The 88th Masters Tournament thus far has been a wild test of skill, grit and resilience. But even some players who typically display those characteristics, missed the cut this year.
Following a rain delay Thursday, which prompted 27 of 89 golfers in the Masters field to finish their first rounds Friday morning, things were even more difficult in Round 2.
The wind whipped consistently between 20 and 30 miles per hour, with gusts up to 40 mph. That wreaked havoc on the field, leaving former Masters champion Charl Schwartzel to call the conditions “borderline unplayable.”
Yet, a number of players persevered and either held tough or improved their position Friday.
Collin Morikawa for example, whose game had been in the tank this year, carded a 2-under 70 to finish at 3-under heading into the weekend.
Ludvig Aberg went even lower, posting a second-round best 3-under 69.
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Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images
Beyond those guys though, it was slim pickings. Only eight of 89 players finished under par Friday, with the vast majority dropping massive numbers.
In fact, the second round scoring average of 75.08 is only the fourth time in the last 30 years to finish three strokes over par, per The Athletic’s Justin Ray.
It was wild out there. That led to a ton of big names missing the cut.
Masters 2024: Biggest Names to Miss the Cut
Dustin Johnson
Johnson followed up a 6-over 78 with an even worse 7-over 79 to close at 13 over par. It is his worst performance at Augusta National in his career.
He opened with four bogeys on the front and matched that on the back with a single birdie mixed in.
The two-time major champion, who many believed had a decent chance at another Green Jacket, fell flat and will go home early.
Jordan Spieth
Jordan Spieth had to finish up his second round early Friday and made a mess of things. The 2015 Masters champion became the first player this century to card multiple 9’s on the par-5 15th, crushing his chances of a title.
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Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images
Then his second round began and things didn’t get much better. He carded a 2-over 74 to finish the tournament 9-over, three off the cut line.
Brian Harman
The reigning Open champion was one of the few to play well Friday.
Problem was, he was equally atrocious Thursday after a 9-over 81. There was no coming back from that.
Viktor Hovland
Viktor Hovland entered 2024 with a ton of momentum and for good reason. He had caught fire and captured the FedEx Cup in 2023, winning both of the final events of the Tour Championship.
That came to a screeching halt immediately this year. The Norwegian has struggled mightily all year and that continued at The Masters.
Hovland posted an 9-over 81 Friday to miss the cut by two shots.
Justin Thomas
Thomas found himself in contention on the back nine Friday at Augusta. He had braved the wind and played at even par through 14 holes for the round and the championship.
Then Thomas played his final four holes.
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Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images
The two-time PGA Championship winner found the water with his third shot on 15. He finished with a double bogey seven.
It only got worse from there.
JT shot an unbelievable 7-over during his final four holes to miss the cut by one. From Masters contention to going home Friday night; that sums up Thomas’ week at Augusta National.
Wyndham Clark
Wyndham Clark was playing as well as anyone on the planet not named Scottie Scheffler in 2024. And even that was close, as he finished runner up in back-to-back weeks to Scottie at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players.
The second of which, Clark was a heartbreaking lip-out on 18 from forcing a playoff.
Due to that, a lot of people likes his chances entering Augusta. Through 23 holes, they would have looked really smart.
The reigning U.S. Open champion was even par for the tournament and 1-under for his round.
It was all downhill from there. Clark bogeyed 6, 7 and 9 to close out the front. He then followed that up with bogeys on 10, 14, 15 and 17 to also just miss out on the weekend.
The future is very bright for Clark. I feel extremely confident writing that. But this was a lesson that maybe Jack Nicklaus could teach.
Kendall Capps is the Senior Editor of SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social media platforms.
