8 surprising players who missed the cut at the PGA Championship

The PGA Championship has reached its halfway point, but for many in the field, their week is over. After play ended on Friday at Oak Hill, the field was trimmed to the top 70 players (including ties) at five over par.

What started as one of the strongest fields in golf is now devoid of some of the biggest names in the game. While there are many stars near the top of the leaderboard — led by Scottie Scheffler, Viktor Hovland and Corey Conners — others did not play their best, ending their week prematurely.

Here are eight surprising players who missed the cut at the 2023 PGA Championship.

Notables who missed the cut at Oak Hill

Sam Burns

What he shot: 74-80 (+14)

What went wrong: Burns held it together on Thursday, firing a 74 in difficult conditions, but Friday was an unmitigated disaster. The 14th-ranked player in the world couldn’t break 80 in Round 2 as he made two triples, a double and four bogeys to tumble down the leaderboard and miss the cut at the PGA Championship for the first time in his career.

Sungjae Im

What he shot: 80-73 (+13)

What went wrong: Im could not get anything going Thursday as he failed to card a birdie and posted a 10-over 80 in Round 1. He bounced back with a 73 on Friday, but after his showing the day prior, he had little hope of making the weekend.

Talor Gooch

What he shot: 76-74 (+10)

What went wrong: Gooch could just never get it going this week. Although he made just one big number, the bogeys added up and kept him from posting a solid score. After a stretch of dominance on the LIV Golf circuit, expectations were elevated coming into the year’s second major. But after two lackluster rounds at Oak Hill, he’s headed home early.

Cameron Young

What he shot: 74-75 (+9)

What went wrong: Young just could not buy a putt at Oak Hill. While his ball-striking was in fine form, he ranked last in the field in SG: Putting. After a T3 finish at last year’s PGA, Young entered this week as a trendy pick. But it’s hard to compete when you can’t find the bottom of the cup.

Gary Woodland

What he shot: 73-75 (+8)

What went wrong: It was a tough week for the former U.S. Open champion. He could muster only three birdies in two days as he was just a tick off in all aspects of his game. He finished in the negative in three of the four main strokes gained categories, according to Data Golf, which is no way to contend at a major.

Matthew Fitzpatrick

What he shot: 76-70 (+6)

What went wrong: The defending U.S. Open champ struggled with a 76 in Round 1, but on Friday he bounced back to play himself inside the cut line. Unfortunately, an untimely three-putt on his final hole dropped him one shot outside the number.

Rickie Fowler

What he shot: 73-73 (+6)

What went wrong: It wasn’t a terrible week for Fowler, but he couldn’t hole enough birdies to keep himself on the right side of the cut line. He had just three circles on the scorecard over 36 holes, causing him to miss the cut at the PGA for the first time since 2020.

Zephyr Melton

Golf.com Editor

Zephyr Melton is an assistant editor for GOLF.com where he spends his days blogging, producing and editing. Prior to joining the team at GOLF, he attended the University of Texas followed by stops with the Texas Golf Association, Team USA, the Green Bay Packers and the PGA Tour. He assists on all things instruction and covers amateur and women’s golf. He can be reached at zephyr_melton@golf.com.