12 surprising players to miss the PGA Championship cut at Valhalla
Jon Rahm, Tiger Woods and Wyndham Clark are all heading home early from the PGA Championship.
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With soft conditions and constant rain for much of the day Friday, Valhalla hasn’t exactly challenged the world’s best players at this year’s PGA Championship.
While Xander Schauffele leads the way at 12 under par with Collin Morikawa following just a shot behind, on the other side of the leaderboard, the cut fell historically low.
Because of the delay early Friday morning, 17 players needed to finish the second round before it was completed just before 10:40 a.m. Saturday morning. The cut fell at one under, the lowest cut in relation to par in PGA Championship history and just the third major to have a cutline under par.
Tommy Fleetwood (who eagled his final hole), Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler all snuck in to play the weekend. Even PGA club pros like Jeremy Wells and Braden Shattuck earned a weekend time.
But some of the game’s biggest stars weren’t as lucky. Keep reading below for a list of the most surprising players who failed to make the PGA Championship cut.
12 Surprising players to miss the PGA Championship cut
Jon Rahm
What he shot: 70-72 (E)
Why it’s surprising: Rahm hasn’t missed a cut since the 2019 PGA Championship. Back then, Rahm was a talented youngster, but he wasn’t even in the top 10 in the world that week. He wasn’t the all-powerful, favorite-every-time-he-tees-it-up, two-time major-winning Jon Rahm yet. Until this week, Rahm’s 18 consecutive cuts made in majors was the longest active streak. Rahm hasn’t won on LIV Golf yet, but he hasn’t been playing poorly either, only finishing outside the top 10 once, which makes his MC so much more surprising.
Matt Fitzpatrick
What he shot: 69-73 (E)
Why it’s surprising: Fitzpatrick hasn’t exactly had his best year on the PGA Tour, recording just two top 10s in 13 starts. That said, the World No. 14 has been a mainstay in major championship conversation since breaking through at the 2022 U.S. Open.
Ludvig Aberg
What he shot: 72-70 (E)
Why it’s surprising: Aberg has taken the PGA Tour by storm since becoming the first player to earn his card through the PGA Tour U program, getting his first win in November. The World No. 6 has five top-10s in 2024, including a runner-up at the Masters, his first career major. His second major ends with his first major missed cut.
Akshay Bhatia
What he shot: 73-70 (+1)
Why it’s surprising: Bhatia has become somewhat of a fan favorite after nabbing his first two wins over the past year, including winning the week before the Masters to earn a spot at Augusta. Like Aberg, Bhatia’s first major missed cut comes in his second major appearance.
Sungjae Im
What he shot: 73-72 (+3)
Why it’s surprising: Im has become a stalwart on the PGA Tour over the last half-decade, racking up top-10s and playing more rounds than anyone, but it just hasn’t translated to major success. Aside from a T2 at the 2021 Masters, Im has nine missed cuts in the majors, including two this year.
Sam Burns
What he shot: 72-73 (+3)
Why it’s surprising: Like his good friend Scottie Scheffler, Sam Burns was also playing his first major as a father. Unlike Scottie Scheffler, Burns will be heading home to his growing family this weekend. The World No. 27 hasn’t had a top 10 since February.
Adam Scott
What he shot: 72-73 (+3)
Why it’s surprising: Scott has missed the cut in exactly one major in every season (except 2020) since 2016. He never really looked like he brought his “A” game to Valhalla, failing to make a single birdie in the opening round.
Wyndham Clark
What he shot: 71-75 (+4)
Why it’s surprising: It wasn’t long ago, after a win at Pebble Beach and back-to-back runner-ups to Scottie Scheffler, that Clark was making a case to be the No. 2 golfer in the world behind Scheffler. However, he also missed the cut at the Masters.
Phil Mickelson
What he shot: 74-72 (+4)
Why it’s surprising: Mickelson hasn’t played the weekend at the PGA since his triumph at Kiawah Island three years ago. He had a sixth- place finish at LIV Jeddah in March, but hasn’t had a top 20 since. He was T43 at the Masters.
Chris Kirk
What he shot: 73-74 (+5)
Why it’s surprising: Kirk won the season-opening tournament at Kapalua against a stacked field, but hasn’t really contended since. The World No. 25 recorded a top 10 last month at Harbour Town, but this is just his second missed cut of the season.
Tiger Woods
What he shot: 72-77 (+7)
Why it’s surprising: Despite only playing a handful of times and WDing three times since his February 2021 car crash, Tiger Woods has still only missed the cut once in his seven previous official PGA Tour starts since 2022. He was off to solid start in Round 1, one under through 16 holes, before back-to-back three-putts and two triples in four holes to start his Friday sent him spiraling down the leaderboard.
Michael Block
What he shot: 76-73 (+7)
Why it’s surprising: Block was the cult hero of last year’s PGA at Oak Hill, making a hole-in-one on 15 on his way to a T15 finish — the best by a club pro since 1986 — to earn an invite back to Valhalla. He then tied the Valhalla course record in a practice round last year. Sadly, though, Block goes home early and loses his record in the same week.
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