Xander Schauffele managed to keep his cut streak at the PGA Championship, albeit by a very slim margin.
The defending champion signed a card of 71 strokes, par of the course, on Friday, which allowed him to pass the cut with a total of 1 over par and 143 strokes. With this, he extends his streak to 64 consecutive tournaments with a cut made, a mark that had not been seen since the 2022 Masters.
This impressive streak is the longest since Tiger Woods, who made 142 consecutive cuts between 1998 and 2005.
It was a heart-stopping round for Schauffele, who admitted he was “in trouble” after falling to 3-over par at the beginning of the round. However, he managed to save a crucial par on the 7th hole, after sending his ball into the water, and then got birdies on two of the last seven holes to secure his place in the weekend at Quail Hollow.
It was difficult for me. Some players made it look very easy, and I thought I would be one of them. Hopefully, these are my two bad rounds of golf and I can play something good and low this weekend.
Xander Schauffele
Rory McIlroy, Masters champion, also experienced moments of tension, managing to make the cut by a hair after making bogey on holes 17 and 18.
McIlroy, along with Schauffele and Collin Morikawa, are nine strokes behind the second-round leader, Jhonattan Vegas.
McIlroy complicated his situation by missing a short putt on the 17th hole and then hitting his drive against the roof of a sales booth on the 18th hole. Fortunately, the ball landed a few meters from the stream, avoiding a penalty.
Several of the world’s best players failed to make the cut, including Justin Thomas, Ludvig Åberg, Hideki Matsuyama, Russell Henley, Sepp Straka, and Shane Lowry.
Jordan Spieth, who was looking to complete the Grand Slam with a victory this week, missed the cut by one stroke, despite a round of 68.
The cut was set for the top 70 players, including ties.
Justin Thomas, who arrived at the tournament in great shape, after finishing in the top two in three of his last four tournaments, including a playoff victory over Andrew Novak at Harbour Town, failed to keep up the pace and finished with a 72, for a total of 145 strokes.
Åberg, considered one of the favorites, had a round of 75 after a start of 70.
Straka and Lowry finished one stroke off the cut.
