Johnson headlines star-studded group to miss cut at Augusta

Dustin Johnson's reign as Masters champion won't even last six months thanks to a tough closing stretch to finish Friday's round.

Despite opening with a 2-over-par 74, Johnson still looked set to see the weekend heading to the par-5 15th on Friday. The 36-year-old found water on the challenging approach and walked off with a bogey to put him on the cut number. Additional bogeys on Nos. 17 and 18 will cause him to miss the weekend by two shots.

Johnson isn't the only big name headed home early at Augusta National, with both Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka missing the cut as well.

McIlroy needed a solid Friday after an opening-round 76 but was unable to deliver, eventually finishing with a 2-over 74. That 36-hole total of 6-over will see him miss the cut at the Masters for the first time since 2010 and just the second time in his career.

Despite Koepka's usual brilliance in majors, his early departure should come as no surprise given his recent injury woes. The four-time major champion deserves a ton of credit for simply completing two rounds just three weeks after knee surgery.

The 2019 runner-up was clearly laboring over the hilly layout throughout the opening two days, eventually finishing at 5-over-par and two strokes back of the cut. How rare is it that Koepka won't be around for the weekend? It's his first missed cut in a major since the Open Championship in 2013.

Other top-25 players to miss the cut at this year's tournament include Patrick Cantlay, Sungjae Im, Daniel Berger and Matthew Wolff.