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2026 PGA Championship cut line: Bryson DeChambeau misses another major weekend as stars pack up early
Bryson DeChambeau exits the 2026 PGA Championship early, missing the cut by three shots.
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Golf
Players Championship 2026: Is Justin Rose endangering his late career resurgence with an iron change?
TL;DR
Justin Rose's performance in iron play during the 2026 season shows mixed results, with a notable ranking of 3rd at the Farmers Insurance Open. Concerns arise about whether his recent iron change could jeopardize his late career resurgence.
Key points
- Justin Rose's SG/approach performance varies in 2026.
- He ranked 3rd at the Farmers Insurance Open.
- Concerns exist about the impact of his iron change.
- SG/approach is a key metric for measuring iron play.
Justin Rose
NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — Strokes gained is probably mainstream enough as a statistic that it doesn't need to be explained, but for our purposes here, it isolates a player's overall performance against the rest of the field in a given tournament, and against all his competitors over the course of the season.
Specific stats give an even more granular view, and SG/approach is the best method we have of measuring a golfer's iron play against his colleagues. Here, then, is a chronological look at Justin Rose's iron play thus far in 2026, with his SG/approach number, and his ranking in each field:
American Express: -0.32, 95th out of 156
Farmers Insurance Open: +2.197, 3rd out of 147
Pebble Beach: +0.27, 32nd out of 80
Genesis Invitational: +0.14, 35th out of 72
Arnold Palmer Invitational: +1.77, 2nd out of 72
Players Championship: +.228, 39th out of 123
The Masters: +1.56, 4th out of 91
Cadillac Championship: -0.328, 46th out of 72
Truist Championship: -0.190, 42nd out of 72
PGA Championship, through two rounds: -.279, 87th out of 156*
*Note that these numbers will fluctuate as the tournament goes on
Now, clearly the point of this exercise is to compare his iron play before the newsworthy switch in late April to McLaren just before the Cadillac Championship, so let's compile the seven tournaments before, and the three that have followed, and break them out:
Before McLaren: +5.845 cumulative SG/approach, ranking him 28th
After McLaren: -0.797 cumulative SG/approach: ranking him 59th
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Carl Recine
The obvious disclaimer here is that we're dealing with a very small sample size, so when we say he seems to be more than two times worse with McLaren irons in 2026, we could be looking at entirely different numbers by the U.S. Open. "Statistical noise" is a potential explanation here, as are temporary growing pains from switching to new equipment. But as a Golf Digest editor put it, it's also true that his window of time to win another major is a small sample. Rose is 45, but he's notched four major top-10s in the last three years along with two PGA Tour wins, and he seems to be knocking on the door of winning his second major.
Q&A
What are Justin Rose's SG/approach statistics for 2026?
Justin Rose's SG/approach statistics for 2026 include -0.32 at the American Express, +2.197 at the Farmers Insurance Open, and +0.27 at Pebble Beach.
How did Justin Rose rank in iron play at the Farmers Insurance Open?
Justin Rose ranked 3rd out of 147 players in iron play at the Farmers Insurance Open.
Is Justin Rose's iron change affecting his performance?
There are concerns that Justin Rose's recent iron change may endanger his resurgence in performance as he navigates the 2026 season.
What does SG/approach measure in golf?
SG/approach measures a golfer's iron play performance against their competitors in a tournament and over the season.
