SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Despite an early-week putter switch, Brooks Koepka will miss the weekend at the WM Phoenix Open in his second event since returning to PGA TOUR competition.

The flatstick remained the anchor for Koepka, who lost approximately 2.4 strokes total to the field for the week, with 2.5 of those coming on the greens. A switch to the same TaylorMade Spider model used by Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy wasn’t enough to punch a ticket to the weekend, as he did last week at the Farmers Insurance Open.

There were signs of encouragement. Koepka gained roughly a stroke putting on Friday, perhaps an indication he is beginning to settle into the new equipment and reacclimate to TOUR green setups. But the progress wasn’t enough to overcome the 3.5 strokes he lost rolling the rock during Thursday’s opening round.

Koepka is unlikely to hang his head. The five-time major champion entered the West Coast Swing simply looking to get his feet wet in his return to the TOUR. A made cut at the Farmers, historically, not one of his stronger venues, likely makes the trip a relative success, even by his lofty standards.

He’ll now turn his attention to the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches, played just down the road from his home base in Jupiter, Florida.

Meanwhile, Xander Schauffele had to once again sweat the cutline, this time just sneaking in on the number. Schauffele lost his TOUR-leading cuts-made streak last week at the Farmers and rallied with a back-nine 32 on Friday to give himself a chance. He begins a new cut streak this week.

Collin Morikawa faced a similar path. His Friday 69 moved him to 1-under, positioning him on the number as he searches for positive momentum following a modest start to the season.

On the other side of the ledger, Si Woo Kim produced the round of the tournament to this point. His blistering 62 vaulted him from 2 over to 7-under par, good for T2 at the time of writing, even surpassing the pace set by the red-hot Hideki Matsuyama.

Others securing their place heading into the weekend in the morning wave included Tom Kim (66, 3 under), Min Woo Lee (65, 6 under) and Rickie Fowler (68, 3 under), each taking advantage of the calmer morning conditions to move safely inside the cutline.

As for the afternoon, Scottie Scheffler got right back into form with a bogey-free 65, easily emerging from the 2-over hole he began the day in. He heads to the weekend at 4-under.

Sahith Theegala began his day on what would be the cutline and fired a tidy 6-under 65 that included two eagles and a chip-in birdie after finding the water on the drivable 17th. A popular pick ahead of the week, Theegala will head into the weekend T5 with a great shot at confirming his spot in the Aon Swing 5, and possibly even snagging a trademark win.

Other impressive efforts in the afternoon wave included Tom Kim posting a 66 to clear the hurdle at 3-under, 2024 champion Nick Taylor carding 68 to jump inside at 3-under and Wyndham Clark carding five birdies in his final seven holes to slide under the door on the number.