McKINNEY, Texas — While a number of players had their way with TPC Craig Ranch during the opening two rounds of the 2022 AT&T Byron Nelson — for example, Sebastian Munoz shot a 60 on Thursday yet by the time he teed off on Friday, he’d fallen into fourth place — a few struggled with the Tom Weiskopf design.
Young guns Sam Burns and Will Zalatoris were both among the betting favorites for this week’s event, but neither made it through to Saturday. Xander Schauffele needed a magnificent run on Friday, going 8 under over his final 13 holes to squeak into the weekend field.
Here’s an interesting stat — the 5-under cutline isn’t the lowest in the two years the tournament has been played at its current venue. Last year’s cut was 6 under, which was one stroke off the lowest cutline in PGA Tour history, which came at the 2020 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.
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Here’s a look at a few of the big names who won’t be continuing on:
Justin Leonard plays his shot from the fifth tee during the first round of the AT&T Byron Nelson at TPC Craig Ranch on May 12, 2022, in McKinney, Texas. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
OK, this one’s not a shock, simply because it marked his first start on the PGA Tour since the 2017 Valero Texas Open. Leonard was 2 under at the turn on Thursday, but things fell apart from there.
Lee Westwood of England hits a tee shot on the first hole during the first round of the Valero Texas Open golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports
With the PGA Championship and the LIV Golf debut on the horizon, Westwood had a stretch of six holes where he dropped three shots on Thursday and never really recovered.
Matthew Wolff chips from the sand on the ninth hole during the third round of the Wells Fargo Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports
Wolff has alternated missed and made cuts in his last eight starts and since he finished T-25 at Wells Fargo last week, this was almost predetermined. After a 74 on Thursday, Wolff had little chance to get in under the cutline and then shot an even 72 on Friday.
- Caddie Duane Bock and Kevin Kisner stand on the 14th tee box during the first round of the AT&T Byron Nelson golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-USA TODAY Sports
Kevin Kisner will tell you he’s not one to play well on long, booming golf courses. This simply never lined up for Kisner, but he likely only came to Dallas to prepare for next week’s PGA Championship. Don’t think Kisner is down on the DFW area, though, as he’s had strong showings at Colonial Country Club, home of the Charles Schwab Challenge in two weeks, including a victory in 2017.
Talor Gooch plays a shot on the 12th hole during the first round of the AT&T Byron Nelson at TPC Craig Ranch on May 12, 2022 in McKinney, Texas. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
Outside of a few loose rounds (a 78 at the Players and a 77 at the Genesis) Gooch has been a machine this year, posting 11 top-25 finishes. A 38 on the back Thursday sunk Gooch, who rebounded with a solid 68. He still could be a force to be reckoned with next week in his home state of Oklahoma.
May 12, 2022; McKinney, Texas, USA; Sam Burns plays his shot from the second tee during the first round of the AT&T Byron Nelson golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-USA TODAY Sports
The world No. 10 had a rough back on Thursday, finishing with a 39 while others were going low. One of the betting favorites, Burns entered the week second in the FedEx Cup standings, but just missed making the cut.
Bubba Watson plays his shot from the fifth tee during the first round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans golf tournament. (Photo: Andrew Wevers-USA TODAY Sports)
Watson was a victim of low scores, he didn’t do anything horrible this week, just didn’t make enough birdies to get to the weekend. Watson shot an unspectacular, but clean 71 on Thursday and then followed with a 70 on Friday.
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