The drama of the cut line took center stage Friday at the The Players Championship as two of the biggest stars in golf – Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler – fought to keep their tournaments alive at TPC Sawgrass.
Both players entered the second round hovering dangerously close to the cut line. At several points during the day, it appeared possible that the world’s No. 1 player and one of the sport’s biggest global stars could both miss the weekend at the PGA Tour’s flagship event.
Instead, both narrowly avoided elimination. McIlroy and Scheffler each finished 1-over par through 36 holes, which was one shot inside the projected cut line, allowing them to continue into the weekend rounds tied at 51st.
“Honestly, I don’t think this is a course that really necessarily fully fits anyone’s game,” Sahith Theegala said after shooting 3-under Friday to advance to the weekend (T23). “It’s such a volatile golf course, which I love. I’m always a proponent of chaos. Not silly chaos, but good shots are really rewarded here and bad shots are really punished here. …
“There’s a bunch of birdie opportunities out here, which is also nice, but it’s just, there’s a double bogey waiting on every hole. So the winning score never gets too low, which I love that, starting the week knowing that you don’t need to shoot 27-under. I’m sure 20-under has won here a few times, but I feel like the typical winning score is somewhere around 15.”
McIlroy Closes With Birdie to Make Cut
McIlroy’s Friday round was a tense battle against the cut number from start to finish. The Northern Irish star entered the day needing a steady round but struggled to find momentum on the greens.
Despite hitting the ball well off the tee and through the fairways, McIlroy couldn’t get his putter going for much of the day. At one point, he hadn’t made a putt longer than five feet, leaving several scoring opportunities unrealized.
Everything came down to the par-5 ninth hole, his final hole of the round. McIlroy rolled in a birdie after two-putting from roughly 31 feet, giving him the cushion he needed to make the cut.
“It would have sucked to be going home this afternoon,” McIlroy said. “So to hang around and hopefully play two more days, that’s a win.”
Scheffler Navigates Late Trouble
Scheffler’s path to the weekend was equally dramatic but unfolded in a different way.
The reigning world No. 1 appeared comfortably inside the cut line for most of the round, sitting at even par through 13 holes. However, a pair of late bogeys on the 14th and 16th holes suddenly dropped him right onto the projected cut number.
With pressure mounting, Scheffler delivered two clutch closing holes. He safely navigated the famous island green on the par-3 17th, then hit a precise approach into the 18th green and converted the putt for birdie.
Although he didn’t speak to reporters afterward, Scheffler showed visible frustration during stretches of the round as he battled inconsistent play.
McIlroy Still Working Through Back Issues
McIlroy’s performance came amid lingering concerns about his health.
Earlier in the week, the four-time major champion was still recovering from back spasms that forced him to withdraw before the third round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
The injury limited his preparation significantly. McIlroy didn’t arrive at TPC Sawgrass until Wednesday afternoon and only hit a small number of practice balls before the tournament began, never hitting anything longer than a 6-iron during his warm-up sessions.
Despite those limitations, his long game remained surprisingly strong. Through two rounds, McIlroy ranked among the tournament leaders in driving distance and inside the top 25 in strokes gained off the tee.
The bigger issue has been around the greens. Chipping problems surfaced during Thursday’s opening round, while putting struggles plagued his second round.
“I felt like I played well enough today to be up the leaderboard,” McIlroy said. “I just couldn’t get a putt to drop.”
Notable Players Who Missed the Cut
Ben Griffin led the group of high-profile players missing the weekend. Griffin began Friday at 2-under par but struggled badly during the second round, carding a 78 to fall to 4-over for the tournament.
Jake Knapp finished at 3-over, while Shane Lowry ended the week at 5-over. Joel Dahmen also missed the cut after finishing 6-over.
One of the toughest days belonged to Tom Hoge. Hoge shot 80 on Friday, including a 9 on the par-4 seventh hole. The sequence included a tee shot into the water, a topped follow-up shot, and a shanked fourth shot before he eventually recorded a quintuple bogey.
Here are the remaining golfers who missed the cut and their final scores, per PGA Tour:
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David Ford — +3
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Brian Campbell — +3
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Mac Meissner — +3
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Rasmus Højgaard — +3
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Jhonattan Vegas — +3
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Adam Schenk — +3
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Matt McCarty — +3
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Lucas Glover — +3
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Jake Knapp — +3
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Sungjae Im — +3
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Erik van Rooyen — +4
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Harry Hall — +4
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Ben Griffin — +4
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Davis Thompson — +4
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Aaron Rai — +4
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Gary Woodland — +4
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Johnny Keefer — +4
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Haotong Li — +4
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Kurt Kitayama — +5
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Shane Lowry — +5
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Matthieu Pavon — +5
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S.H. Kim — +5
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Thorbjørn Olesen — +5
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Vince Whaley — +5
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Joel Dahmen — +6
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Andrew Novak — +6
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Mark Hubbard — +6
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Christiaan Bezuidenhout — +6
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Cam Davis — +6
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Harris English — +6
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Zecheng Dou — +6
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Denny McCarthy — +7
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Marco Penge — +7
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Mackenzie Hughes — +7
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Aldrich Potgieter — +7
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Karl Vilips — +8
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Garrick Higgo — +8
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Sami Valimaki — +8
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Patton Kizzire — +8
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Jordan Smith — +8
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Tom Hoge — +9
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A.J. Ewart — +9
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Max Greyserman — +9
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Michael Kim — +10
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Pierceson Coody — +14
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Chandler Phillips — +14
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Kevin Yu — +14
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Emiliano Grillo — +17
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Davis Riley — +19
(Collin Morikawa withdrew earlier in the tournament with a back injury.)
The Players Championship Cut Line: Who Made and Missed the Weekend