Sungjae Im in first, Mickelson misses cut after historic round at the American Express

The cut line (-4) been drawn at the American Express after two rounds in La Quinta. Different than past years, the cut was established after 36 holes with no pro-am and La Quinta Country Club not in the course rotation. It's all a ripple effect due to the ongoing pandemic and part of PGA TOUR safety protocols.

Tournament host and 5-time major champion Phil Mickelson will miss the weekend but Lefty did something he's never done in his PGA TOUR career.

Mickelson had all pars. Not a single birdie, not a single birdie, 18 straight pars.

"Surprising because I really try to hit fairways and center of the greens and just make easy pars and for that to be the first time it's really shocking."

This was a first for Mickelson but it's his 2nd consecutive missed cut at this event. A two-time winner in the desert, he wasn't the only star to struggle at PGA WEST early in the season.

Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed and Kevin Na are among some of the other notable players to come up short.

72 players now remain in the field, with many in contention, including the leader Sungjae Im, who shot 65 Friday. Im takes a one-shot advantage into the weekend.

As we've seen at this tournament, it's a shootout. Making birdies and limiting bogeys is the best recipe for success on any golf course, but especially here. In fact, 24-under par is the average winning score over the last 5 years at PGA WEST.

Click here for a complete look at the leaderboard.

Stay with KESQ News Channel 3 for continuing coverage of the tournament throughout the week.