NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — For the second major in a row, Bryson DeChambeau is packing his bags early. Unlike his dramatic Friday collapse at the Masters, this time there was no late-round implosion. Instead, DeChambeau dug himself a hole with a Thursday 76 and never threatened to climb out. After 36 holes, he finished at 7-over par, missing the cut at the 2026 PGA Championship by three shots.
DeChambeau arrived at Aronimink Golf Club desperate to make a statement about his place in the game's hierarchy, especially with LIV Golf's future clouded in uncertainty. Instead, he only added to the questions swirling around his career. While the big-picture doubts linger, his on-course struggles are far more immediate. His iron and wedge play were once again his undoing, finishing well outside the top 100 in strokes gained approach and around the green. What's most troubling? He spent hours on the range this week searching for a feel that just won't come.
The only silver lining? DeChambeau closed his 36 holes with three straight birdies. And the next time he tees it up in a major, it will be at the U.S. Open — a tournament he's won twice. Maybe that brings the positive vibes he needs. But Shinnecock Hills will be an exacting test of his ball-striking, demanding answers he currently doesn't have.
They say misery loves company, and DeChambeau has plenty of it this week. He's far from the only big name heading home early. A host of stars joined the trunk-slamming club Friday, unable to crack the code of this Philly-area gem. Players like Michael Block, Russell Henley, Tommy Fleetwood, Sungjae Im, Akshay Bhatia, and Viktor Hovland all saw their weekends end before they began. Block entered the day at even par but couldn't recapture his Oak Hill magic, falling outside the cutline with two closing bogeys. Henley, Fleetwood, and Im arrived with high hopes on a ball-striker's course but never found their A-game. Bhatia started fast but lost his way after the first nine, while Hovland struggled from the first tee and never looked comfortable.