7 surprising players who missed the cut at the LPGA’s first major

At the first women’s major championship of the year, the weather hasn’t been quite as cooperative in Houston as it had historically been at the Chevron Championship’s former home in Rancho Mirage, Calif., at Mission Hills CC.

Weather delays stopped play during both the first round on Thursday and the second round on Friday, leaving some players with as many as five holes to finish in the second round on Saturday morning.

A. Lim Kim is the clubhouse leader through the Chevron Championship’s first 36 holes after she fired a sizzling 65 in Round 2. She leads the field by one shot at eight under par, with many of the game’s stars — like Nelly Korda (six under) and Brooke Henderson (six under) — in hot pursuit.

For other big names, however, Saturday will mark their early exit from the year’s first major. Here are TK surprising players who missed the cut in The Woodlands, which was set at one over.

Lexi Thompson (two over)

Thompson had a history of sucess at this tournament when it was played in Rancho Mirage, posting seven top-10 finishes, including a win, since 2014. But she needed a birdie on at least one of her two remaining holes in Round 2 on Saturday, and she failed to convert.

Lydia Ko (three over)

The world’s top-ranked player is on the cusp of qualifying for the LPGA Hall of Fame, and it looked like this could be the week she clinched a berth, after she started well with a round of one-under 71 on Thursday. But Friday’s round began in disaster, as Ko was three over in her first four holes. She ultimately shot 76 and missed the cut by two.

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Stacy Lewis (three over)

The Solheim Cup captain — and hometown favorite this week — still has plenty of game. But it simply wasn’t enough to get in the mix. Lewis missed the cut by two with rounds of 73-74.

Grace Kim (four over)

Fresh off her first win at last week’s Lotte Championship, hopes were high for Kim, but she fired rounds of 75-73 to miss the cut by three.

Charley Hull (six over)

After firing a first-round 79, Hull found it hard to recover. She was eight strokes better in Round 2, but it still wasn’t enough.

Jennifer Kupcho (six over)

With three victories in 2022, the defending champ looked like a solid bet this week. But a four-over 40 on the back nine in Round 2 led to a tournament-killing 78, bringing her to six over par overall.

S.H. Park (seven over)

The former World No. 1 and seven-time LPGA winner (including two majors) has been trying to find the magic that ignited her impressive 2017-2019 heydey. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the week, as she exited The Woodlands with rounds of 79-72.

Golf.com Editor

As a four-year member of Columbia’s inaugural class of female varsity golfers, Jessica can out-birdie everyone on the masthead. She can out-hustle them in the office, too, where she’s primarily responsible for producing both print and online features, and overseeing major special projects, such as GOLF’s inaugural Style Is­sue, which debuted in February 2018. Her origi­nal interview series, “A Round With,” debuted in November of 2015, and appeared in both in the magazine and in video form on GOLF.com.

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