Major winner implodes on 18 to miss Masters cut in agonizing fashion

Brooks Koepka entered Friday at the 2025 Masters with work to do to make the weekend after an opening round two-over 74.

The five-time major champion opened with birdies at Nos. 1 and 4 to get back to level par for the tournament, but he immediately gave both back with bogeys at at 5 and 6. Koepka played the first 14 holes at even par, and with the cutline hovering a one over par, Koepka had work to do to ensure his 2025 trip to Augusta National wasn’t cut short.

He blistered his drive and then stuffed his approach shot on the par-5 15th to three feet for an easy eagle to move inside the cutline.

But things unraveled quickly after that.

Koepka parred 16 but made a bogey on 17 to move to one over for the tournament and put himself firmly on the cut line as it oscillated between one and two over. A birdie at 18 would ensure Koepka played the weekend, while a par would give him a great chance to keep his streak of made cuts at a major alive.

Neither happened.

Koepka pulled his tee shot left into the trees and had to take an unplayable. Koepka’s retee found the left side of the fairway. He hit his fourth shot pin high but left himself short-sided to the hole location in the back left corner. Koepka’s chip left him 12 feet for double. He missed that putt and the missed the four-footer coming back to make a quadruple bogey eight and miss his first cut in a major since 2022.

But Koepka wasn’t the only past major champion to make a mess of 18 to end up on the wrong side of the cut line.

Two-time major winner Dustin Johnson arrived at the 18th at one over as well but hit his tee shot into the trees on the right. After a punch out into the fairway, Johnson hit his third shot over the back of the green. His chip shot left him a five foot putt for bogey to likely make the cut but he missed it on the left to make a double bogey and finish at three over par.

Past champions Adam Scott and Sergio Garcia also struggled early at Augusta National and will not be around for the weekend.

On the other end of the leaderboard, Justin Rose backed up his first-round 65 with a one-under 71. He currently leads at eight under, one shot clear of Bryson DeChambeau and two clear of Rory McIlroy.