While Bryson DeChambeau is in the hunt heading to the weekend at Augusta National, a number of his fellow LIV Golf and former major champions are heading home.
Brooks Koepka had a stunning collapse with a bogey-quadruple bogey finish to go from inside the cutline to well outside, finishing at 5 over. He last missed a major cut at the 2022 British Open.
The top 50 and ties make the cut at the Masters and the line fell at 2 over, with 53 players from the field of 95 qualifying for the weekend.
Three-time Masters champion Phil Mickelson, whose game had shown signs of life recently in LIV events, made a 7 at the par-5 15th after hitting an approach into Rae’s Creek, then bogeyed 16 and 18 to shoot 74, 5 over for the tournament and three shots too many.
Sergio Garcia, the 2017 Masters champion and a winner last month at LIV Golf Hong Kong, shot 72-76 to miss the cut in his 100th major appearance. Dustin Johnson, the 2020 Masters champ, and 2022 British Open winner Cam Smith will also go home early. In all, five of the 12 LIV golfers in the field missed the cut.
Two-time Masters champion Bernhard Langer bogeyed his last hole to shoot 73 and post 3 over, one shot outside the line in his 41st and final appearance at age 67.
“Coming up 18 was mixed emotions because I was still inside the cutline,” Langer said, “and even when I made bogey, I wasn't sure I'm totally out of there or not because I actually thought 3-over would make the cut, as windy as it was today.”
Fellow former Masters champion Fred Couples, looking to extend his own record for oldest to make the cut (he played the weekend in 2023 at age 63), followed an opening 71 with a 77 to miss by two.
“I never got it close. I wasn’t off, but it was not really a good round of golf like yesterday,” said Couples, who added that he’ll be back to play next year at age 66.
One particular horror story was authored by Cameron Young, who saw a missed 10-foot par putt at the par-3 16th turn into a triple bogey, followed by bogeys at 17 and 18. He shot 79 and missed the cut by those five shots squandered over the last three holes.
On the other hand, Russell Henley rallied after an opening 79 to shoot 68—but missed the cut by one.
None of the five amateurs in the field made the cut.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka Among Major Champions to Miss Cut at Masters.
