A slew of big names missed the cut at The Open 2026 at Royal Birkdale

SOUTHPORT, England -- Well, that didn't last long.

>With Scottie Scheffler missing the cut last week at the Genesis Scottish Open, snapping his streak of 78 straight made cuts, Matt Fitzpatrick became the holder of the longest streak of consecutive made cuts. He last missed a cut at the 2025 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. The Englishman, one of the favorites this week at the 154th British Open, picked a bad week for his game to cool off. Fitzpatrick, the world No. 3, shot a pair of 72s, ending his streak on Tour at 28.

>“You've just got to look at three or four holes for me. I've hit decent shots, gotten no luck and come away with 4-over par,” he said. “That's the way links golf is. You need to have that rub of the green sometimes, and I didn't have it this week.”

>It didn't help that Fitzpatrick ranked near the bottom of the field in SG: Around the Green. He added: “I've got four shots, and three shots I've hit good. That's the way links golf is. When it's this firm, there's a lot of luck of the bounces and luck of the lies. It is what it is.”

>On the flip side, Max Homa didn’t make the Open Championship last year and wasn’t in the field this time until he finished second at the John Deere Classic a few weeks ago.

>After all that effort to get back to one of his favorite tournaments, Homa refused to go down without a fight. Homa eagled the par-5 17th and sank a 5-foot par putt at the finale to shoot 69 and make the cut on the number at 1-over 141.

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>So, too, did Jose Luis Basteller, who drained a 28-foot eagle at 17 and stuffed his approach at the difficult 18th to 10 inches to earn a weekend tee time. That's clutch city.

>Min Woo Lee missed a birdie putt on 17 but sank the tougher putt at the last to make the cut on the number. He pumped his fist in delight. Not everyone was so lucky.

>Let's take a look at some of the other notables that are leaving the Lancashire Coast early.

Notables who missed the cut at The Open 2026Billy Horschel

>Billy Ho’s slump continued this week. He missed the cut for the sixth time in his last eight starts.

Harris English

>The Georgia Bulldog has lacked any bark lately, missing the cut in his last three starts with a cut, including back-to-back majors. He still only has one top 10 finish this season and is in danger of  falling outside the top 50.

Henrik Stenson

>The 2016 Open champ got off to a solid start with 68 on Thursday but struggled to 4-over 74 on Friday. It marks the fourth time in the last six Opens that the 50-year-old Swede has gone home early. He can blame his putter for this one: he lost more than 3½ strokes to the field on the putting greens.

Cameron Smith

>The 2022 Open champion rallied from a slow start on Thursday  (73) with four birdies in his first eight holes. But the birdies dried up and he made a mistake at the par-3 15th that resulted in a double bogey. “Just one bad swing. That's the golf course in major championships. They just constantly ask questions,” Smith said. “If you hit a poor one, you've got to back it up with a good one.” He signed for 69 and missed the cut at the Open for the third year in a row.

Aaron Rai

>The PGA Championship winner missed a 22-foot par putt at the last to miss the cut by one. Rai managed just one birdie on Friday, which came at 15, and two for the championship. The Englishman also missed the cut last week at the Genesis Scottish Open. Not the result he wanted but given that he won his first major in May, he’s been playing with house money.

Wyndham Clark

>The U.S. Open champion last month shot 73-70 ending an impressive run that netted him two titles. This is his first missed cut since the PGA Championship. Clark made just one birdie on Thursday. That wasn’t the problem on Friday. He made five birdies and an eagle but also back-to-back doubles at Nos. 2 and 3. He ranked 140th in SG: Around the Green. Still, this is just a blip on the screen for Clark who can spend the weekend with his U.S. Open trophy if he wants.

Tom Kim

>The South Korean winner of the Genesis Scottish Open a week ago was a popular pre-championship pick but he ran out of gas. Kim shot 70-73 to miss the cut. It was his first missed cut since the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in late April.

Justin Rose

>The 45-year-old Englishman would have been a great story but it was not to be. He emerged here in 1998 as a 17-year-old amateur but blew up on Thursday, shooting 5-pver 75 on Thursday. Rose finished T-3 at the Masters, T-10 at the PGA and T-11 at the U.S. Open but eight bogeys on Thursday was his undoing. On the bright side, Royal Birkdale did make him an honorary member so he's got that going for him.

Viktor Hovland

>The Norwegian started well enough with an even-par 70 but he had a case of the bogeys on Friday, making six in all. He struggled off the tee, ranking 152nd, and also SG: Around the Green. It’s the second time in his last three Opens that he’s missed the cut, and also the third straight major this season that he’s missed the cut. Even with a win at the Travelers Championship, it’s hard not to chalk this up as a lost year for Vik.

Jason Day

>The Aussie made just one birdie on Thursday en route to 73. He wasn’t much better on Friday. He ranked 152nd out of 156 in SG: Putting. Day missed the cut at the Open for the second straight year.

Joaquin Niemann

>The Chilean shot 76-68 to miss the cut. He failed to make a birdie on Thursday and went 23 holes until he marked a circle on his card. Niemann struggled with his approach game, which is usually a strength, and his putting. It’s the third time in the last four years that Niemann has missed the cut.

Jordan Spieth

>The 2017 Open champ here couldn’t rediscover the magic. He shot a pair of 73s to miss the cut. It was going to be an uphill battle on Friday to make the weekend but even the Spieth faithful knew it wasn’t going to be his week when he took 3 putts from just over 3 feet to make double. That was tough to watch and contributed to a dreadful SG: Putting performance. He also made a double bogey at the 14th to seal his fate. Spieth will try to rebound next week at the 3M Open.

Akshay Bhatia

>Rounds of 71-73 will send Bhatia home early. This one will sting as he bogeyed three of the last four holes on Friday. He missed the cut at three of the four majors this season. In his career, he’s missed the cut at six of 12.

>This article originally appeared on Golfweek: A slew of big names missed the cut at The Open 2026 at Royal Birkdale