Justin Thomas, Tony Finau Miss Cut at Rocket Mortgage Classic

A few surprising names won’t be playing the weekend in Detroit.
Justin Thomas, Tony Finau Miss Cut at Rocket Mortgage Classic
Justin Thomas, Tony Finau Miss Cut at Rocket Mortgage Classic /

Less than a week after posting a reassuring top-10 finish at the Travelers Championship, it appears as though Justin Thomas’s woes have returned. 

The two-time PGA Champion—who said this year’s U.S. Open was the “lowest” he’s felt in his career—will miss another weekend of golf at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. 

Thomas’s 4-over round of 74 put him 12 shots off the lead after Round 1 in Detroit, and his second round 69 (-3) wasn’t nearly low enough to make a significant leaderboard move. With a cut line of 4-under, Thomas missed the mark by five shots. 

Tony Finau, the Rocket Mortgage Classic defending champion, didn’t fare much better than Thomas. At last year’s tournament, Finau ran away with the victory for his second consecutive win on the PGA Tour. With the win, Finau became the first player in three years to accomplish such a feat. 

Unfortunately for Finau, the 2023 event wouldn’t be so historic. 

The “Full Swing” Netflix star posted an even-par 72 and a 1-under 71, which ended with a brutal lipped-out birdie putt, to miss the cut by three. 

Zac Blair’s performance in Detroit was another surprise. Just a week after posting his career-best finish—T2 at the Travelers—the 32-year-old shot 72-74 to miss the cut by six shots. 

At the other end of the leaderboard, Rickie Fowler is surging yet again and sits just a shot off the lead at 12-under. Tied with Fowler is Ludvig Aberg, the recent Texas Tech graduate who finished No. 1 in the 2023 PGA Tour University rankings. Taylor Moore and Taylor Pendrith lead at 13 under heading into the weekend. 


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Gabrielle Herzig
GABRIELLE HERZIG

Gabrielle Herzig is a Breaking and Trending News writer for Sports Illustrated Golf. Previously, she worked as a Golf Digest Contributing Editor, an NBC Sports Digital Editorial Intern, and a Production Runner for FOX Sports at the site of the 2018 U.S. Open. Gabrielle graduated as a Politics Major from Pomona College in Claremont, California, where she was a four-year member and senior-year captain of the Pomona-Pitzer women’s golf team. In her junior year, Gabrielle studied abroad in Scotland for three months, where she explored the Home of Golf by joining the Edinburgh University Golf Club.