LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A historically low cut line has led to early exits from some big names in the PGA Championship.
Jon Rahm’s streak of 18 consecutive cuts in the majors ended when he posted a 1-over 72 during the second round at soggy Valhalla on Friday, which left him tied, one shot outside the projected cutoff line of 1 penny, which is the lowest. never seen before at the PGA and it is only the third time in the history of major championships that the cup was in red numbers.
Rahm hadn’t missed a weekend at a major tournament since the 2019 PGA. In between, he won two – the 2021 US Open and the 2023 Masters – while establishing himself as one of the best players of the world.
Not so much in 2024. He finished a distant 45th at Augusta National, while failing to break par in any round.
Ludvig Åberg, who briefly tied with world number one Scottie Scheffler on Sunday at the Masters before Scheffler withdrew, wasn’t as sharp after swapping Georgia pines for Kentucky Bluegrass. Åberg was tied after two rounds, his chance to play likely canceled by a double-bogey at the par-4 12th.
Reigning US Open champion Wyndham Clark (4 over) and two-time PGA winner Phil Mickelson (4 over) also left Valhalla early. Tiger Woods too.
Michael Block, who put together a captivating underdog story by finishing 15th last year at Oak Hill, couldn’t muster the same magic this time around after a 2-over 73 pushed him to 7 for the tournament and a return trip to Arroyo. Trabuco Golf Club, where he is the head pro.
A few of the club’s 21 pros in the field will likely remain: Jeremy Wells (2 under) and Braden Shattuck (1 under) are stuck and Kyle Mendoza (even) has a shot with three holes to play early Saturday morning after the second tower was suspended by darkness.
Shattuck was sweating in the final holes. He made a 35-foot birdie on No. 8 (his 17th of the day), then made a nervous par putt on No. 9 to get back to 1 under.
“The cut was the size of a thimble on that last 4 feet,” said Shattuck, whose career nearly ended after a serious car accident in 2019. “But luckily, it found its way to the medium.”
This could be a bit of a long night for Shattuck and everyone else at 1-under. There is a small chance the reduction will reach 2 under based on the results when players return to the course early Saturday to complete their second round.
Louisville native Justin Thomas relied on the advice of his friend Keegan Bradley to help him get through two emotional rounds and reach the weekend in fine form at 6 under, six behind leader Xander Schauffele.
Thomas, a two-time PGA champion, knew this week could be tough, with plenty of time constraints. He asked Bradley, a New England native, how he handled the 2022 U.S. Open at the Country Club, just outside Boston.
Bradley, the 2011 PGA winner, surprisingly suggested Thomas try to relax and soak in a unique moment in his career.
“I feel like (it) is a little bit opposite of what you hear from some people,” Thomas said.
That’s what Thomas did, and it might have helped as he posted a relatively stress-free 4-under 67 on Friday.
“I feel like I’ve never had so many people supporting me,” Thomas said. “So I’m going to take full advantage of it, because it’s been fun.”
Sebastian Soderberg headed into the weekend after shooting a 4-under 67 that brought him to 2 under for the tournament, firmly inside the cut line.
The highlight of the Swede’s round came at the 169-yard par-3 eighth when his tee shot hit a little right of the hole, bounced several times then dropped for a hole-in-one.
The shot was the 49th ace in 106 editions of the PGA and the fourth in four visits to Valhalla.
Min Woo Lee’s 5-under 66 moved him to 4 under for the tournament. And he didn’t really need his putter to cooperate much to help him.
Lee birdied three times from the green, scoring twice and draining a shot from 35 yards on the par-4 16th.
“Those weren’t easy times,” Lee, 25, said. “Sixteen years was pretty special. It was deep, in the grain, and I was just trying to put it on the green, and it ended up going in. It was just one of those days where it kind of worked out my way. Yeah, they just fell.
Robert MacIntyre’s 2-under 71 included par from the deck of a hospitality stand at No. 7.
MacIntyre’s third second shot on the 589-yard, par-5 course sailed well to the right of the fairway and landed in occasional water. A lengthy delay of more than 20 minutes ensued while one official and then another conferred on where MacIntyre could take his place.
He opted for the deck of a hospitality tent. He landed just short of the green, and he went up and down for a five. The downtime may have affected MacIntyre’s finishing. He made bogey in his last two holes and is at 7 under after two rounds.
“It took longer than it needed to and I just lost all momentum,” he said. “I hadn’t swung a golf club in 25 minutes. Probably two bad swings, worst shot I hit all week on the par 3 eighth. Guess we’ll move on.
