Arnold Palmer Invitational: Which big names missed the cut?
Arnold Palmer Invitational: The third signature event of the PGA Tour's 2026 season will continue this weekend without some big names.
The Arnold Palmer Invitational continues this weekend at famed Bay Hill.
After 36 holes, America's Daniel Berger is out in front with a huge lead over compatriot Akshay Bhatia.
Berger is on 13 under and, remarkably, has only made one bogey all week.
It is an achievement all the more impressive considering world number one Scottie Scheffler labelled the greens "dead" after the conclusion of the second round.
Berger, who is looking to get his first win on the PGA Tour since February 2021, doesn't just have the aforementioned Bhatia for company at the top of the leaderboard.
Collin Morikawa, Ludvig Aberg, Sahith Theegala, Russell Henley, Min Woo Lee, Xander Schauffele and Rory McIlroy are lurking.
Position | Player | Score |
1 | Daniel Berger | -13 |
2 | Akshay Bhatia | -8 |
3 | Collin Morikawa | -7 |
3 | Ludvig Aaberg | -7 |
3 | Sahith Theegala | -7 |
6 | Rickie Fowler | -6 |
7 | Russell Henley | -5 |
7 | Xander Schauffele | -5 |
9 | Min-Woo Lee | -4 |
9 | Cameron Young | -4 |
9 | Ryan Fox | -4 |
9 | Rory McIlroy | -4 |
9 | Bud Cauley | -4 |
9 | Chris Gotterup | -4 |
15 | Adam Scott | -3 |
15 | Harris English | -3 |
At the other end of the leaderboard, several big names have exited early.
Despite only having a 72-man field, the 2026 Arnold Palmer Invitational had a 36-hole cut for the top 50 players, plus ties, and anyone within 10 strokes of the lead.
Let's take a look at who missed the cut...
Justin Thomas, +14
Thomas was making his first start on the PGA Tour since undergoing surgery on his back last October.
Thomas was extremely rusty, carding back-to-back rounds of 79.
Of particular concern for Thomas was just how bad he was with the putter.
The American admitted to feeling "humiliated" on his return and felt bad as his playing partner, Hideki Masuyama, fought to make the cut.
Justin Rose, +6
Rose has had an interesting year. He missed the cut on his first start at the American Express, then bounced back with a stunning win at the Farmers Insurance Open with a new tournament record of 23 under par at Torrey Pines.
Since then, the Englishman has missed back-to-back cuts in signature events.
A cause for concern.
Keegan Bradley, +6
Three missed cuts from five starts so far for the former US Ryder Cup captain.
Patrick Cantlay, +4
Cantlay hasn't won on the PGA Tour since the 2022 BMW Championship.
Sam Burns, +4
Began the season with a top-30 finish at the American Express but backed it up with a missed cut at TPC Scottsdale.
Showed signs of heading in the right direction at Pebble Beach by sharing sixth place but has now missed consecutive cuts.
Shane Lowry, +3
Last week's runner-up was given a pep talk by Rory McIlroy ahead of the Arnold Palmer Invitational following his spectacular collapse at PGA National.
But Lowry couldn't buy a putt at Bay Hill, losing 2.4 strokes against the field.
Jason Day, +4
Has looked solid so far this season with a runner-up to Scheffler at the American Express followed by a T38 and T24 at the Farmers Insurance Open at AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
But he has now missed two cuts in a row.
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Ben Smith joined the GolfMagic team in September 2021, initially as a content executive.
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