WM Phoenix Open: 5 golfers who shockingly missed the cut (including Max Homa)
Once again, the WM Phoenix Open has delivered a leaderboard as exciting as everything happening in the gallery.
Thomas Detry (-12) will start Saturday in first place, but will have Jordan Spieth (-9), Justin Thomas (-8), Scottie Scheffler (-7) and Tom Kim looking to chase him down on a TPC Scottsdale course that's been offering plenty of birdie opportunities.
The People's Open never disappoints. Well, except for the players who didn't make it to the weekend. The cut came into play at two-under-par on Friday and a handful of notables were on the wrong side of it.
These are the five most shocking players who missed the cut. Hopefully they bounce back next week at The Genesis Invitational.
All odds via BetMGM
Rickie Fowler (W/D) Make Cut Odds: -225
-225 Miss Cut Odds: +170
Rickie withdrew ahead of Friday's second round due to illness. He shot three-over-par on Thursday with three bogeys and a double bogey on the front nine. The 2019 WM Phoenix Open champion has now missed he cut four times since his victory. Tom Hoge (+9) Make Cut Odds: -225
-225 Miss Cut Odds: +170
Hoge's had a solid start to the year, finishing no worse than T45 in all four of his starts — including a T17 last week at Pebble Beach. Then he got roughed up with a seven-over 78 on Thursday and couldn't make up the ground on Friday. Max Homa (+3) Make Cut Odds: -190
-190 Miss Cut Odds: +140
It seems Max Homa's new swing is still rounding into form. He shot a 76 on Thursday, which put him well behind the cut line before he even teed off Friday. That could've made it a little bit awkward when his sponsor Lululemon had a few dozen fans show up wearing Homa's second-round outfit. Instead he seemed much more relaxed and shot two-under on the day with a few missed opportunities to go lower. Billy Horschel (+1)
Make Cut Odds: -285
-285 Miss Cut Odds: +200
The picture says it all. Billy Horschel had so many putts that just didn't drop. He shot 71-72 and missed the cut by two. It feels like Horschel could've really made some noise this weekend if his putter cooperated. Matt Fitzpatrick (-1) Make Cut Odds: -285
-285 Miss Cut Odds: +200
A stunning result if for no other reason than how successful Matt Fitzpatrick has been in this tournament. In three previous starts, Fitzpatrick went T10, T29 and T15. This is the first MC for the 30-year-old and it comes in his third start of the season.
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'He didn't have the long arms, he wasn't running a 4.4 or 4.5 in the 40, he wasn't cat quick. Everything was tenacity, intimidation and an unstoppable belief that he was the baddest human on earth. 'There was so much that went into him being as great as he was that had nothing to do with the physical.' His effort, once questioned by his Pee Wee coach, became preternatural. Polamalu says Harrison, who wore a weighted vest in practice, may have been the hardest-working teammate he ever had. Harrison never wanted to come off the field, continuing to contribute on special teams long after he was an established starter. 'When you are cut as many times as he was, told you're not good enough as many times as he was, there's only one way you feel you can make it,' Clark says. 'He was inspiring with the way he worked before practice, after practice and the intensity he had during practice. Nobody did what James was willing to do.' Advertisement Harrison had 16 sacks in 2008, when he was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year and made one of the greatest plays in Super Bowl history after intercepting a Kurt Warner pass in Super Bowl XL. Harrison improvised on the play, surprising Warner by dropping into coverage when he was supposed to rush. Then, at 276 pounds, he outran the entire Cardinals offense, going 100 yards before barely making it to the end zone, where he collapsed on his back. Defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau called it the most outstanding defensive play he's seen. 14 years ago today, @JHarrison9292 made one of the greatest plays in Super Bowl history with his 100-yard pick-6!#HereWeGo | #NFL — NBC Sports (@NBCSports) February 1, 2023 By then, Harrison was known as the most intimidating defender in the game and a classic representative of his franchise's ethos, a destroyer in the line of Ernie Stautner, Mean Joe Greene and Jack Lambert. In 2010, though, it became clear the edge he played with had two sides, and he began taking punishment as well as giving. They say intent can't be judged, but he didn't hide his. He was on record saying he wanted to tackle his opponents so violently that they couldn't play again that day. There were controversial hits to Vince Young, Mohamed Massaquoi, Drew Brees, Jason Campbell and Ryan Fitzpatrick. Harrison was teammates with Josh Cribbs at Kent State, but he laid him out so brutally that even Harrison's mother took exception, slapping him on the head. The NFL fined him $125,000 that season. Even as Harrison reigned as the most feared player in the NFL, he was becoming a loving father. Near the end of Harrison's breakout 2007 season, James III came along as a surprise. Harrison and the baby's mother, Beth Tibbott, wanted James III to have a sibling, so Henry was born two years later. Advertisement When James III was a baby, Harrison and Tibbott argued. Police said Harrison broke through her bedroom door, slapped her in the face and snapped her cell phone in half. An assault charge followed. He underwent anger management and psychological counseling. Tibbott, a criminal defense attorney who declined an interview request for this story through a representative, didn't want to pursue the case. Charges were dropped. 'It was a learning experience, God's plan,' Harrison says. 'Without that, maybe I don't become the person I am today. I wish it hadn't happened. If I were the man I am today, I would have de-escalated that real fast.' Being a father was never in Harrison's plans. He knew children require time and love, and feared what they could take from him. And take they did — over time, his selfishness was uprooted, replaced by responsibility, compromise, patience and purpose. 'His ability to empathize, love and soften — as much as James can soften — all came from being a father,' Clark says. 'He's still Deebo, though, and that's kind of cool.' Harrison is convinced he wouldn't be alive if not for his sons. When one of his kids says, 'I love you,' his response is, 'I love you more.' He has shown it partly by trying to provide for their future. Harrison became a saver and proprietor of residential real estate. 'I'm secondary to everything they have going on, and it's a blessing,' he says. James III, 17, is a football player who bears a resemblance to his father in personality and build. Lankier Henry, 15, also plays football and runs the 100-meter dash, long jumps and high jumps. The boys split time between Harrison and Tibbott's homes, but the four of them function as a family. 'We're all together,' Harrison says. That includes Henry's bearded dragon and James III's banana ball python, who recently escaped and went missing in Harrison's house for six months until Harrison found him. Advertisement He has drawn attention for his parenting style, which includes eschewing unearned awards and keeping no secrets. 'We give trophies for everything, and it makes kids feel entitled to getting something for doing nothing,' says Harrison, who auctioned off a Patriots AFC Championship Game ring after he played four games for them during the 2017 season. It had no value to him because he thought he didn't earn it. The ring had value to someone else, as it sold for $18,600. For most of his life, Harrison's faith had been like an oil reservoir — beneath the surface and untapped. As a child, he went to church on Easter and for funerals, that's it. He did it for his grandmother Willie Pearl Massey, whom he calls a 'holy roller.' When she died in 2004, he had prayer hands tattooed on his shoulder in her honor. His only prayers were before games with teammates, and then he did it selfishly, he says, to avoid injury. During training camp with the Steelers, Harrison's dorm room was across the hall from Polamalu's, and they spent a lot of time together. To Harrison's annoyance, their conversations were mostly about what Polamalu wanted to discuss — spiritual matters. Polamalu, a Greek Orthodox, had a red cross sewn on the back of his jersey. He told Harrison the sisters at the Nativity of Theotokos Monastery in Saxonburg, Pa., did it for him for his protection. Harrison asked him if the sisters would sew black crosses on the backs of his jerseys. They did. Polamalu started calling him 'Iakovos,' James in Greek. About two years ago, Harrison started wondering what his purpose was. Then he started going to church. Tibbott and the boys followed. The three of them were baptized. Harrison waited. The truth is, he was scared. 'You know what I was afraid of?' he says. 'I was afraid something was gonna come up out of me.' Finally, in August of last year, in a ceremony at Victory Family Church in Cranberry, Pa., with his mother, sons, Tibbott, Armstead and another friend in attendance, Harrison took the plunge. But instead of something coming out of him, something went into him. He calls it peace. Advertisement 'It's something I know I wouldn't have without that relationship,' he says. 'And the more I understand and build my relationship with (God), the more peaceful it is.' Now, Harrison calls Armstead and Polamalu to talk about his faith. Armstead says there is less ego, harshness and anger in his friend. Polamalu says Harrison is allowing more people to see what's beneath his shell. At 4 a.m., about the time he used to order his last vodka of the night, Harrison starts his day by reading a devotional, then posting it for his 1.4 million followers on Instagram and 432,000 followers on Facebook. 'I was going to stop posting them,' he says. 'Then there was a voice I heard. 'You need to do this — you don't know who it may help.'' Harrison believes he has discovered his purpose. But if his heart has softened, the rest of him has not. On his 44th birthday, Harrison loaded up 44 plates weighing 45 pounds each on the sled and moved 2,025 pounds as if he were returning a few shopping carts to the corral. On his 45th birthday, he bench-pressed 545 pounds. He may try to break that personal record in July. At 265 pounds, the 47-year-old Harrison looks no different from when he played. He thinks his jacket size is either a 52 or a 54. The tailors from the Pro Football Hall of Fame may make that determination someday. Harrison's superiority over about five years suggests he may one day be fitted for the gold jacket that inductees like Polamalu wear. 'At his peak, I don't think there was anybody more dominant in the history of the game,' Polamalu says. 'I might have to put Aaron Donald up there, too. But James was taking on sometimes four guys and still almost making a tackle.' When Harrison started his first NFL game 20 years ago, J told Mildred their son would be a Hall of Famer. J died in 2016, but James would like to make his dad proud one more time by wearing the jacket he believes he has earned. Advertisement What else is left? Harrison wants to see his sons grow up to be the kind of men his father was. He wants to hold their children. He would like to go further down the road he began walking last August when he was baptized. And step into a ring with Ochocinco? Twenty years ago, maybe even 10 years ago, he would have made Ocho rue every word and left him in 85 pieces. But things are different now. If Ocho keeps coming at Harrison, no doubt the Deebo will come out of him. But that doesn't mean he wants to fight. 'Dude,' he says. 'The older I get, let it go.'
