Brooks Koepka\u2019s return to the PGA Tour will last another two days.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The five-time major champion, who is playing for the first time on Tour<\/a> since 2022 after years on the LIV Golf circuit, was in danger of missing the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open with a first-round 73. He began his second round stuck in neutral to open his Friday at Torrey Pines, 1-under through seven holes. Then, an eagle on the par-5 17th (Koepka’s eighth hole of the day after starting on the back nine) changed the momentum.\u00a0<\/p>\n The 35-year-old still had to grind on his second nine, though. He bogeyed the par-4 2nd, before birdying the par-5 5th and par-4 7th to get to 3 under, on the cut line. A par save from the bunker of the par-3 8th allowed him to make a routine par on the closing par-5 and secure a weekend tee time.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWanted to play four days this week,\u201d Koepka said afterward. \u201cI think that was important. Played really solid today. Drove it a lot better. Putting, I feel like I hit a lot of great putts, they just didn\u2019t go in. I felt like I was all over the lip today.\u201d<\/p>\n In Round 1, Koepka soaked in a warm reception from the fans, but admitted he was nervous<\/a>. How did he feel a day later?<\/p>\n \u201cIt was definitely different,\u201d Koepka said. \u201cI think yesterday I was excited to play, nervous, and kind of didn\u2019t know what to expect, but today felt more normal, I guess. But yeah, I mean, don\u2019t get me wrong, I definitely still got antsy, but I guess maybe a little bit of nerves, just trying to figure it out and test\u2014 see where my game\u2019s at too, right? I feel like I\u2019m playing really well. It\u2019s just been a long layoff.\u201d<\/p>\n Eagle for @BKoepka<\/a>! \ud83e\udd85 <\/p>\n He moves just inside the cutline @FarmersInsOpen<\/a> \ud83d\udc40 <\/p>\n \ud83d\udcfa Golf Channel pic.twitter.com\/zkAKlCRWlX<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 30, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Sitting T58 on the leaderboard, 14 strokes off Justin Rose\u2019s lead (he set the tournament\u2019s 36-hole scoring record), isn\u2019t going to incite the masses. But having not made a start since the first week of October, amid a year in which Koepka struggled, he\u2019s starting to see light at the end of the tunnel.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cGot two days to figure it out and kind of really see where my game\u2019s at, kind of take the reins off and go,\u201d Koepka said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Had Koepka dropped one more stroke in the first two days, he would have been trunk-slamming. On the contrary, that\u2019s how it went for Xander Schauffele.\u00a0<\/p>\n The two-time major champion, making his season debut in his hometown, finished at 2-under, failing to make birdie on his last by pushing a roughly 10-foot putt to the right.\u00a0<\/p>\n Why is this notable? Because Schauffele had made 72 consecutive cuts, the longest on Tour (Scottie Scheffler is now the active leader at 65, with Corey Conners third with 20). Now, Schauffele misses out on two more rounds for the first time since the 2022 Masters.\u00a0<\/p>\n Xander Schauffele misses his first cut in 1,391 days.<\/p>\n The streak dating back to the 2022 Masters ends today @FarmersInsOpen<\/a>. pic.twitter.com\/244vfW8M2L<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 31, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n The streak, however, wasn\u2019t on the 32-year-old\u2019s mind coming down the stretch.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no [scoreboards] on the North Course, so I kind of missed my putt and I looked at [caddie Austin Kaiser] and I said, \u2018Is that it?\u2019 He said, \u2018Yeah, you\u2019re done,\u2019 and I was like, O.K.\u2019 So, you know, in terms of pulling a tooth, that was kind of it.\u201d Schauffele said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI think the whole point of the streak is you just\u2014I mean, Scheffler\u2019s on a good one and you don\u2019t really think about it, you\u2019re just trying to hit as many good shots as possible and make as many good putts as possible. I had plenty of golf today to make it and bogeying a drivable par 4 and parring two par 5s in the middle of the fairway, you deserve to miss the cut. So here I am.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s not all bad, though.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s going to be nice to have the weekend off,\u201d the world No. 6 said. \u201cGoing to go home and relax and regroup.\u201d<\/p>\n Other notables to miss the cut were J.J. Spaun, Akshay Bhatia, Will Zalatoris, 2023 champion Max Homa and Ludvig Aberg, who won last year\u2019s Genesis Invitational at Torrey Pines.\u00a0<\/p>\n At least in Koepka\u2019s case, he\u2019ll have a chance to go low over the weekend and soar up the leaderboard. And CBS, broadcasting its first Tour event this season<\/a>, would surely love to have that storyline alive for ratings purposes amid Koepka\u2019s return. <\/p>\n More on Sports Illustrated