TPC Scottsdale turned cut day into a survival test on Friday, with scoring swings everywhere and the one-under line feeling far less comfortable than it looked on paper. While Ryo Hisatsune edged ahead of Hideki Matsuyama at the top of the leaderboard, the real drama unfolded around the middle of the pack, where even the biggest stars were fighting just to extend their week.

Scottie Scheffler had to summon a six-under charge to escape elimination after a shaky opening round, and several recent major champions slipped through by the narrowest of margins as daylight faded on suspended play. But not everyone found a late lifeline. As the dust settled, a handful of the tournament’s most recognizable names were already heading for early exits, and the list of who missed the weekend proved just as surprising as the leaderboard itself.

Brooks Koepka

It’s not like he doesn’t know the fairways of TPC Scottsdale well enough. In the five times he played the WM Phoenix Open before, Brooks Koepka had won the event twice and finished third once. Yet, the returning PGA Tour pro failed to deliver in his second appearance since 2022.

Koepka endured a horrible first round, plagued by bogeys. The struggles began with a four-over-75 on Thursday after Koepka made an early-week putter switch, hoping to spark better results on the greens. He could only fight back with one birdie to end the day with a 4-over par. Many blamed his putter for his poor run. But the ex-LIV Golf pro didn’t change his club, as the same putter helped him perform better on Friday, and ended up losing multiple strokes to the field.

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Despite a few hiccups, Koepka still managed a round of two-under 69 on Friday, showing signs of improvement with the new setup. He even gained ground on the greens during the second round, but the damage from day one left too much ground to recover. Finishing at two-over overall, the five-time major winner missed the cut by three strokes, marking his first Phoenix Open exit before the weekend in six appearances.

Marco Penge

Once Marco Penge had proven himself on the DP World Tour, he had his eyes set on the United States. Rejecting any advances from LIV Golf, he wanted to dominate the PGA Tour after receiving his membership for the 2026 season.

Unfortunately, the transition hasn’t gone smoothly. Penge followed up a missed cut at the Farmers Insurance Open with another early exit in Phoenix, finishing four-over-par after two steady but unspectacular rounds.

The rookie has also been adjusting to new equipment after signing with PXG and battling illness in recent weeks, making his start to life on Tour even tougher. For now, his learning curve in the U.S. continues.

Tony Finau

That can’t be Tony Finau who’s playing at TPC Scottsdale, right? Granted, he hasn’t had the best of luck on the Arizona course. Finau has only made three cuts in the eight appearances he has made in the WM Phoenix Open so far. But then again, there have been times when he also grabbed the runner-up finish, like in 2020.

This time, the struggles lingered again. Finau opened with a one-over 73 before adding a level-par 72 on Friday, leaving him at three-over for the tournament and outside the cutline.

It marked his third missed cut in four starts this season, even after showing signs of form with a strong T11 finish at the Farmers Insurance Open. The inconsistency continues to follow him early in 2026.

Billy Horschel

Out-of-form star Billy Horschel has taken every opportunity thrown his way in 2026 to find his rhythm. He has played in every PGA Tour event so far, with the WM Phoenix Open being his fourth of the season. Yet, neither of them has produced a result he would have been satisfied with.

The results, however, haven’t followed. After a four-over 75 on Thursday, Horschel showed improvement with a one-under 70 on Friday, but the early stumble proved too much to overcome. His three-over total sent him to a second straight missed cut, following last week’s exit at the Farmers Insurance Open.

Horschel will get another opportunity to prove himself next week. He and Finau have received a sponsor exemption for the 2026 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Jordan Spieth

Until the 15th hole on Friday, it really looked like Jordan Spieth would make the projected cutline for the 2026 WM Phoenix Open. He was sitting at even par with three holes to play. But his strength turned into his downfall as his putter failed him during a crucial moment on the 16th hole. And things only went downhill from that point on.

After an excellent drive on the fairway, Spieth was sitting comfortably 42 feet away from the cup. Instead of playing it safe, he tried to get the advantage early. That proved to be a huge mistake, as he overshot his putt as it rolled over 6 feet past the hole. Spieth needed two more strokes to complete the par-3 hole with a bogey.

He went from even par on the 15th to 1-over on the 16th and couldn’t hold his nerve after that. The three-time major winner continued his array of errors on the 17th hole as he shot a double bogey to go +3. That was the end of the story for Spieth at the 2026 WM Phoenix Open.