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ORLANDO, Fla. – It was cut day on the PGA Tour and Xander Schauffele felt some Friday pressure. He delivered, shooting 71 at Bay Hill Lodge & Club, to make the weekend on the number — 4-over 148 — and extend his cut streak to 58 in a row.
“I had to dig deep,” he said. “So it was good practice on that front. Austin and I are proud of our cut streak, no doubt. Is it what we think about? No. But usually when you focus on winning you make a lot of cuts and end up somewhere in between.”
Amateur Jackson Koivun shot his second straight even-par 72 to make a cut earn another point towards a Tour card via PGA Tour U. He’s one point shy of the required 20 points and can earn it this week with a top-10 finish.
“I try not to think about it too much, just kind of let it happen,” he said. “I know good golf takes care of itself. Go out there, play good, try to put myself into a good spot for hopefully that top 10 and obviously a made cut means a lot. My goal today was trying to inch up the leaderboard as much as I could. But I don’t know if even’s going to really catch that goal, but at the end of the day making that cut means a lot.”
Daniel Berger bounced back from a 78 with a 69 to make the weekend as did Sepp Straka, who rebounded from 76 to shoot 66. Only Jason Day, who opened in 76, went lower than Straka with a 64.
The winner of the last two Tour events – Brian Campbell and Joe Highsmith – both missed the cut as did another recent Tour winner, Thomas Detry, who tasted victory at the WM Phoenix Open.
The Arnold Palmer Invitational is one of three signature events that features a 36-hole cut to the top 50 and ties plus any player within 10. Here are some of the other players that weren’t so fortunate.
Viktor Hovland
The Norwegian continues to struggle this season, missing his second straight cut at a signature event. He shot 77-73. Hovland returned to an old putter this week that he had used during his successful FedEx Cup run in 2023. But he putted dreadfully, ranking dead last in the first round and dead last in SG: Putting through 36 holes.
Joe Highsmith
Highsmith went from straddling the cutline to lifting the trophy last week at the Cognizant Classic. This week, he was on the wrong side of the cutline, shooting 75-74. Highsmith birdied two of his final three holes on Friday but it wasn’t enough.
Sahith Theegala
Theegala missed the cut for the first time this season in seven starts. He’s dropped out of the top 20 in the world, slipping to No. 21. He bogeys seven of his first 14 holes at Bay Hill on Thursday and didn’t make his first birdie until 16. He struggled with his approach game, hitting just 4 of 18 greens in regulation. He was 3 under through 12 holes on Friday and on the right side of the cutline but bogeys Nos. 14 and 15 and failed to make another birdie.
Min Woo Lee
Lee struggled on Thursday, making two double bogeys and a triple at 18. He hit just seven greens and ranked 71st in Strokes Gained: Approach. He shot 78-73, and has broken par once in 10 rounds at Bay Hill. He missed the cut for the third time in four years at API.
Max Homa
Homa is working as hard as ever at his game but isn’t seeing the results as he makes a coach and equipment change this season. He shot 81 on Thursday, which dug a hole too big to recover from and missed his third straight cut. In the first round, Homa ranked 68th in the field of 72 in SG: Tee to Green, Approach and Around the Green. He also ranked 60th in SG: Putting for 36 holes. Homa did make five birdies and an eagle on Friday and shot 70. Perhaps that will be something to build on heading into the Players.
Akshay Bhatia
Bhatia doubled his first hole and made a snowman at No. 6 on his way to the touring his first nine in 42. He shot 79-73. He ranked 64th in SG: Off the Tee and 68th in scrambling (6 of 17). Bhatia was making his tournament debut. It’s also his first missed cut this season.
Maverick McNealy
McNealy doubled two of his first four holes on Friday and ballooned to 8-over 80. His short game let him down. He ranked dead last in SG: Around the Green and was just 1 of 10 in scrambling. McNealy missed his first cut this season in seven starts and first since the Sanderson Farms Championship in October.
Billy Horschel
Horschel struggled off the tee on Thursday and paid the price. He posted 79-74. He missed the cut for the third time in his last four starts at Bay Hill after making the cut in his eight starts here.
Cameron Young
Young hit his opening tee shot OB left, made a triple and it didn’t get much better. He shot 10-over 82 on Thursday. He was dead last in SG: Around the Green in the first round, which can happen when you 3-for-10 in scrambling. Young missed the cut at Bay Hill for the first time in four starts. It’s his third straight missed cut on Tour.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Arnold Palmer Invitational 2025: Notable names who missed the cut
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