PGA Championship 2023: 5 big names who missed the cut

Scottie Scheffler, Viktor Hovland and Corey Conners head a stacked leaderboard at the halfway stage of the PGA Championship.

The trio share the lead at five-under-par, with overnight leader Bryson DeChambeau just two back in the chasing pack alongside fellow American Justin Suh.

Four-time major champions Brooks Koepka and Rory McIlroy are also both well in contention at Oak Hill.

But there was frustration for some high-profile players who did not make it through to the weekend after falling short of the +5 cut mark…

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Matt Fitzpatrick (+6)

The US Open champion relishes the challenge of the most difficult courses and was hotly tipped to contend on Sunday for his second major title.  

But he simply could not hide his frustration with a crushing bogey at the last to fall outside the cut line. 

Fitzpatrick will rue his opening 76 on Thursday, but could not take advantage of benign afternoon conditions on Friday to sneak through to the weekend.

Rickie Fowler (+6)

The Rickie resurgence came to a halt at Oak Hill. Fowler has been on an upward curve this season, rising back inside the world’s top 50 with a T14 finish at the Wells Fargo earlier this month. 

Granted, this is still not the same enthralling Fowler who made history with top five finishes in all four majors nine years ago, but he looked like he was trending towards another strong week in Rochester. 

Instead, the 34-year-old carded back-to-back 73s to miss the cut by one.

Talor Gooch (+10)

Talor Gooch has won back-to-back LIV Golf titles in Australia and Singapore this season but he missed out on the chance to qualify for the US Open at Oak Hill. 

Gooch was at the centre of controversy when he accused the USGA of “retroactively” changing the goalposts to make him ineligible for the third major of the year at the Los Angeles Country Club.

And rounds of 74 and 76 meant he did not make it to the weekend, or secure the world ranking boost he needed to help him qualify for his national championship in June.

Jason Day (+8)

Expectations for Jason Day to win at Oak Hill faded as soon as he revealed he would not even be looking at the course before Thursday’s first round.

Day chose to focus on his mental recovery rather than scouting out the brutal setup in Rochester in the immediate aftermath of his emotionally exhausting win at the AT&T Bryon Nelson.

His six-over 76 unsurprisingly did the damage in round one, and he could not recover despite battling away valiantly on Friday.

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Robert MacIntyre (+12)

The only Scotsman in the 156-man field did not make the weekend at Oak Hill.

MacIntyre, desperate to boost his chances of making Luke Donald’s Ryder Cup team in September, fell well short of the cut line as he finished on a highly disappointing +12 to miss his first ever cut in his 10th major.

Ben Parsons joined bunkered as a Content Producer in 2023 and is the man to come to for all of the latest news, across both the professional and amateur games. Formerly of The Mirror and Press Association, he is a member at Halifax Golf Club and is a long-suffering fan of both Manchester United and the Wales rugby team.