PONTE VEDRA BEACH —The cutline at the Players Championship was cruel to some of the game’s biggest stars, a reminder that there are no guarantees of a paycheck at the highest levels.
Rory McIlroy, who has been an advocate of reduced field, no-cut designated events beginning in 2024, finished his second round on Saturday morning but will have the rest of the weekend off.
Play was suspended on Friday afternoon due to inclement weather, and on Saturday morning the course played easier as the wind laid down and the greens softened. It made scoring easier but not enough to hold the cutline at 1 over. It moved back to 2-over 146 and allowed 75 players in the 144-man field to continue in the trophy hunt. That included Shane Lowry, Tom Kim, Justin Thomas and 56-year-old PGA Tour Champions regular Jerry Kelly, who became the oldest player to make the cut.
It also marks the end of Jon Rahm’s Tour-best streak of 25 straight made cuts. He withdrew from the tournament before the second round with a stomach ailment, snapping his streak. The new leader for most cuts made in a row is Xander Schauffele, who extended his streak to 18 this week.
Here are some of the other big names who left town empty-handed.
