Jordan Spieth, Max Homa fail to make Genesis Invitational cut at Torrey Pines

Jordan Spieth and Max Homa did not bring their ‘A-games’ with them to Southern California this week.

LA JOLLA, Calif. — Two of the PGA Tour’s most popular American players will have to start packing their bags on Friday evening.

Jordan Spieth and Max Homa missed the cut at the Genesis Invitational, the third Signature Event of the season, which relocated from Riveria Country Club to Torrey Pines due to the Los Angeles wildfires.

For Spieth, it’s his first missed cut of the season in only his third start. He made his season debut at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, returning to competitive action for the first time since having wrist surgery in August. He tied for 69th in Monterrey, as a third-round 79 kept him at bay. But then Spieth showed flashes of brilliance last week at the WM Phoenix Open, tying for fourth and shooting four rounds of 68 or lower at TPC Scottsdale.

“I didn’t feel like this was a one-off,” Spieth said after his top-five finish in Phoenix.

“It felt like I am trending the right direction. I’m pretty realistic with myself on that. My expectations have been low. Just trying to get a little bit better each time.”

Unfortunately for the three-time major winner, he struggled in the cruel conditions on Thursday at Torrey Pines. He opened with a 4-over 76, a round that featured six bogies and two birdies — Spieth made only two bogies across his 72 holes last week in Arizona. His second round did not fare much better, as he posted a 2-over 74 to finish at 6-over overall.

Homa, meanwhile, has looked nowhere close to the player he was at Augusta National last April. After tying for third at the 2024 Masters, Homa has posted just one top-10 finish since then, doing so at the Wells Fargo Championship in May. So far this season, Homa’s best result came at The Sentry, where he tied for 26th. He then withdrew from the Farmers Insurance Open, tied for 53rd at Pebble Beach, and missed the cut at the WM Phoenix Open.

“I’m pretty into the ‘trusting the process’ type mindset,” Homa said Tuesday ahead of this week’s Genesis Invitational.

“I know I’m getting better even if it looks like I’m getting worse. I think I know what I’m doing is right. It’s very difficult to continue to see bad, but last week I actually hit the ball incredible and I missed the cut by five [in Phoenix].

“Golf does not like me at the moment; I’ve noticed that.”

The game continues to loathe Homa, as he carded a 4-over 76 on Thursday and a 3-over 75 on Friday to miss the cut by three at Torrey Pines. At least he was closer to this week’s cut-line than last, but Homa will have to re-discover something in his game soon, or he will quickly lose exemptions and eligibility in majors.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.