A number of star names are headed home early from Royal Birkdale…
Well, that was an interesting first couple of days at The Open.
The halfway cut has now fallen at Royal Birkdale, and plenty of household names will not be hanging around for the weekend.
At the other end of the leaderboard, Lucas Herbert carded a record-equaling 62 to move to 8-under-par and lead by two over the trio of Jackson Suber, Cam Young and Ryan Gerard. It would have been a one-shot lead, but Bryson DeChambeau, who had initially carded a second-round 66, was issued with a two-shot penalty for accidentally improving his lie.
But you’re all here to find out who’s be going home early. As always, we’re not here to argue about what constitutes a “big name” or not. It’s just a bit of fun.
Big names who missed the cut at The Open
The cut line fell at 1-over-par, with 78 of the 156 players making it through. These were not among them…
Aaron Rai +2 (71-71)
The PGA champion couldn’t get into any kind of groove at Birkdale.
Nicolai Hojgaard +2 (72-70)
The Ryder Cupper had the best of the conditions on Friday morning, but couldn’t make the most of them.
Justin Rose +3 (75-68)
Rose was a strong contender to ease the pain of the England soccer team’s World Cup exit at the hands of Argentina on Wednesday. Apparently nursing a sore neck, the spirited Friday fightback wasn’t nearly enough.
Wyndham Clark +3 (73-70)
The US Open champ finished with two birdies and an eagle in his last four holes, but it wasn’t nearly enough.
Cam Smith +3 (73-69)
Needed to shoot under par after a poor opening round – and he did. He still missed the cut by one, though.
Tom Kim +3 (70-73)
Will head home from a couple of weeks in the UK with the Scottish Open trophy, and we’re sure that’s enough for the South Korean.
Harris English +3 (73)
For the second straight year, English’s caddie Eric Larson was not allowed into the country due to misdemeanors in his past. Last year, he battled his way to a runner-up finish behind Scottie Scheffler. This time, though, he won’t be hanging around for the weekend.
Matt Fitzpatrick +4 (72-72)
Nick Faldo told TG earlier in the week that Fitzpatrick was the best bet to end England’s 34-year wait for an Open champion. We’ll go again next year, Sir Nick.
Viktor Hovland +4 (70-74)
The Norwegian was hotly tipped for the Claret Jug – including on a website not a million miles from here – but struggled in Friday afternoon’s wind.
Akshay Bhatia +4 (71-73)
The left-hander won the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March. He won’t be winning The Open in July.
Jason Day +4 (73-71)
A runner-up finish round the corner at Hoylake in ’23 aside, this is by the major that has yielded the least amount of success for Day – and he’ll leave Birkdale having only really made headlines for his outfits. Again.
Joaquin Niemann +4 (76-68)
A prolific winner on LIV Golf, Niemann’s struggles on the major scene are well documented – particularly at The Open where he has never finished higher than 53rd.
Brian Harman +9 (74-75)
They all told us the plotters would prosper at a baked-out Birkdale, with 2023 Champion Golfer Harman widely tipped to at least contend for a second Claret Jug. He missed the cut by eight.
Gary Woodland +9 (78-71)
One of the more popular golfers on tour won’t be adding to his US Open title from 2019.
Jordan Spieth +10 (73-77)
The last time The Open was at Birkdale, no one beat Spieth. This time, all but four players finished above him. The 2017 Champion Golfer’s miserable couple of days were compounded by a nine at the par-5 17th on Friday that included two lost balls.