Nicolai Hojgaard, Joe Highsmith, Adrien Dumont de Chassart and Sudarshan Yellamaraju won’t be getting Christmas cards from the likes of Lanto Griffin, Michael Thorbjornsen and Doug Ghim after their strong finishes on Friday at the Champions Course at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, bumped the latter trio and nine other golfers out of a weekend tee time at the 2026 Cognizant Classic.
Hojgaard and Highsmith birdied 18 while Dumont de Chassart birdied 16 and Yellamaraju went nuts with birdies on his final three holes. Their late-round heroics moved the cutline from 1-over to even-par 142 and spoiled the weekend plans for a dozen players.
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There are 67 players in all moving on to the weekend and chasing after 36-hole leader Austin Smotherman. Tee times for Saturday have been moved up to try to beat forecasted bad weather and Golf Channel expanded its live window for third round coverage, now going from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. ET. Here’s a look at some of the pros who were sent packing on Friday.
Michael Thorbjornsen of the United States plays his shot from the seventh tee during the first round of the Cognizant Classic 2026 at PGA National Resort And Spa on February 26, 2026 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
Michael Thorbjornsen
Since making a spirited run at winning the WM Phoenix Open, Thorbjornsen has been subpar. He finished T-78 in an 80-man field at Pebble Beach and now missed the cut by one after making bogey on the final hole at the Cognizant Classic. His stats weren’t overly concerning, but six birdies were canceled out by five bogeys and a double. He missed an 18-footer at the last to miss the cut.
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Luke Clanton
Clanton has played PGA National’s Champions Course countless times but that didn’t help him this week. He had a cold putter on Thursday, ranking 113th in Strokes Gained: Putting in the field of 120 and while the short stick was vastly improved on Friday, he was equally inefficient with his approach game, losing more than two strokes to the field. Clanton missed his third cut of the season and in his other start he withdrew. He’ll have to wait for his next start to earn his first check of the year.
Gordon Sargent
The PGA Tour U grad missed by one stroke and like Clanton, is still searching for his first paycheck this season. Three bogeys and a double added up to a second-round 2-over 73. The driver doomed him on Friday as he hit just 4 of 14 fairways. He bogeyed No. 6, his 15th hole of the day, and couldn’t nab a birdie on the final three holes.
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Kevin Yu
Yu’s struggles continue. He made back-to-back double bogeys on the back nine — followed by a bogey — and signed for 75 to miss the cut by one. It marks his fourth missed cut this season; he’s only played the weekend at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, a no-cut event, where he finished T-70
Gary Woodland
For just the third time in 12 starts at PGA National, Woodland missed the cut. He can blame his short game. He was dead last in SG: Around the Green, losing more than three shots on Thursday. He was just 6-of-14 in scrambling. It marked his third missed cut in five starts this season.
Gary Woodland of the United States plays his shot from the 13th tee during the first round of the Cognizant Classic 2026 at PGA National Resort And Spa on February 26, 2026 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
Chris Kirk
Kirk, the 2023 champion of this event, was cruising along at 3 under through 12 holes Thursday when the wheels fell off. He went 15 holes without a birdie. He made 10 bogeys in 36 holes too. He ranked 121st in proximity to the hole on Friday and lost two strokes to the field on the greens. He had one last chance at 18 but his eagle putt failed to drop.
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Blades Brown
The teen sensation, who made a name for himself at The American Express, shot 75 in the first round to dig himself a hole. Friday was better, including a stretch of four birdies in a row on the front nine but sprinkled three bogeys on the card. He struggled off the tee on Thursday, ranking 113 out 123 in the field in SG: Off the Tee and 117th in SG: Tee to Green.
Vince Whaley
The former Georgia Tech grad’s closing stretch was a rambling wreck. He made bogeys on three of the last four holes to miss the cut by one. It marked his fourth straight missed cut. Whaley ranked 121st out of the field of 123rd in SG: Approach.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Cognizant Classic 2026: Notable names who missed cut
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