Five of nine former Memorial champs, other notables miss the cut
COVER PHOTO: Justin Thomas walks across the bridge to the No. 9 green minutes away from ending his second round. Thomas would miss the cut at +6. Picture by Mac Connor/Columbus Wired.
Coming into the 48th annual Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, nine former champions were invited back to see if they could repeat. Unfortunately for five of them, it looks like history won’t be on their side.
K.J. Choi (2007), David Lingmerth (2015), William McGirt (2016), Jason Dufner (2017) and the reigning champ, Billy Horschel, all failed to shoot better than three-over par, which was the cut line.
This is Choi’s third-straight missed cut and four out of his last seven dating back to 2015 after carding a 12-over, 156, good for near the bottom of the pile tied for 115th. He shot an 81 on Thursday and followed it up with a 75 on Friday. The 81 on Thursday is now a personal first-round tournament worst and it matches his all-time highest round which came in the second round in 2020.
After making seven straight Memorial cuts after his debut in 2013 as well as last year, Lingmerth has failed to make it to the weekend three of the last four years after shooting a seven-over, 151, with a 78 and 73. Also coming in at seven-over is McGirt after carding a 77 and 74. This is his third-straight missed cut and fifth overall in 10 tournament appearances when he also had his debut in 2013. They both tied for 89th.
Dufner has missed nearly half in 11 appearances and has now missed the last two, making it his fifth overall tournament cut. His 76 and 77 for a 153 tied him for 101st and the 77 ties his highest round to date with several other years including last year when he shot the same on Friday.
Then comes the saddening circumstance for Horschel. The reigning champion, who was playing in his 10th Memorial, carded a 12-over, 84, on Thursday but managed to grind out an even-par, 72, on Friday. Unfortunately, that Memorial-worst first round was enough to tie him with Choi at 114 and bury his chances for a repeat.
An emotional Horschel took to the mic after his Thursday round and acknowledged his season has been more than a grind after winning last year.
“My confidence is the lowest it's been in my entire career. I think ever in my entire golf career. So it's funny, as low as it feels, it feels like I'm not that far off at the same time. Which is insane to see when you see me shoot 84 today. It doesn't, it wouldn't make sense to a lot of people. But I don't think I'm that far off. I just need, I need the swing to be a little bit better, I need to do a few more things a little bit better. I just need to see a few more quality golf shots and that's just what I haven't had. And it's tough when you come to a course like this and you need to be precise tee to green and I'm not really precise right now from tee to green.”
Matt Kuchar, the 2013 winner, is continuing into the weekend but escaped the cut by the skin of his teeth. After posting a seven-over, 79, on Thursday, he grinded out a five-under, 67, on Friday to stay at +2 and is tied for 53rd.
OTHER NOTABLES
Five former champs aren’t the only ones going home early.
Justin Thomas (+6), Cameron Young (+5), Zach Johnson and Jason Day (both +4) are packing their bags early.
Also not returning is Adam Hadwin, who shot seven-over 79 on Friday after flirting with the lead on Thursday with a three-under, 69. It’s only his third missed cut in nine appearances.
This is Day’s fifth time being cut after making the last two. The 76 on Thursday is now a first-round high. Thomas is missing the cut after making the last two but is his fourth missed in nine tourneys after shooting consecutive 75’s.
For Young, this tournament will be memorable for the wrong reason: he made the cut after his first-ever appearance last year but won’t return after shooting a 74 and 75, which are the second and third-highest rounds now for him in his short Memorial Tournament career. Eighty-four is still the highest, which he shot on Sunday last year.
For Johnson, this is the first time he’s been cut but not the first time he hasn’t made it to the weekend. He withdrew in 2007 on Thursday for reasons not known but we know why he’s not moving on to Saturday after carding a 148, the same total as Day.
Saturday’s groups and times have yet to be announced.