Brooks Koepka missed the cut at the WM Phoenix Open, where Ryo Hisatsune leads by one shot from fellow Japanese star Hideki Matsuyama.
England's Matthew Fitzpatrick and John Parry are four strokes off top spot on seven under, with world No 1 Scottie Scheffler seven adrift after following an opening 73 with a flawless 65 to make his 66th successive PGA Tour cut stretching back to 2022.
Scheffler, at four under, is still in the hunt for a 21st PGA Tour title and second of 2026, after , and will take inspiration from this event four years ago, when he won from nine shots back.
However, Koepka's week is over after he failed to make the final two rounds in his second event since returning from LIV Golf.
The five-time major champion ended at two over after 36 holes, hitting a two-under 69 on Friday having shot a four-over 75 on Thursday.
Matsuyama surged into the lead after peeling off six successive birdies on his front nine en route to a seven-under 64 but was then eclipsed by compatriot Hisatsune, whose eight-under 63 took him to 11 under at TPC Scottsdale in Arizona.
Hisatsune was six under for his back nine after four birdies and an eagle between 13 and 17, chipping in for a gain on his penultimate hole having driven into the water.
Pierceson Coody and first-round leader Chris Gotterup are joint-third on eight under, one ahead of a pack including Fitzpatrick, Parry and South Korea's Si Woo Kim - the latter shooting a round-of-the-day nine-under 62.
Kim registered eight birdies and an eagle after starting his second round with a bogey.
Parry, who earned a PGA Tour card by dint of his performances on last year's DP World Tour, carded an eventful five-under 66.
He made eight birdies, including four on the trot from the 13th, and three bogeys.
Fitzpatrick's one-under 71 featured birdies at his second and third holes before a run of eight straight pars preceded three bogeys, two birdies and two pars across his last seven.
Watch round three of the WM Phoenix Open live on Your Site Golf from 5pm on Saturday. Coverage also picks up on Your Site Main Event from 8.30pm.
