FORT WORTH, Texas — Even with a PGA Championship in Western New York inconveniently interrupting a pair of PGA Tour events in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, the field at the 2023 Charles Schwab Challenge was strong with 11 of the world’s top 30 players making the trek.
But the cream didn’t necessarily rise to the top as many of the most highly ranked players at Colonial Country Club either failed to make the weekend or found themselves flirting with the cutline at the conclusion of play on Friday. Local favorite and former champ Jordan Spieth, who had never missed the cut in 10 previous starts, was among those who finished on the wrong side.
Here’s a look at some of the biggest stars who missed the cut, which settled in at 1-over 141 through two rounds of play. The cut at the Charles Schwab Challenge is the top 65 and ties.
Tony Finau, 2 over
If not for the first two holes and the last three holes, Finau would be thinking about how he could get into position to win at Colonial, but those bookends proved enough to send the 6-time PGA Tour champ home on Friday.
Finau opened with a bogey and then a double on Thursday, then closed with bogeys on two of the final three holes on Friday.
What failed? He was 118th in Strokes Gained: Putting over the two days.
Sungjae Im, 2 over
How quickly this game turns, right?
Im headed to the PGA Championship as one of the circuit’s hottest players following three consecutive top-10 finishes (RBC Heritage, Zurich and Wells Fargo), but his game has spiraled down after posting an opening-day 80 at Oak Hill.
On Friday, Im was steady if unspectacular, finishing with an even-par 70, but his failure to get up and down from the 8th hole (the penultimate hole of his round) proved costly as he bogeyed and missed the cut by a single stroke.
Ryan Palmer, 2 over
For Palmer, who is a member at Colonial and has finished in the top 25 on a half-dozen occasions at the Charles Schwab Challenge, missing this cut is an excruciating experience.
The local legend, who lives in nearby Colleyville, didn’t post a single birdie on Thursday and couldn’t make many on Friday, either, as he made the turn at a 1-over 36.
Cam Davis, 2 over
After a bogey-free opening round, things fell apart quickly for the Aussie on Friday.
Davis still had a chance to make a run at the weekend on his final hole of the day, but posted a double bogey and then promptly tossed his ball in the lake behind the final green.
Tommy Fleetwood, 2 over
Fleetwood opened the day with a birdie and then couldn’t find another one the rest of the way, falling on the wrong side of the cutline thanks to a double on No. 9. Fleetwood needed a birdie on 18, but pushed his drive right and couldn’t reach the dance floor with his approach, falling into a greenside bunker.
The early exit ended a string of nine straight cuts made for Fleetwood.
Jordan Spieth, 4 over
While Palmer has been a favorite with club members, Spieth has been the player the people have come out to see. The 2016 champ, Spieth nearly added a second title in 2021 when he battled Jason Kokrak down the stretch before finishing second.
But this week, after explaining how he injured his wrist while playing with his son, Spieth never really got into a groove. He was still flirting with the cutline on the back nine but made consecutive bogeys on Nos. 15 and 16 to seal his fate.
Michael Block, 15 over
This was not the encore performance Block was hoping for. After capturing the crowd’s favor at Oak Hill for the PGA Championship, Block struggled, following up an opening-round 81 with a better-but-not-good-enough 74.
Block said on Friday that he was humbled by the support he received from a large crowd at the PGA Tour event this week. He’s heading back home now to California, giving himself a chance to unpack all the emotions for a two-week stretch that saw him on an ESPN featured group and making appearances on numerous networks.
