5 major players who missed cuts at the 2023 Masters

The 2023 Masters saw the redemption of Brooks Koepka, who is at the top of the leaderboard after two rounds of golf. However, it also saw some shocking early exits, including World No. 3 Rory McIlroy, who was one of the favorites to lift the trophy on Sunday at Augusta National.

McIlroy posted a poor 5-over in the second round to crash out of the first major of the season. It wasn't just him who failed to make the cut at this year's Masters, there were a few more surprising exits on Friday.

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Five major players to miss the cut at the 2023 Masters

1) Rory McIlroy

McIlroy will have to wait for the career grand slam as he crashed out of the 2023 Masters

Prior to the start of the 87th Masters , Rory was one of the favorites of the pundits to wear the green jacket this Sunday. He entered the tournament with a third-place finish at WGC-Dell Technologies.

Everyone thought that the Northern Irishman had finally gotten his form back with a change of driver. However, what happened at The Masters in the last two days has been unexpected.

Rory was currently at T-61 before the game was suspended due to the weather and the projected cut was 2-over. After posting a par score on Thursday, McIlroy's second round began with straight bogeys on the second and third holes. On the front nine, he holed two more bogeys.

The back nine was relatively better, with two birdies on 13 and 15 but it was too little and too late for the Northern Irishman as he aggregated at 5-over after two rounds at The Masters.

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2) Kurt Kitayama

Kurt Kitayama has been poor at The Masters

Kitayama came into the tournament as a serious contender for the title this year and he had just won the Arnold Palmer Invitational last month. However, Kitayama has only been poor at Augusta National so far.

On Thursday, he shot a score of 3-over 75 with 6 bogeys and just three birdies. His second round has not been any different. He is through 10 holes with a score of 2-over, dropping strokes on the first and seventh holes.

The projected cutline is 2-over and Kitayama will have to play extremely well to recover from here, which looks doubtful for now.

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3) Bubba Watson

Bubba Watson during the 2023 Masters

The two-time Masters Champion is on the verge of crashing out from the 87th Masters as he sits at T-74 after playing 30 holes over two days. Watson's first round was full of errors and he kept losing strokes hole after hole.

Watson holed three double bogeys, three bogeys, and three birdies on Thursday. Round 2 has been no different as he has already dug in four bogeys and is 2 over after playing 12 holes on Friday.

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4) Sergio Garcia

A disappointing outing for Sergio Garcia at Augusta National

Garcia is another former champion who has crashed out of the 2023 Masters. The Spaniard is at T-61 with 5-over after 32 playing 32 holes.

The 2017 champion played 14 holes at 3-over par on Friday before the weather halted the game at Augusta National. He has carded four bogeys and a sole birdie so far in the second round.

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5) Adam Svenson

Svenson made his Masters debut this year

Svenson has five top-25 finishes in the 2022-23 season, including a win and two top-10 finishes. Although he didn't win any titles in 2023, he has been consistent. However, it seems he is going to miss the cut for the fourth time this season.

The 29-year-old Canadian is at 8-over after playing 32 holes at Augusta National, which means his hopes here are all but over as he currently sits at T-81.

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Players who are close to the cutline at the 2023 Masters

Here are the few names who are pretty close to the cutline at the 2023 Masters, which is currently projected to be at 2-over:

• J.T. Poston: +2 (F)
• Charl Schwartzel: +3 (F)
• Billy Horschel: +3 (F)
• Thomas Pieters: +3 (Thru 13)
• Scott Stallings: +3 (F)

If the cutline moves by a stroke, these players can face the exit.