8 Big Names To Miss The Cut At The Genesis Invitational

Justin Rose, JJ Spaun and Jason Day — Some big stars missed the cut at the Genesis Invitational

(Image credit: Getty Images)

The second PGA Tour Signature Event of the season, the Genesis Invitational, has reached the halfway stage, with Marco Penge and Jacob Bridgeman setting the pace after 36 holes.

Typically in Signature Events, even the strugglers still have a chance to turn frustration into glory over the final two rounds, as there isn’t a cut in five of the eight tournaments.

One example came just a week ago at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, when Scottie Scheffler took advantage of that to mount a challenge after a slow start.

However, no such luxuries were afforded at the halfway stage of the Riviera Country Club tournament, with a cut after the second round meaning only the top 50 players and ties from the 72-man field made it through to the weekend.

One of the players who reached the weekend was Scheffler, who once again has had a slow start to the week before extending his run of consecutive made cuts to 68, but several other big names fell short. Here are eight of the biggest names to head home early at the Genesis Invitational.

Justin Rose

The Englishman could barely have started the season better, claiming his 13th PGA Tour win at the Farmers Insurance Open in just his second appearance of the year.

However, any hopes he had of making that 14 wins on the circuit evaporated in the space of two days in Los Angeles.

Rose carded a three-over 74 on Thursday and followed that up with a 71 to finish on three over for the tournament and miss the cut for the second year in a row.

Jason Day

Jason Day will have had some confidence heading into the week, particularly after he began the year with a tie for second at The American Express.

However, any hopes he had of going one better at Riviera Country Club to bank his 14th PGA Tour win were scuppered by rounds of 73 and 74, leaving him five shots short of the cut line a year after scrambling over it on the number at Torrey Pines.

Chris Gotterup

No player has begun the year as well as Gotterup, with the American having won twice on the PGA Tour already, at the Sony Open in Hawaii and the WM Phoenix Open.

As a result, expectations on the 26-year-old have never been higher, but he couldn’t meet them at Riviera Country Club.

Following an even par 71 in the first round, he would have fancied his chances of progressing, but a three-over 74 in the second round left him missing the cut by three – the first time that has happened since the RBC Canadian Open eight months ago.

JJ Spaun

A player who hasn’t found his best form so far this year is US Open champion Spaun.

The American headed to Riviera Country Club off the back of a T45 at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, but he made a slow start, finding himself four over after his opening nine holes of the first round.

After finishing with a three-over 74 for his first 18, Spaun followed it up with a 72 on Friday to miss the cut by four.

Russell Henley

Henley produced some big performances in Signature Events in 2025, including a dramatic victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, top-five finishes at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the Memorial Tournament and the Travelers Championship, and T8 at the RBC Heritage.

However, one of his quieter Signature Events a year ago was a T39 at the Genesis Invitational, and its return to Riviera Country Club after its stop at Torrey Pines didn’t improve his fortunes 12 months on.

Henley was five over after the opening round, and even his three- under 68 in the second round meant he still missed the cut by two.

Keegan Bradley

It’s been something of an underwhelming start to the year for the 2025 US Ryder Cup captain, whose best finish so far came with a T29 at the AT&A Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Bradley, who began the year with a missed cut at the Sony Open in Hawaii, now has a second one to his name after finishing on three over at the Genesis Invitational.

Bradley got off to a disastrous start with a five-over 76 on Thursday, and though his second round saw an improvement, with a 69, it wasn’t enough, and he joins the list of big names failing to make it to the weekend.

Sam Burns

The five-time PGA Tour winner was well in contention at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am before placing T6, but there was no continuation of that form at Riviera Country Club.

The American went one-under in the first round, and he began the second round with an eagle, but it unravelled on the back nine with four bogeys to leave him one over for the tournament and heading home early.

Maverick McNealy

Before the Genesis Invitational, the World No.24 hadn’t missed a cut this season, while his largely excellent form of 2025 was particularly in evidence with placing of 10th at the Farmers Insurance Open.

McNealy came within a whisker of claiming his second PGA Tour title at the 2025 Genesis Invitational, only to be thwarted by Ludvig Aberg’s 72nd hole birdie at Torrey Pines.

However, with the tournament back at Riviera Country Club, he wasn’t as successful, despite carding a two-under 69 in the first round. On Friday, he could only manage a 74 to fall short by one.

Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories.

He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game.

Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course.

Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.

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