Chase Johnson makes cut, Justin Thomas leads notable names to miss weekend at The Genesis Invitational

Chase Johnson, the Charlie Sifford Memorial Exemption recipient, shot 1-under 70 in the second round to make the cut at The Genesis Invitational.

In just his fifth PGA TOUR start, Johnson made a critical up-and-down for par on No. 18 to finish even-par through two days, one shot clear of the cutline. Johnson made the turn in 1-over but knocked his approach on the par-5 11th to within 4 feet for an eagle. He gave a shot back on the difficult par-4 15th but secured three pars to close his round and ensure a weekend tee time at The Riviera Country Club.

In contrast to most Signature Events, which feature no cuts, the 70-player Genesis is one of three player-hosted invitationals that features a cut line in 2024.

After 36 holes at The Genesis, the top 50 and ties advanced to the third round, in addition to all players within 10 shots of the lead. With Patrick Cantlay at 13-under and 52 players at 1-over or better, the 10-shot rule did not go into effect. Seven players missed the cut at 2-over or worse.

In addition to The Genesis, the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday will utilize this rule. (All three are Signature Events.)

Several notable names played their way off the cutline Friday. Max Homa shot 65 on Friday, rebounding from a first-round 73. Homa made eight birdies in his second round, including back-to-back on Nos. 17 and 18 to close at 4-under through two rounds. He moved 49 spots up the leaderboard. Homa won The Genesis in 2021 and finished runner-up in 2023.

“I've seen the greats do that, they'll shoot 1, 2 over the first day and shoot something crazy low the next day,” Homa said. “That's the kind of stuff that's really impressive and I've never been able to do that, so I feel like today is hopefully a step in that direction.”

Cameron Young battled back from an opening-round 72 and shot 66 on Friday. He is tied with Homa at 4-under.

Rory McIlroy will also play the weekend. After a back-nine 41 derailed his first round, McIlroy shot a bogey-free 66 on Friday. He is 2-under overall, tied for 32nd.

Justin Thomas highlights the small group that missed the cut at Riviera. Thomas, who hadn’t finished outside the top 12 since last July, shot 72-73 to miss by two shots. Thomas was uncomfortable from the start, carding a 3-over front-nine 38 on Thursday. He made a pair of birdies on his inward nine to salvage a 1-over round, but that momentum didn’t carry into Friday. Thomas made par on the gettable par-5 first, then bogeyed the par-4 second hole, one of three bogeys on his front nine.

Other notable names to miss the cut include Matt Fitzpatrick (4-over), Nick Dunlap (3-over), Keegan Bradley (2-over) and Wyndham Clark (2-over).