Soft and calm conditions have engulfed Valhalla Golf Club this week for the 2024 PGA Championship. Players are taking it low as the golf course presents little obstacles and the receptive nature of the putting surfaces is ripe for pinpoint iron shots and subsequent birdies.
While some like Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa and Scottie Scheffler have thrived across the first two days, others were not as sharp. In a surprising twist, the three most recent U.S. Open champions -- Wyndham Clark, Matt Fitzpatrick and Jon Rahm -- all fell on the wrong side of the 1-under cutline established Friday evening.
Rahm was the closest of the bunch to punch his weekend ticket as he posted a two-round total of even-par 142. The two-time major champion struggled early in his tournament playing his first six holes in 4 over but battled back nicely to post a 1-under round on Thursday. All that hard work was for not as sloppiness in his game was too much to overcome and marks Rahm's first weekend omission in a major since the 2019 PGA Championship.
His European Ryder Cup teammate, Fitzpatrick, endured a similar fate as the Englishman clawed past the cutline midway through his second round. After a poor start, Fitzpatrick rattled off three birdies in a four-hole stretch and looked keen on playing the weekend. Unfortunately, two bogeys in his last six holes were enough to send him packing.
Clark struggled to cross the finish line as well. The reigning U.S. Open champion stood at even par with four holes remaining only to play them bogey-double bogey-bogey-par and shoot a 36-hole total of 4-over 146. After a fast start to his season including a win at Pebble Beach, Clark has now missed the cut in the first two major championships.
Tiger Woods will not be around for the weekend as well following the fate of his 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla. The 15-time major champion was solid for most of his opening round, but two late bogeys turned an under-par round into an over-par effort, and he never recovered. The mistakes leaked into Friday and Woods saw his name drift to 8 over for the tournament when he played the first four holes of Valhalla in 7 over with two triple bogeys. Tiger was unable to recover from there.
Here's a look at the other notables who missed the cut this week at the 2024 PGA Championship.
Notable players to miss the cut
| Player | Score |
|---|---|
Jon Rahm | E |
Matt Fitzpatrick | E |
| Ludvig Åberg | E |
Sungjae Im | +3 |
Sam Burns | +3 |
| Adam Scott | +3 |
Phil Mickelson | +4 |
| Wyndham Clark | +4 |
| Tiger Woods | +7 |
