This year, the 2025 Procore Championship gathered more attention than usual for a fall event on the PGA Tour. And it was merely because ten out of the twelve U.S. Ryder Cup team members were in the field and turned it into a pre-Bethpage battleground at Silverado Resort in Napa, California. After two days, it’s Ben Griffin who leads the charge with back-to-back bogey-free rounds, highlighted by a clinical 6-under 66 on Friday, and Griffin is clearly unfazed by the Ryder Cup buzz surrounding him before he makes his debut.

Trailing him is another Ryder Cup rookie, Russell Henley, who is three shots behind, and 2025 U.S. Open champ J.J. Spaun and Lanto Griffin remain in striking distance at 9-under par each. But while most players are eyeing the coveted title over the next two days, some players will be watching the rest of the tournament from the sidelines, as they did not make it to the weekend. In a field packed with prominent names, these three names stand out in particular for their unexpected early exits.

1. Brian Campbell

Brian Campbell arrived at Silverado on the heels of a breakthrough season. With two wins under his belt, the 2025 Mexico Open and the 2025 John Deere Classic, both of which he won through playoffs, Campbell seemed poised to ride that momentum into Napa. Ranked 59th in the world and finishing a respectable 46th in the FedEx Cup standings, many expected him to at least cruise into the weekend. Instead, he never got comfortable, carding a total of 6-over and missing the cut by a wide margin of 7 shots.

It was a head-scratching week for Brian Campbell, who has shown an impressive ability to go low in tough conditions this year. At the Mexico Open, Campbell fired a stellar 64 on the third day, which vaulted him to his victory at 20-under, and a similar feat followed at the John Deere Classic, where he shot 18-under par to force a playoff with Emiliano Grillo. But nothing clicked for the 32-year-old in Napa, as this was his 11th missed cut this year, the other ten being on the regular season of the PGA Tour.

2. Thorbjørn Olesen

Thorbjørn Olesen has long been one of the most enigmatic talents on the DP World Tour, and his form in 2025 has reflected just that. Coming into the Procore Championship off a tied 20th finish at the Irish Open, Olesen looked ready and in form to make some noise. He even shot a stellar 1-under in the opening round, and everything seemed promising. But as Friday’s round unraveled, Olesen saw himself narrowly moving outside of the cut-line, thanks in part to a costly double bogey on the par-3 11th that led to a 2-over 73 for the day. Ultimately, Thorbjørn Olesen finished 1-over par through two days and narrowly missed the cut by 2 shots.

It’s surprising that a player like Olesen, who is ranked 98th in the world and with 8 wins on the DP World Tour, would crash out so quickly. Even his performances on the PGA Tour, like the tied 14th at the 3M Open and the tied 5th finish at the Valero Texas Open, pointed to someone trending upwards. But golf has a way of humbling even the most seasoned pros, and for a player trying to build a consistent presence on the PGA Tour, this missed cut is a bump in the road—but one he’ll look to quickly leave behind.

3. Luke Clanton

Earlier this year, 21-year-old Luke Clanton turned pro at the RBC Canadian Open after a stellar amateur career that included top-10 finishes at the 2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic and John Deere Classic. Once ranked No. 1 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings and hailed as golf’s next big star, Clanton has struggled to find his footing since making the leap to the professional ranks.

Clanton has taken part in 8 events since he turned pro, and this week marked his second missed cut of the year. He stumbled to a 4-over opening round and, despite an eagle on Friday at the par-5 14th, Luke Clanton couldn’t claw back—finishing at 5-over and packing his bags early. It was a valiant effort to recover on Day 2, where he shot 1-over and showed flashes of brilliance, but the damage from Thursday had already been done.

It’s all part of the learning curve for the 21-year-old, who’s still adjusting to the grind of being a pro. Just a couple of months ago, Clanton was teeing it up alongside Rory McIlroy at the RBC Canadian Open in his professional debut. Since then, he’s had some decent showings, including a tied 65th finish at the Genesis Scottish Open. The potential is undeniable, and the 21-year-old has a lot of learning to do.