A new season has dawned on the PGA Tour and the last thing anyone wanted to do was start the season with a missed cut.
A new season has dawned on the PGA Tour and the last thing anyone in the 120-man field wanted to do was start with a missed cut at the Sony Open in Hawaii on the island of Oahu.
Some players dug deep and gutted out a weekend tee time. Hideki Matsuyama, a past champion at the Sony, canned a 29-foot birdie putt at the eighth, his 17th of the day, and made a 2-putt birdie at the last to shoot even-par 70 and survive the cut, which came at 1-under 139 for the 10th straight year at Waialae Country Club.
Matsuyama wasn’t alone as Billy Horschel drained a 13-foot at 18 and Johnny Keefer holed a putt from the same distance at nine to book their weekend tee times. So, too, did Webb Simpson, who made a 6-footer at No. 9, his last hole, to make the cut for the 15th time in 16 career starts. And late in the day, Russell Henley chipped in for birdie on 17 to get to 1 under and then for good measure, birdied the last to finish 2 under.
Two others grinded hard to be among the 72 players in the field that advanced to the weekend. Sahith Theegala opened with 73 and then made three straight bogeys to start his second round and sit 6 over. He bounced back with eight birdies on his final 15 holes to shoot 66. That included a nifty chip at 18 to tap-in range and secure weekend plans.
"I definitely felt the nerves down the stretch there," he said. "I knew I needed probably one more to get in, and it's so windy out there; the small putts are scary. Yeah, it was good to get the nerves going again. It's been a while."
Theegala was one of several pros who came up with the clutch birdie finish while riding the cut line but only William Mouw jumped to the right side of the cut line with a closing eagle. He buried a 10-footer and clenched his fist with full knowledge of what was at stake.
But not everyone was so fortunate. Let’s take a look at some of the notables who got off to an inauspicious start to the 2026 season.
Keegan Bradley
The 2025 U.S. Ryder Cup captain lost in a playoff at the Sony two years ago; this time he was inside the cutline with nine holes to play and still straddling the line with three holes remaining, but sealed his fate with a double bogey at the par-3 seventh. He shot 68-72 to miss by one.
Bradley ranked fourth in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee through two days but the putter held him back on Friday and his scrambling is in need of some polish at the start of the year.
Collin Morikawa
The two-time major winner has Hawaiian ties but his return to the Sony Open for the first time since 2021 resulted in his first missed cut in the tournament. Morikawa missed an 8-foot birdie putt at 18 that he had to have. He signed for 72-68 and even-par 140. An uncharacteristic six bogeys on Thursday shot himself in the foot. A late bogey at 16 on Friday did him in. Morikawa ranked second in proximity bit when he missed the greens he was just 4-of-10 in scrambling and ranked No. 110 out of 120 in SG: Putting.
Austin Eckroat
His streak of four made cuts to end the 2025 season in the fall came to an end when he missed a 7-foot birdie putt at 18. Four bogeys in a five-hole stretch beginning at No. 6 set him up for failure. Eckroat signed for 73 on Friday to shoot even-par 140. Eckroat was doomed by a Jekyll-and-Hyde putting performance — he ranked 14th in SGP on Thursday and No. 102 on Friday.
Chris Kirk
The former Georgia Bulldog, who is twice a runner-up of this tournament, missed the cut at the Sony Open for the second straight year. He shot rounds of 69-72. Kirk was just 3-for-9 in scrambling. He didn't make a birdie until his 12th hole of the day on Friday and only two in all and just didn't have his best stuff this week at a course where he's recorded five top-10 finishes over the years.
Luke Clanton
The former Florida State star is finding things tougher since turning pro. He tried switching caddies this week but it didn't make a difference as he shot 69-72 to miss his third straight cut dating back to end the fall portion of the 2025 season. Blame the putter this week: Clanton ranked 114th in SG: Putting this week.
Gary Woodland
Not the start to the season that Woodland was looking for – he shot rounds of 70-73. Woodland was even par through 30 holes and battling the cutline before making a mess in the greenside bunkers at the par-3 fourth that resulted in a triple bogey. But Woodland, who made his return from brain surgery at this tournament two years ago, at least went home on a high note — he sank a 16-foot eagle putt to finish his round.
Michael Brennan
The winner in Utah on a sponsor invite got off to a sluggish start on Thursday and dug himself a hole with five birdies in his first six holes of his season.
Brennan lost nearly four strokes to the field on the greens and ranked 118th in SG: Putting on Thursday. He shot 75-69 and was sent packing, his first missed cut since becoming a card-carrying Tour member.
Tony Finau
Finau was not "Finau fresh" at Waialae this week. Playing the Sony for the first time since 2018, Finau shot 75-71. He’s made only half the cuts in six career starts at Waialae. Finau made a triple on Thursday at No. 12 and never really recovered. Finau will be working on his iron game as he finished last in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green, and hit just 19 of 36 greens in regulation.
Nico Echavarria
What a difference a year makes. Echavarria lost a sudden-death playoff on the second extra hole last year; this year he’s packing for the mainland on Friday after rounds of 75-72.
Echavarria’s putter was ice cold. He ranked 117th out of 120 in SG: Putting and took 33 and 34 putts, which is not going to get it done if you want to play the weekend.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: 2026 Sony Open missed cut include Keegan Bradley, Collin Morikawa
Category: General Sports
