AUGUSTA, Ga. — A quick out in San Antonio means no Augusta trip for Jason Day.
For the first time since 2010, the former World No. 1 will not tee it up at the Masters, as his bid for a last-minute invite to the year’s first major ended with a missed cut at the Valero Texas Open.
Day, 34, boasts a solid record at Augusta National in 11 career starts, highlighted by a runner-up in his Masters debut in 2011 and a third-place finish in 2013. However, the 2015 PGA champ continues to be stuck in a slump. Though he contended at the Farmers Insurance Open in late January (ultimately finishing T-3 at the annual tour stop at Torrey Pines), Day has missed the cut in four of nine starts with just one other finish inside the top 40. Entering the week he ranked 118th in the FedEx Cup and had fallen outside the top 100 in the Official World Golf Ranking. Day is also dealing with the recent passing of his mother, who succumbed to a years-long battle against cancer in early March.
Day is not the only big name who won’t be making the trek down Magnolia Lane. Rickie Fowler also failed to advance to the weekend at the Valero Texas Open, ending his hopes for a last-minute invite to Augusta. This is now the second straight year Fowler will have to watch the Masters from home.
Like Day, Fowler showed signs of life early in the 2021-22 season, turning in a T-3 at the CJ Cup last fall. Since that promising showing in Las Vegas, however, Fowler has fared no better than T-40 in nine starts and failed to qualify for the Players Championship. He entered the week 111th in the FedEx Cup and 130th in the OWGR. Fowler, 33, owns three career top-10s at the Masters with a solo second in 2018.
Other notables who won’t appear at the Masters due to a missed cut in San Antonio include Ryder Cup stalwart Ian Poulter, 2016 PGA champ Jimmy Walker and Charley Hoffman.
The Masters begins April 7. Hideki Matsuyama—who withdrew from the Valero on Friday with a neck injury—is the defending champ.