IN CHARLOTTE, N.C., Xander Schauffele almost kept his cut run going.

The defending winner made the cut at the PGA Championship on Friday with a score of 71, which was even par. He is now in 64 straight tournaments where he has made the cut. Since the Masters in 2022, he hasn’t made a cut.

Since Tiger Woods‘ 142-event run from 1998 to 2005, this is the best run.

Sure, it was very close. Schauffele said he knew he was “in trouble” when he went 3 over for the event early in the round. He hit the water on the par-5 seventh hole, but made a chip shot to save par. He then made birdies on two of the last seven holes to make the Quail Hollow field this weekend.

The player said, “It was hard for me.” “Some guys made it look really easy, and I thought I was going to be one of them.” I hope those were just my two bad games of golf and that I can shoot a low score this weekend.

Rory McIlroy, the Masters winner, also had a rough day. He made the cut on the number after bogeying 17 and 18.

Two of the top three golfers, Schauffele (ranked third) and Morikawa (ranked fourth), were all nine shots behind the winner after the second round.

First, McIlroy missed a short putt on the par-3 17th hole. Then, on No. 18, his drive hit the roof of a metal concession stand on the left side of the green, making things harder for himself. The ball stopped just feet from the creek, which saved him from having to drop the ball and get a penalty stroke.

There were ten of the best golfers in the world who did not make the cut. They were Justin Thomas (No. 5), Ludvig Åberg (No. 6), Hideki Matsuyama (No. 7), Russell Henley (No. 8), Sepp Straka (No. 9), and Shane Lowry (No. 10).

If Jordan Spieth had won this week, he would have completed the career Grand Slam. However, he missed the cut by one shot after shooting a 68.

There were ties, but only the top 70 players made it.

The hottest player in the game, Thomas, had finished in the top two in three of his last four events. His playoff win over Andrew Novak at Harbour Town ended a three-year drought and made him the favourite to win. He birdied three of his last four holes, though, to finish with a 72 and a score of 3 over 145.

Before the tournament, Aberg was seen as one of the favourites, but he shot 75 after starting with a 70.

Straka and Lowry both missed the cut line by one shot, shooting 73–71.

Bad luck for Lowry on the eighth hole: he tried to hit out of a pitch mark, but his ball went off to the right, and he hit his club in the ground.

He stated that the bad luck was a “kick in the teeth.”

I feel like I’ve played the last two holes beautifully and gave myself two lovely chances,” said Lowry. “And to be honest, I didn’t think I needed to make birdie in the last; I thought 2 over was probably going to be good enough.”

This was the first time Brooks Koepka missed the cut in back-to-back majors in the same year. He shot 75–76. Since winning the PGA Championship at Oak Hill in 2023, he hasn’t finished in the top ten in any major for eight straight events. This is the longest run of his career.

When Phil Mickelson shot 79 on Thursday, he was out of the game. He is 54 years old. The world has known Mickelson for a long time to have one of the best short games. But it took him four shots to get out of the sand on No. 12.