Scottie Scheffler’s run of never having to worry about a weekend tee time is over.
The world No. 1 shot a two-over 72 on Friday at The Renaissance Club in North Berwick, Scotland, and that left him two shots outside the projected cut line at the Scottish Open. After 78 straight tournaments of making the cut, Scheffler is headed home early.
It’s a jarring turn for a player who had been as automatic as anyone in golf. His last missed cut came at the St.
Jude Championship in August of 2022, and now that streak is done. Scheffler will get a few days off before the British Open, which begins Thursday at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England, where he’ll defend the title after winning his first Claret Jug at Royal Portrush Golf Club last year.
Friday’s finish came apart late. Scheffler missed a short par putt on the par-3 ninth hole, which was his 18th of the day, and it had an all-too-familiar feel after the short birdie putt he missed in the Monday morning playoff at the Travelers Championship two weeks ago. He then needed to hole a chip on the final hole to keep his week alive, but couldn’t get it done.
After the round, Scheffler pointed to his struggles on the back nine, where he posted one birdie, one bogey, and seven pars.
“I got off to a tough start and then on the back nine I didn’t feel like I was hitting it close enough to give myself enough opportunities,” he said. I think that’s what it really comes down to.
I got off to a poor start and didn’t really hit it close enough to give myself a bunch of looks and that’s how you shoot over par.“ I was just trying to get some looks.
I felt like I struck it better on the back nine. Overall, not quite good enough.
Like I said, I felt like I was hitting it too far from the hole and wasn’t holing any of those putts."
Scheffler actually opened the tournament with a two-under 68 and was only three shots off the lead, which made the collapse on Friday even more surprising. He was coming off a second-place finish at the Travelers and looked positioned to be in the mix again.
Instead, the second round went sideways early. Bogeys on his second and third holes dropped him back, and he turned in two-over 37 on the front nine before finishing even on the back.
The streak itself was remarkable, even if it falls short of Tiger Woods’ record. Woods made 142 straight cuts over a seven-year stretch from 1998 to 2005, a standard that still towers over everything else.
Now Scheffler turns the page and heads toward Royal Birkdale, where he’ll try to reset before starting his British Open title defense.
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