SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Rain delays, frost delays, 4:30 a.m. alarm clocks, playing as many as 30 holes in one day and 20,000 drunk, screaming and often booing fans – and that’s just at 16 – this is a week where PGA Tour pros earned their paycheck at the WM Phoenix Open. Yet the 132-man field still must be whittled down, even if the 36-hole cut day extended to nearly 2 p.m. local time on Saturday thanks to multiple suspensions of play.
When it was all said and done, 73 players moved on for 36 more holes at TPC Scottsdale and a chance to take home the trophy as champion and more than seven figures in prize money. The total purse this week is $8.8 million, with $1.584 million going to the winner.
It took a score of 2-under 140 to make all that hard work and effort pay off into a paycheck in the Valley of the Sun.
Among those to sneak through on the number included Tom Kim, who rallied to shoot 5-under 66, Garrick High (67), Adam Scott (68), Brian Harman (69), Sungjae Im (70) and Zach Johnson (70).
Two of the three Monday qualifiers made it through in Jim Knous (66, T-34) — read his story here — and former Arizona State golfer Nicolo Galetti (67, T-34) as did Bud Cauley (-5, T-23), who made his first start since the 2020 Fortinet Championship. Kevin Chappell (68) made a 12-foot birdie putt at nine, his last hole of the day, to make the cut on the number.
A birdie on 18 to make the cut on the number.@Kevin_Chappell is pumped 💪 pic.twitter.com/vHuKs38Vtf
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 10, 2024
But not everyone was so fortunate — Adam Svensson, for one, missed a birdie putt from 44 feet. Here’s a closer look at the notables who were sent packing at the WM Phoenix Open.
J.T. Poston, 1 under
Poston cooled off in the desert after starting the season with four top-20 finishes, including two top 10s. He entered the week ranked 10th in the FedEx Cup standings but shot 70-71 to miss the cut by one.
It marked the second straight year he’s missed the cut in Phoenix. Poston’s SG: Approach the Green hurt him in round 1 (-1.605) but it was his usually trusty putter that let him down in the second round (-4.765) as he was dead last in the field.
Max Homa, even par
Homa shot 73-69—142 to miss his first cut since the Travelers Championship in June, a span of 10 tournament starts.
It marked the first time in six appearances that Homa has missed the cut at the WM Phoenix Open, his hometown event.
Blame the driver. Homa hit just 10 of 28 fairways and lost more than a shot to the field off the tee this week (128th of 131). He also struggled to make birdies, recording just three in his 36 holes played.
J.B. Holmes, 4 over
Holmes won this event two of the first three times he played in it (2006, 2008) but missed the cut this week for the third straight time he’s played in it.
It also marked the eighth straight missed cut for Holmes dating back to last season. Next week’s Genesis Invitational marks five years since his last victory.
Holmes, 41, was negative strokes gained in putting and tee-to-green both rounds en route to shooting 76-70.
Gary Woodland, 4 over
Woodland, the 2018 WM Phoenix Open champ, shot 8-over 79 in the first round to seal his fate. It included a penalty stroke off the tee and three-putt snow man at the second hole. Woodland missed the cut for the third time in his last four appearances, which is a surprising dip considering he made the cut in nine of his first 11 starts here. Woodland is returning from brain surgery late last year and was making just his third start of the season. He received a sponsor’s invite into next week’s Genesis Invitational. Woodland will want to get his driver straightened out – he hit just 3 of 14 fairways in the first round and lost nearly 7 ½ strokes to the field tee to green.
Matt Kuchar, 4 over
The 15th appearance at the WM Phoenix Open for Kuchar didn’t go as well as his track record. Kuchar, who had made the cut 11 times and recorded three top-10 finishes at TPC Scottsdale, shot 75-71. It marked his third missed cut in four starts this season.
Kuchar ranked 131st out of 132 in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green (-3.786) despite hitting 11 of 14 fairways in the first round. A double-bogey at 18 in the second round, his ninth hole, sealed the deal.
Grayson Murray, 4 over
Fork down for Grayson Murray, who had a cup of coffee as a golfer at nearby Arizona State.
The winner of the Sony Open in Hawaii last month has come back to earth since his dramatic playoff win. Murray shot a pair of 71s to miss the cut. It’s his second missed cut since his win and he finished T-66 in the no-cut AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Murray’s off the tee and approach game were both off this week but it was his putter that doomed him in the second round: he lost nearly 4 strokes to the field on the green and ranked 130th of 131 players in the field, and 126th for two rounds.
He did rank third in SG: Around the Green but it wasn’t enough to save him.
Rickie Fowler, 6 over
It’s been a sluggish start to the 2024 season for Fowler. The 2019 WM Phoenix Open champ shot 73-75 and missed his second cut in four starts. His two made cuts were in limited field, no-cut events and he managed only T-56 at The Sentry and T-47 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Fowler, making his 15th career start at the WM, struggled almost across the board – his SG: Around the Green was positive and he ranked 35th – but the most glaring weakness in his game was his proximity to the hole. He ranked 130th or second-to-last in the field with an average proximity of 52 feet, 7 inches.
Brandt Snedeker, 9 over
Snedeker has struggled since returning from injury last June at the Memorial. He’s yet to record a top-25 finish in 15 starts, and missed his third cut in four starts this season.
Snedeker, who was making his 15th appearance in the WM Phoenix Open and finished second in 2013 when he shot 24 under, missed the cut for the third straight time, shooting rounds of 74-77, which included two doubles in the first round and a triple in the second. He lost more than six strokes to the field in SG: Tee to Green in the second round and tied for last place.
