LOS CABOS, Mexico — As Yogi Berra once said, it gets late early.
There are only two more events in the fall portion of the FedEx Cup schedule after this week. and for some players, their chances of saving their season and securing a card for next year are running out.
That’s why the reduction mattered to a player like Peter Malnati, who started the week at No. 116 in the FedEx Cup and rallied with a 6-under 66 to make the cut.
Seventy-four players shot 5-under 139 or better to earn tee times over the weekend (two more can reach that number Saturday morning when the second round ends). Here’s a look at some of the players who weren’t so lucky.
The second round of the World Tech Championship was suspended due to darkness at 5:52 p.m. and will resume at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday.
There are three players who finish Saturday on the par-5 18th, including two (Kensei Hirata, Satoshi Kodaira) at 4-under (cut: 5-under).
— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) November 4, 2023
Jimmy Walker plays his tee shot from eighth during the first round of the 2023 World Tech Championship at El Cardonal at Diamante in Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico. (Photo: Hector Vivas/Getty Images)
Walker, the former PGA Championship winner, missed his second consecutive cut and fifth in his last seven starts. He entered the week ranked 124th in the FedEx Cup standings, and this week won’t help his cause.
He opened with a respectable 3-under 69 that included a double bogey on the par-3 16th, but struggled with the putter on Friday, taking 31 shots and making two birdies and two bogeys en route to an even-par 72.
Sahit Tigala goes for a fourth title ahead of the 2023 World Tech Championship at El Cardonal at Diamante in Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur. (Photo: Hector Vivas/Getty Images)
Tiegala, who won the Fortinet Championship in September, bogeyed two of the final three holes to miss the corner for just the fifth time in 31 starts this season.
Teegala made seven birdies on Friday but shot just 71, which included a double bogey at the third. He was just 1-for-5 in the day’s riding.
Billy Davis tees off on the seventh green during the second round of the 2023 World Tech Championship at El Cardonal at Diamante in Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico. (Photo: Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images)
Davis, who qualified Monday, is the twin sister of Anna, the winner of the 2022 Augusta Women’s Amateur National and who represents the U.S. this week at the Pan American Games. Davis, 17, made his PGA Tour debut as an amateur and has raced to 4-under 32 in his first nine starts.
But the next 27 holes he struggled a bit. He shot a pair of 71s. He bogeyed the last three holes of his first round, and despite three birdies on his front nine on Friday, he shot a 1-over 37 thanks to a double bogey on 8. Chalk it up to another good learning experience for the future Auburn Tiger who represented the team of the United States in the Junior Ryder Cup last month.
Maverick McNeely tees off on the first hole during the first round of the 2023 World Tech Championship at El Cardonal in Diamante in Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico. (Photo: Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images)
McNeely made his first start this week after missing nearly five months with a left shoulder injury and showed some rust on Thursday. Note your missed share to a bad nine. He played his front nine, the back side at El Cardonal, in 4-over 40 on Thursday.
Preston Summerhayes plays a putt on the seventh hole during the first round of the 2023 World Tech Championship at El Cardonal at Diamante in Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico. (Photo: Hector Vivas/Getty Images)
This one will sting for Summerhays, who plays for Arizona State. He bogeyed his final two holes to miss the cut by one stroke.
Summerhayes, whose father Boyd, an instructor to PGA Tour pros such as Tony Finau, was in the gallery, opened with a 72 but made seven birdies in his first 15 holes to climb to 6-under before his tough finish.
Summerhays has made 1 of 4 cuts this season as an amateur.
Michael Block plays a putt on the first hole during the first round of the 2023 World Tech Championship at El Cardonal in Diamante in Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico. (Photo: Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images)
“Is parity even good?”
That was Block’s self-deprecating question after opening at 72 on Thursday.
The PGA club professional, who turned heads with his incredible showing at the PGA Championship in May, couldn’t find any magic on Friday. He three-putted the fourth hole and had just one birdie for the day and carded a 76. At 4-over 148, Block tied for last in the 132-man field.
Chris Kirk tracks his putt from the 14th round during the first round of the 2023 World Tech Championship at El Cardonal at Diamante in Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico. (Photo: Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images)
Kirk, who won the Honda Classic in February and is safely among the 50 who have already secured status in all of next season’s feature races, has had a cool shot this week. He took 31 strokes in the first round and 33 in the second, which ranked T-95 in the 132-man field. He combined to make just five birdies in 36 holes.
Emiliano Grillo talks to a rules official on the 12th hole during the first round of the 2023 World Tech Championship at El Cardonal in Diamante in Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico. (Photo: Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images)
Grillo, who won the Charles Schwab Challenge in May and is surely among the 50 who have already secured status in all of next season’s signature events, made two doubles Thursday and shot a 74. He has missed three cuts in his last four starts.