Lexi Thompson among 8 big names to miss cut at 2023 Shriners Children’s Open

LAS VEGAS — As part of the FedEx Cup Fall, players either fighting to maintain their PGA Tour cards or looking for entrance into the first two Signature events had plenty to play for at the Shriners Children’s Open at TPC Summerlin.

But not everyone will be around for the weekend.

Windy conditions on Thursday morning put some players in a tough spot to make the cut this week and others simply didn’t play well enough to move on.

Although a few players saved their best for when they needed it: Brandt Snedeker, James Hahn and Scott Piercy all made birdie on their final hole of the day to eke out a place on the right side of a cutline that landed at 3 under.

Here’s a look at some of the bigger names who were sent packing early.

Adam Schenk (2 under)

Adam Schenk of the United States plays a shot from a bunker on the third hole during the first round of the Shriners Children’s Open at TPC Summerlin on October 12, 2023, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)

Schenk couldn’t rebound from an ugly start to the week, as he posted bogeys on three of the first four holes in his first appearance since the Tour Championship.

The Purdue product made birdie on his final hole of the second round, but it wasn’t enough to push him to the right side of the cutline.

The early exit doesn’t mean much to Schenk, who is cemented into the top 50.

Ryan Palmer (2 under)

Ryan Palmer, shown here during the Charles Schwab Challenge golf tournament, has now missed the cut in six of his last seven starts. Mandatory Credit: Jim Cowsert-USA TODAY Sports

This shouldn’t come as a huge surprise, as the Texan had missed five straight cuts before making the weekend at Sanderson Farms last week, but we expected Palmer to turn things around because of his previous success at TPC Summerlin.

It wasn’t meant to be as his Strokes Gained: Approaching the Green for the week was an abysmal -2.066, and he was sent home early.

Tom Hoge (even)

Tom Hoge of the United States plays a shot on the third green during the second round of the Shriners Children’s Open at TPC Summerlin on October 13, 2023, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)

We didn’t see this coming as the TCU product has seen his share of success at TPC Summerlin over his last five appearances: 4th (2022), 14th (2021), 24th (2020), MC (2018) and 7th (2017).

Also, Hoge has finished T-14 at the BMW PGA Championship and T-13 at the Sanderson Farms Championship in his last two starts.

But a poor stretch on his final nine where he doubled No. 2 and followed with a bogey on No. 3, proved too much to overcome.

Lexi Thompson (even)

Lexi Thompson of the United States plays her shot from the 13th tee during the second round of the Shriners Children’s Open at TPC Summerlin on October 13, 2023, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images)

We’ve already said plenty about the week Thompson had, one that breathed new life into the tournament. A short miss on her final hole makes her two-round total look worse than it was: Lexi was in this thing with just a few holes to play, but had a couple bad breaks that kept her out of the weekend.

Emiliano Grillo (even)

Emiliano Grillo of Argentina plays a shot from a bunker on the second hole during the first round of the Shriners Children’s Open at TPC Summerlin on October 12, 2023, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images)

When the Argentinian, ranked 35th in the world, failed to make the cut at the Sanderson Farms last week, few batted an eye, since he’d been a model of consistency earlier in the year. But a second straight weekend off might be cause for a minor alarm in the Grillo camp.

He didn’t play particularly poorly, just not well enough to move on, following a 72 in Thursday’s opening round with a 70 on Friday.

S.H. Kim (plus 1)

S.H. Kim of South Korea smiles on the first tee during the third round of the Fortinet Championship at Silverado Resort and Spa on September 16, 2023, in Napa, California. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

This was a particularly painful missed cut for Kim, who will likely slip out of the top 60 with his showing in Vegas, meaning he’s on the outside looking in for the first two Signature events.

The root of the missed cut is easy to find in this case: Kim made a quadruple bogey on the 10th hole during his opening round and couldn’t recover.

Ben Griffin (plus one)

Ben Griffin of the United States acknowledges the crowd after a putt on the fourth green during the final round of the Sanderson Farms Championship at The Country Club of Jackson on Oct. 08, 2023, in Jackson, Mississippi. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

It’s been a peculiar few weeks for the former University of North Carolina star. Sure, Griffin finished with a healthy paycheck last week at the Sanderson Farms, but a 74 in the final round dropped him into a playoff that Luke List captured.

This week in Vegas, Griffin doubled his second hole of the tournament en route to an opening-round 73 and never really challenged to make the cut.

Andrew Putnam (plus 3)

Andrew Putnam of the United States plays a second shot on the 12th hole during the first round of the Shriners Children’s Open at TPC Summerlin on October 12, 2023, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)

Much like Grillo above, Putnam missed the cut for a second straight event after a banner year that saw him use some early-season success to get a strong spot in the FedEx Cup standings.

Putnam posted a 41 on his first nine Thursday, putting himself in a deep hole. he played well on Friday, using a 33 on the back nine to finish the day with a 68, but it wasn’t nearly enough to get him through to the third round.