Luke Clanton’s stirring back-nine rally at the WM Phoenix Open fell just short.

Playing on a sponsor exemption, the Florida State junior birdied holes 11, 13, 15 and 17 but couldn’t find a needed birdie at the last hole from 18 1/2 feet.

He shot 4-under 67, and at 1-under total missed the cut by a shot. That means he remains just one PGA TOUR University Accelerated point from the 20-point threshold and his PGA TOUR card.

“We thought about the cut from 14 on basically,” said Clanton, who was grouped with Justin Thomas (68, 8-under total) and fellow 21-year-old Nick Dunlap (70, 2-under total), the latter of whom birdied 18 to make the cut.

“But it's not going to change the way I roll it,” Clanton added. “It's not going to change the way I read it. It was a great day. I had a blast. I put up a great fight. I had to make five birdies in my last eight holes and put four up and had a great chance on 18. It's tough. It’s hard to take. But I'm going to walk in my faith and keep understanding that it's not my time.”

Clanton earned his 19th point in PGA TOUR University Accelerated on Wednesday when he reached 26 weeks atop the World Amateur Golf Ranking. With a made cut Friday, he would have earned his 20th point to clinch a PGA TOUR card after the spring season.

Vanderbilt’s Gordon Sargent was the first to secure his PGA TOUR card via PGA TOUR University Accelerated, earning his 20th point in fall 2023. Sargent returned for his senior season and can accept TOUR membership after this spring’s NCAA Championship.

Clanton is expected to have another chance to get to 20 points soon, perhaps by making the cut whenever and wherever he is next awarded a sponsor exemption. Coming into this week, he had notched five top-15 finishes in just 10 PGA TOUR starts, including runner-up showings at last year’s John Deere Classic and The RSM Classic.

He finished T15 at the Farmers Insurance Open two weeks ago for his 18th PGA TOUR University Accelerated point, which after his long perch atop the WAGR got him to 19 set the stage for Scottsdale. Alas, his PGA TOUR card will have to wait.

Others projected to miss the cut include:

Max Homa (76-69)

Max Homa, who was 10th in the Official World Golf Ranking as recently as last May but has fallen to 57th, continues to search for his old form.

A six-time PGA TOUR winner, Homa tied for 53rd at the no-cut AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am last week. He withdrew after carding a first-round 77 and amid a second-round wind delay at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines.

He missed the cut at the WM Phoenix Open. After shooting 76 in Round 1 at his hometown tournament, Homa rallied with a 2-under 69 on Friday. That wasn’t enough to make it to the weekend, but Scottie Scheffler, who along with Tom Kim played the first 36 holes with Homa at TPC Scottsdale, didn’t sound worried.

“Max didn't have his best stuff this week,” said Scheffler, who shot 66 and is five off the lead, “but his attitude is always great. It's great being around guys like that where they're still fighting for every shot, especially on the back nine today when it was fairly obvious he wasn't going to be able to make the cut, especially the last four or five holes.

“To watch him still grind it out and continue to work on his game,” Scheffler continued, “that's the stuff that when he kind of gets out of this little rut that he's in, I think he'll look back on fighting for every shot, no matter the situation.”

Although the damage was done Thursday, Homa flashed some form Friday with birdies at the rowdy par-3 16th hole (while wearing a Los Angeles Dodgers jersey), the drivable par-4 17th and the par-3 fourth hole on his second nine.

Billy Horschel (71-72)

It was an odd second round for Horschel, the winner of eight PGA TOUR titles. First, playing partner Rickie Fowler withdrew with illness, leaving Horschel and Sahith Theegala to play as a twosome.

Then, Horschel, who started on the back nine Friday, seemed to be headed in the right direction with an eagle at the par-5 15th hole.

In the end, he simply made too many mistakes, with six second-round bogeys.

Theegala, meanwhile, made it on the number after a 5-under 66 atoned for an opening-round 74 and left him at 2-under for the tournament.

Matt Fitzpatrick (72-69)

Two-time PGA TOUR winner and three-time European Ryder Cup team member bogeyed the 18th hole Friday and missed the cut by a shot. He was coming off a T48 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Joel Dahmen (73-70)

The fan favorite from “Full Swing” docuseries was coming off a T9 at the Farmers Insurance Open but never got anything going at TPC Scottsdale.

Matt McCarty (72-73)

McCarty, the reigning Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year and winner of the PGA TOUR’s Black Desert Championship, is no stranger to desert golf, having been a standard-bearer at the WM Phoenix Open as a kid.

That didn’t help him much this week, though, as McCarty shot 3-over 38 on the front nine, his second of the day Friday, to seal his fate.