.