THE PLAYERS Cutline Prediction 2024: Justin Thomas, Nick Dunlap & More at Risk of Missing Out

Published 03/15/2024, 2:08 PM EDT

The PGA Tour returned to TPC Sawgrass this week for the 50th edition of THE PLAYERS Championship. Following multiple signature events already this season with either no cut or altered cut rules, this week’s PLAYERS Championship saw a return to the norm. The Top 65 players and ties in this week’s 144-man field will make the weekend at TPC Sawgrass following the conclusion of second-round play.

Per the tour’s official projection and Data Golf’s prediction, a set of big names, including Justin Thomas, might have to pack their bags early on Friday. Not just Thomas, but a few of his Ryder Cup comrades too, are sweating it out at the bottom.

Patrick Cantlay, Will Zalatoris, Viktor Hovland, and Jordan Spieth will need to rebound in round two and hope the cut line shifts in their favor if they want to extend their stay over the weekend. The PGA Tour put up the projected cutline at 1-under. Notably, during the last two years, the cutline stayed at 2-over. In 2021, the cutline was on par. Whereas, the last time it moved under par was in 2019, when Rory McIlroy earned the bragging rights.

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Justin Thomas is now 1-over, and @DataGolf is now listing 1-under as the most probable cut line (67%).
JT is in the fairway on 7, has the difficult par-3 8th left, and the par-5 9th.
Needs to somehow play these three holes in 2-under to have a chance. #ThePlayers
— Playing Through (@_PlayingThrough) March 15, 2024

Scoring has been low this year. After the second round, Wyndham Clark is leading the charge at 14-under. Clark was chasing Webb Simpson and Jason Day’s record for the lowest first 36-hole score at 15-under but sadly, failed. Notably, McIlroy matched the course record of 10 birdies in a single round yesterday.

Rickie Fowler, after a tumultuous first round of 2-over 74, made amends on Friday. Carding five birdies, the six-time PGA Tour winner moved up to T59 as of the moment the report went to publication. The 35-year-old tied for the 13th spot at the 2023 THE PLAYERS Championship.

Max Homa fans, too, have their fingers crossed. Homa shot 4-under 68 in the opening round. However, a triple bogey on the par-4 10th, from where he started today, wiped off that advantage. Four further bogeys didn’t help his cause either. Currently, the six-time PGA Tour winner is 3-over 75 with one hole left to play in the second round. However, not everyone was so lucky, as a number of big names are still outside the cutline.

Bigwigs are struggling at the bottom

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Justin Thomas is another hotshot with sweat dripping from his eyebrows. The 15-time PGA Tour winner has made only two birdies so far. Thomas is at 1-over 71 with two holes left to play. The two-time Major winner picked up four bogeys on Friday. Thomas missed the cut at the Genesis Invitational a few weeks ago.

Two first-time winners of this season, Nick Dunlap and Matthieu Pavon, are outside the projected cutline as well. Both finished 3-over 147 after the second round. Will Zalatoris, who bagged two top-fives in his last two outings, is languishing at the bottom 5-over through the 15th hole.

Patrick Cantlay, at even par, faces the threat of crashing out as well. Cantlay made four late bogeys on the first round to undo the progress made through his opening birdie and eagle. Cantlay has yet to tee off in the second round. As is Viktor Hovland, who currently sits outside the cutline after finishing 1-over 73 on Thursday. Jordan Spieth, Hovland’s playing mate on Thursday, too, is outside the projected cutline of 1-under. Spieth carded a 2-over 74 in the opening round of THE PLAYERS Championship.

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Written by:

Parnab Bhattacharya is a Beat Writer at EssentiallySports in the Golf Division. With four years of writing experience, he is now exploring his deep-rooted love for the gentleman’s sport. Parnab's area of expertise is his predictive and perspective pieces, where he explores all things golf, diving deep into the whys and whats behind players' and Tours' moves in the sport, and unflinchingly voicing his take.

Edited by:

Riya Singhal

THE PLAYERS Cutline Prediction 2024: Justin Thomas, Nick Dunlap & More at Risk of Missing Out

Bigwigs are struggling at the bottom

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