10 surprising golfers who missed the cut at the 2023 Players Championship

At least he got a haircut.

Rory McIlroy admitted on Saturday that he needed one. The cabbage spilled out from under his hat. Sometime between rounds one and two at TPC Sawgrass, he was cleaned up.

“The haircut, yes I needed one,” McIlroy said. “That’s all there is to it.”

However, this is a golf course. And the news on that front is unsightly. The world No. 3 has shot rounds of four over 76 and one over 73 at the Players Championship and he will not play again this week. McIlroy missed the cut three shots.

“Yeah, just very blah,” he said. “Yes, I appreciate the place, you just have to be in the right mood to play well here. If you’re a little off, it definitely magnifies where you’re off. It’s – it’s a bit of a mystery. Some years I come here and I feel it’s easier than others.

“It’s just a tricky golf course and you’re not hitting any fairways and you’ve got your work cut out for you.”

Remarkably, nothing happened in McIlroy. It was an innkeeper. There were blow-up holes – he had three double bogeys. He struggled off the tee – on the first round he was 88th (-0.649) in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee. He fought his way around the green – on the first round he was 142nd (-3.048) in SG: Around the Green, and on the second he was 126th (-1.220). He struggled with his putting – finishing 137th (-2.594) and 91st (-0.490) respectively.

And he was done. McIlroy tops our list of the 10 surprising golfers who missed the cut at the Players Championship. Below are the rest.

10. Max McGreevy

What he shot: 69, 89 (+14)

Surprising because: Twenty shot swings are hard to make.

9.Nico Echavarria

What he shot: 71, 79 (+6)

Surprising because: TPC Sawgrass doesn’t care if you’re in shape, Part III. Last week, Echavarria won the Puerto Rico Open. Now he’s going home too. Two double bogeys and three bogeys on the front nine in the second round made his undoing.

8. Chris Kirk

What he shot: 73, 75 (+4)

Surprising because: TPC Sawgrass doesn’t care if you’re in shape, Part II. Two weeks ago, Kirk won the Honda Classic. Now he’s going home too. Kirk tended to make the cut and then played his final seven holes at four-overs.

7. Kurt Kitayama

What he shot: 73, 76 (+5)

Surprising because: TPC Sawgrass Doesn’t Care If You’re in Shape, Part I. Last week, Kitayama won the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Now he’s going home. A front nine 41 on the first lap was disastrous for Kitayama.

6. Matt Kuchar

What he shot: 70, 78 (+4)

Surprising because: The champion of 2012 is ready. Kuchar shot two in the first round, but a stretch of six bogeys over 13 holes in the second round was too much to overcome.

5.Webb Simpson

What he shot: 76, 76 (+8)

Surprising because: The 2018 winner is gone. Simpson only made two birdies in his two rounds.

4.Billy Horschel

What he shot: 73, 79 (+9)

Surprising because: Horschel is number 22 in the world. He is from Florida. He’s only missed two cuts in 10-player appearances. He played his first nine holes at three-under. Then played the rest at 11-over.

3. Keegan Bradley

What he shot: 70, 78 (+4)

Surprising because: He appeared on GOLF drop area Podcast before the tournament, and that should guarantee success. But a couple of big numbers in the second round — an 8-for-18 quadruple bogey and a 6-for-4 double-bogey — doomed him.

2. Matt Fitzpatrick

What he shot: 76, 71 (+3)

Surprising because: Fitzpatrick is the defending champion of the US Open. He is the 12th player in the world. He has had four top-20 finishes in seven events this season. He’s a Netflix star! He is gone. A 40 on the back nine on the first lap got him home.

1.Rory McIlroy

What he shot: 76, 73 (+5)

Surprising because: See above. He needs to flush that quickly when the master approaches.

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Nick Piastowski

Golf.com editor

Nick Piastowski is Senior Editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for editing, writing and developing stories across the golf community. And when he’s not writing about how to hit the golf ball further and straighter, the Milwaukee native is probably playing the game, hitting the ball left, right and short and drinking a cold beer to wash away his score. You can contact him on any of these topics – his stories, his game or his beers – at nick.piastowski@golf.com.