Early Exit
PGA Championship 2023: 8 players with extra reason to be upset they missed the cut
David Cannon
What a difference a week makes? Jason Day was riding an emotional high last Sunday, closing out a victory at the AT&T Byron Nelson that ended a five-year winless streak and returned him to inside the top 20 in the World Ranking for the first time since 2018. After a season’s worth of improvement, the 35-year-old Aussie looked like he was ready to be a sneaky 11th-hour pick at this week’s PGA Championship.
But after passing on any practice rounds at Oak Hill to save his strength, Day shot rounds of 76-72 and missed the five-over 145 cutline by three shots.
Day wasn’t the only surprise player who’ll be missing this weekend in Rochester, N.Y. Reigning U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick missed the cut by one shot after making bogeys on the 17th and 18th holes during Friday’s second round. It’s the Englishman’s first missed cut in a major since the 2020 U.S. Open at Winged Foot.
Meanwhile, here are six other players who surprisingly won't be around for all four rounds this week.
Rickie Fowler (six-over 146)
Kevin C. Cox
There was so much optimism surrounding Fowler after he cracked the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time since January 2021. But a pair of 73s left him one shot out.
Billy Horschel (six-over 146)
The PGA Tour veteran came into the week ranked 109th in the FedEx Cup points race, meaning he has work to do to get into the top 70 and qualify for the Playoffs. He didn’t help his cause when he bogeyed his final hole to miss the cut by a shot.
Cameron Young (nine-over 149)
David Cannon
He shaved his beard this past weekend and, well, maybe that was a mistake. Adding insult to injury was the two-shot penalty he got hit with for forgetting to move back his coin on the seventh green and putting from the wrong spot.
Talor Gooch (10-over 150)
Andy Lyons
The recent two-time LIV Golf League winner started the week No. 63 in the OWGR, so he needed a solid performance to make sure he got inside the top 60 in order to secure an exemption into the U.S. Open that he is frustratingly not in at the moment. But 76-74 means he’s likely going to be missing out on playing at Los Angeles Country Club.
Sungjae Im (13-over 153)
Maybe you really can play too much golf. Or at least you couldn’t play golf tournaments in North Carolina, South Korea and New York in back-to-back-to-back weeks.
Sam Burns (14-over 154)
Tom Pennington
He’s a five-time winner on the PGA Tour, and only 26, but his major championship record remains spotty. This is his 11th career major and while it’s only his third missed cut, he still hasn’t finished better than T-20.
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