Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth miss cut at 2024 Masters. Tiger Woods advances
Multiple past champions — including Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth — missed the cut Friday in the 88th Masters.
The list of players who will not play the weekend in the year’s first major championship also includes U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark, Viktor Hovland and Justin Thomas.
In addition, players who flirted with the cutline but survived to play the final 36 holes included Rory McIlroy, the world’s No. 2 player; defending champion Jon Rahm; and 2021 champion Hideki Matsuyma.
Meanwhile, five-time champion Tiger Woods established the tournament record by making the cut for the 24th straight time. He shot 73-72—145. He had shared the previous standard with Gary Player and Fred Couples.
Johnson, who set the tournament record at 20-under-par 268 in 2020, struggled in Friday’s windy conditions. He tied for 85th in the 89-player field with rounds of 78 and 79 for 13-over-par 157.
Resuming play in the storm-delayed first round Friday morning, Johnson posted a bogey and two double-bogeys over his final five holes. Starting the second round almost immediately, he struggled to a 4-over 40 on the front nine and made only one birdie in his 36 holes.
The cut for the top 50 and ties moved upward all afternoon and finally settled at 6-over-par 150, three strokes higher than 147 a year ago.
Spieth, the 2015 champion who owns a stellar Masters record, struggled to complete his first round Friday morning, posting a 7-over 79 that included a quadruple bogey 9 on the par-5 15th hole. He had a 74 in the second round for 9-over 153.
Other notables who will miss the weekend include Open champion Brian Harman (9-over 153), two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson (10-over 154), former champion Sergio Garcia and Sam Burns (9-over 153), the world’s No. 22 player.
The record for the lowest cut came in 2020, the tournament played in November due to the COVID outbreak, at even-par 144. The highest is 10-over-par 154 in 1982.
SAME TIGER
Tiger Woods never concedes until the final putt drops, and his reaction to setting the record Friday for making consecutive cuts in the Masters was not a surprise.
Making the cut “means I have a chance going into the weekend,” he said. “I’m here. I have a chance to win the tournament.”
Woods finished his first round Friday morning, playing the final five holes to post a 1-over 73. He started his second round almost immediately and finished with an even par 72. At 145, he is seven shots off the lead.
“I’m right there; I’m only eight back right now,” he said after finishing his round with most of the leaders still on the front nine and his deficit would shrink by one stroke. “I don’t think anyone is going to run off and hide right now, but it’s really bunched.”
Indeed, Scottie Scheffler, Max Homa and Bryson DeChambeau head into the weekend sharing the lead at 6-under-par 138.
His play Friday required “to get up and down a few times, and I was able to do that,” Woods said. “A lot of those chip shots I was able to get up and down because I left it in the perfect spot. That’s understanding how to play the golf course.”
Woods, now 48 and with a history of injuries and surgeries, had played only 23 competitive holes since last year’s Masters.
“I just need to get some food and some caffeine,” he said, “and I’ll be good to go (Saturday).”
CHAMPION BATTLES
Defending champion Jon Rahm struggled all afternoon with the winds, but he made a couple of late birdies to advance to the weekend. After an opening 73, he posted a 4-over 76 Friday for a 149 total.
“It’s a very bad day not to be comfortable with the swing, that’s for sure,” he said. “Just fighting it all day. Never comfortable.
“I didn’t give myself a lot of chances, and it was a last-ditch effort at the end to try and make the cut. Luckily, I was successful in doing so.”
Rahm birdied the par-5 15th, then made a long putt on the par-3 16th to knock another shot off par. That enabled him to survive a three-putt bogey on 17.
“I’ve got a lot of work to do (Saturday) if I want to have a chance Sunday,” he said. “It’s not easy out there. A couple of times, I questioned myself on why we were out there, especially when I got to 18 and saw the whole front of the green just full of sand (blown from bunkers).
“I imagine they were very close to calling it a few times, especially when we were on the 11 green and getting massive gusts every couple of minutes. ... It’s about as hard a golf course that I’ve seen in a very long time.”
Who’s winning the Masters?
Max Homa (-6)
Bryson DeChambeau (-6)
Scottie Scheffler (-6)
Nicolai Hojgaard (-4)
Cameron Davis (-3)
Collin Morikawa (-3)
Masters TV, stream, live coverage
Third round, Saturday, April 13 ... 3-7 p.m. (CBS)
Fourth round, Sunday, April 14 ... 2-7 p.m. (CBS)
You can stream the tournament daily at Masters.com. The Masters website includes streaming views of featured groups, Amen Corner and more.
The Masters will also be available for streaming on ESPN+ as well as Paramount Plus.
Saturday tee times
9:35 AM Rickie Fowler, Hideki Matsuyama
9:45 AM Thorbjorn Olesen, Russell Henley
9:55 AM Jose Maria Olazabal, Luke List
10:05 AM Tom Kim, Jake Knapp
10:15 AM Si Woo Kim, Adam Scott
10:25 AM Jon Rahm, Grayson Murray
10:35 AM Chris Kirk, Tony Finau
10:45 AM J.T. Poston, Keegan Bradley
10:55 AM Rory McIlroy, Camilo Villegas
11:05 AM Joaquin Niemann, Min Woo Lee
11:25 AM Sahith Theegala, Phil Mickelson
11:35 AM Adam Hadwin, Jason Day
11:45 AM Denny McCarthy, Vijay Singh
11:55 AM Erik van Rooyen, Will Zalatoris
12:05 PM Akshay Bhatia, Shane Lowry
12:15 PM Patrick Cantlay, *Neal Shipley
12:25 PM Corey Conners, Harris English
12:35 PM Brooks Koepka, Taylor Moore
12:45 PM Tiger Woods, Tyrrell Hatton
12:55 PM Xander Schauffele, Eric Cole
1:15 PM Sepp Straka, Matt Fitzpatrick
1:25 PM Kurt Kitayama, Lucas Glover
1:35 PM Adam Schenk, Patrick Reed
1:45 PM Byeong Hun An, Cameron Smith
1:55 PM Danny Willett, Ryan Fox
2:05 PM Cameron Young, Tommy Fleetwood
2:15 PM Ludvig Aberg, Matthieu Pavon
2:25 PM Cameron Davis, Collin Morikawa
2:35 PM Scottie Scheffler, Nicolai Hojgaard
2:45 PM Max Homa, Bryson DeChambeau
