AUGUSTA, Ga. —Tiger Woods can thank his pal Justin Thomas for booking his weekend plans.
Playing in cold, rainy conditions on Saturday morning after the resumption of the second round of the 87th Masters, Woods finished with back-to-back bogeys to shoot 73 and needed some help to play the final two rounds and make his 23rd consecutive cut at Augusta National Golf Club. He got it from Thomas, who made bogey at 17, to move the cutline from 2-over 146 to 3-over 147. Woods, T-49 at 3 over, tied the record for the most consecutive cuts made at the Masters, joining Fred Couples and Gary Player in the record books (since 1957 when the cut was implemented).
Thomas’s final bogey at 18, his third of his final four holes, meant he was on the wrong side of the cutline by a stroke and was sent packing for the first time in eight career starts at the Masters.
A total of 54 players from 15 different countries made the cut at Augusta National, including 1992 champion Fred Couples, who became the oldest player to make the cut at the Masters at 63 years, 6 months and five days old, or 108 days older than former record-holder Bernhard Langer, the other ageless wonder in the field, when he made the 36-hole cut in 2020.
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“He’s got enough records,” Couples said of the 65-year-old Langer. “He’ll probably make the cut next year.”
The biggest surprise on the leaderboard? Rory McIlroy, who seemed poised to give chase to the elusive career Grand Slam but didn’t put up much of a fight and headed home on Friday after posting 5-over 149. McIlroy and Thomas missed the cut in the same major championship for the first time (29th time in the same field).
Here are some of the other notables that were on the wrong side of the cutline.
Justin Thomas 70-78—148
Thomas fizzled in the cold, rainy conditions on Saturday morning, making three bogeys in his final four holes to miss the cut by one stroke.
Thomas looked to be safe to make the cut through 27 holes (-2), but when the weather worsened so did his play. He made a double bogey at 11 and a bogey at 12 to go over par and then struggled to the house. It added up to a 6-over 78. His bogey at 17 moved the cutline to +3 and saved among others his pal Tiger Woods. Needing no worse than par at 18 to make the cut himself, Thomas missed the green and left his par putt short. It marked the first time in eight Masters appearances that Thomas has missed the cut. It also ended a streak of 12 cuts made in a row dating to July — the Genesis Scottish Open was his last missed cut.
Bryson DeChambeau 74-74—148
DeChambeau earned crystal for an eagle at 15 in his first round but he left early after a pair of 74s. In his first round, DeChambeau made zero birdies. In his second, he hit just half the greens in regulation and a double bogey at No. 6 was a tough pill to swallow as his putt up the hill came all the way back to his feet. It marked the second straight year he missed the cut at the Masters.
Tom Hoge 74-74—148
Hoge, No. 26 in the world, is notable as the winner of Wednesday’s Par-3 Tournament. He made an ace and took home the crystal while keeping the streak alive that the winner on Wednesday has never gone on to win the tournament proper on Sunday.
Rory McIlroy 72-77—149
McIlroy was considered to be the pre-tournament favorite by many but it wasn’t to be the year he completes the career Grand Slam. McIlroy played a sloppy first round, carding five birdies and five bogeys in posting 72 on Thursday. Needing to go low to get back into the tournament on Friday, he shot 77, his worst score in a Masters round since 2016. It marked just the third time in 15 career starts that McIlroy has missed the cut at the Masters. For more on McIlroy’s lost week, click here.
Kevin Kisner 72-77—149
At least Kisner, who shot 5-over at Augusta National, has a short trip home to Aiken, South Carolina.
Kisner missed his fourth cut in his last five starts on the PGA Tour, with the lone payday a T-75 at the Players Championship. Kisner also missed the cut for the third time in the last four years at the Masters.
Sergio Garcia 74-77—151
Garcia, the 2017 Masters champ, has now missed the cut in four of his last five Masters since his victory.
Things were going swimmingly for Garcia in the first round as he posted 2-under 34 on his first nine, but made four bogeys on the second nine, including both of the par 5s. It added up to 74.
Needing a good second round to make the cut, Garcia didn’t make a birdie until 13 and only two in all for the day.
Bubba Watson 77-76—153
Watson, the 2012 and 2014 Masters champion, won’t be adding a third Green Jacket to his wardrobe this year. He missed the cut for just the second time in 15 appearances, the other occasion in 2017.
Watson had surgery on his knee last year to fix a torn meniscus and joined LIV Golf this season. He finally resumed full practice in December, but hasn’t found his form yet. Three double bogeys in the opening round put him behind the 8-ball and while he avoided the double boxes on the scorecard on Friday, he sprinkled six bogeys on the card to ensure he was heading home early from the Masters this time.
Bernhard Langer 75-74—149
Two-time Masters champion Bernhard Langer received a special Mercedes courtesy car to celebrate the 30th anniversary of his 1993 victory, but his 40th Masters start never got into gear.
“Putting. Yeah, I putted horrible,” Langer, 65, said, in explaining why he missed the cut for the third straight year. “I knew I had to make birdies earlier on. I made none yesterday and only two today.”
Langer was unable to add to his 27 made cuts in his career at the Masters.
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