Three days of competition made for a dramatic cutline day at The American Express, the only PGA TOUR event that makes its cut after 54 holes. Justin Rose, Tony Finau and defending champion Sepp Straka all fell on the wrong side of the 11-under cut, while Max Homa, Rickie Fowler and Will Zalatoris will see final-round action in their season debuts.

For Rose, who last missed a cut in June at the U.S. Open, it was a roller-coaster week that opened with an even-par round at La Quinta Country Club followed by a bogey-free, 9-under 63 at the Nicklaus Tournament Course. But he failed to harness the same momentum Saturday at the Pete Dye Stadium Course and was just one off the cutline through 16 holes when he hit his tee shot in the water at the par-3 17th, then three-putted for double bogey. Rose carded a 1-over 73 to finish at 8 under, three off the cut.

After missing the cut by seven shots last week at the Sony Open in Hawaii, Finau came up short for the second straight week. After starting with steady, back-to-back rounds of 68, the six-time TOUR winner seemed to be on pace for a similar round Saturday as he reached 2 under on the day through 12 holes. Back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 13 and 14 interrupted any flow. A birdie at No. 16 opened the door, but a missed 3-footer on No. 17 and a two-putt par on No. 18 closed it back up.

While sponsor exemptions Blades Brown and Zach Johnson are making the most of their spots in the field, it was a tougher go for fellow sponsor exemptions Harry Higgs (9 under) and Camilo Villegas (10 under). Villegas carded three rounds in the 60s and still missed the cut, but he kept a positive outlook when he joined the broadcast after his round.

“I’ve been swinging the club good,” the 44-year-old Villegas told Smylie Kaufman. “Mentally – it’s funny, I played with Matt Kuchar this week, and he is so good mentally. He’s so chill out there. You gotta learn from that. I think I become my own – how do you say it – obstacle. I just gotta free it up a bit. But the body is feeling good. I am moving good. And yes, this week I’m going to end up missing the cut by one, but we’ll go to Torrey (Pines) and get a good one there.”

Except for 2021 champion Si Woo Kim, who holds a narrow one-shot lead, it also was a short week for past champions in the field, including defending champion Straka. The world No. 12 was looking to become the first back-to-back winner at this championship since Johnny Miller in 1974-75. But he failed to break par the first two rounds, going even par at La Quinta and 2 over at the Nicklaus Tournament before finishing with a 68 on the Pete Dye Stadium Course. Other past champions heading home are Jhonattan Vegas (5 under; 2011), Charley Hoffman (even; 2007), Adam Long (2 under; 2019), Andrew Landry (6 over; 2020) and 2024 winner Nick Dunlap, who shot 77-74 before withdrawing from the tournament.

Two of the more dramatic falls from inside the cutline Saturday came from Andrew Novak and Nico Echavarria. Novak, a winner at last year’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans, was in prime position after two days thanks to rounds of 64-68. But Saturday at Stadium proved a different story: He made two birdies against two bogeys and one double to card a 2-over 74, missing three putts inside 4 feet for birdie over his final four holes to miss the cut by one.

Similarly, two-time TOUR winner Echavarria was poised for a good run at the weekend and started Saturday at 14 under (67-73). But things took a turn early: He turned in 1-over 37, took a double bogey after visiting the monster bunker at No. 16 and sealed his fate with a sextuple bogey at the par-3 17th. He finished with an 81 and missed the cut by six shots.

Among notable players making the cut were Homa (13 under) and Fowler (15 under) – both making their first starts of 2026 – and Zalatoris, playing his first PGA TOUR event since the PGA Championship last May. The 29-year-old finished birdie-birdie for a 2-under 70 on Stadium and made the cut on the number. Battling injuries for most of the last three seasons, Zalatoris recently returned to competition at the Nedbank Golf Challenge on the DP World Tour in December, where he finished 15th.

“It's fun to look forward to playing three, four, five weeks in a row,” Zalatoris told media earlier in the week. “I've always been a guy that loves playing in rhythm, and I literally have not been able to do that for two years.