At the halfway stage of the 2024 Wyndham Championship, Matt Kuchar leads the way on 12-under following two outstanding rounds of 64 at Sedgefield Country Club.
There are plenty of one-time winners chasing him, as well as several golfers who are chasing their maiden PGA Tour victory. Billy Horschel, Sungjae Im, and Adam Hadwin make up the group of experienced and multiple-time winners who are still capable of reeling the American back in.
The final event in the PGA Tour’s regular season could see anything happen, especially as the Wyndham Championship has been heavily disrupted by Tropical Storm Debby and the remaining players face the possibility of a 36-hole Sunday as organizers make every effort to complete the tournament on time.
At the very start of Sunday, there were 22 players still out on the course trying to complete their second round, with the likes of Hayden Springer knowing one birdie would have been enough to see him through.
Several star names followed Springer out of the exit door, though, with the four-under cut line ensuring many playoff-bound golfers were given an extra day or two of rest. Here we take a look at the big names to miss the cut at the 2024 Wyndham Championship…
Nick Taylor (-3) 63, 74
Remarkably, the World No.44 is going home despite opening his tournament with a seven-under 63. Taylor followed that with a four-over 74, however, and ended up missing out by one stroke.
Nevertheless, the 2023 Canadian Open winner will head into the FedEx Cup playoffs in 52nd position and holding pretty strong hopes of reaching the BMW Championship with a decent week next time.
Justin Rose (-3) 70, 67
The last time we saw Rose, he was flying at The Open Championship and ended up T2. But he could not repeat that kind of form in North Carolina and carded 70, 67 to miss the cut by one stroke.
The Englishman gave it a good go during his second round, going four-under on his back nine, but he fell agonizingly short of a third-round tee time and will begin the playoffs just below Taylor.
Robert MacIntyre (-2) 68, 70
One of the most in-form players in the field this week, MacIntyre just could not get it going at Sedgefield and labored to scores of 68 and 70. A cold putter did not help matters, and neither did a wayward tee shot on his 17th hole during round two which caused him to take a drop and ultimately card a bogey.
Still, two wins in recent weeks sees the Scot head into the playoffs comfortably inside the top-30.
Jordan Spieth (-2) 67, 71
Jordan Spieth is projected to still make the FedEx Cup playoffs despite an extremely indifferent campaign where he managed just three top-10s – two of which arrived in his first three starts.
At the Wyndham Championship, Spieth shot 67 in round one before a bogey on both 16 and 17 in round two cost him playing rights at the weekend.
Shane Lowry (-2) 70, 68
Potentially a little tired from the Olympics in Paris just days earlier, Lowry opened up with two bogeys in his opening front nine before wrestling the shots back over the next nine holes. During the second round, the Irishman was just unable to find a couple more birdies during a tidy effort.
Ultimately, he will still make the playoffs and is expected to hang onto a Comcast Business Tour Top-10 position, which will earn him a few more bonus dollars.
Akshay Bhatia (-2) 69, 69
The man who currently holds position. no15 in the FedEx Cup playoffs appeared to be wrestling with his scoring powers during his stint at the Wyndham Championship, following up bogeys with birdies and vice versa.
In the end, he carded two 69s and will hope for a slight reset heading into the playoffs, given his past three results read: CUT, T64, CUT.
Nicolai Hojgaard (-1) 71, 68
Another player who could potentially use the Olympic experience as a valid excuse for his disappointing first week back on US soil, Hojgaard needed a better result to make the top-70 and will not continue on to the FedEx St Jude Championship next week.
The Ryder Cup winner’s frustrating first-round 71 was quickly erased after a scintillating start to round two which featured five birdies, only for a triple-bogey seven to proceed a bogey six on his back nine and extinguish all hopes of a playoff berth.
Will Zalatoris (E) 68, 72
Zalatoris’ form heading into the playoffs is not exactly what he’d want, with three missed cuts in a row, four missed cuts in six, and a best of T41 since The Masters.
Two so-so rounds at Sedgefield won’t have done an awful lot to make him feel better, but the American assured reporters that he is feeling back to 100% after historic injury issues and fans could see Zalatoris return to his best very soon. He is also still 45th in the standings and has a chance of making the Tour Championship if he can find something in his game quickly.