13 Notable Names To Miss The Cut At The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship
The DP World Tour event had a cut at the 54-hole stage. Here are some of the biggest names to miss out on the final round
The Alfred Dunhill Championship is a unique DP World Tour event for several reasons.
One is that it’s played on three of Scotland’s most iconic layouts, the Old Course, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns.
Another is the cut, which didn’t come in until after the third round, leaving the top 60 and ties to battle it out for the title in the final round.
The week began with 168 players in the individual championship (a team event also runs alongside it), meaning there were plenty of casualties following the third round, among them some big names.
Cameron Smith (-5)
Cameron Smith missed the cut for the second time in two starts
A week after missing the cut at the FedEx Open de France, LIV Golfer Cameron Smith will again fail to complete all 72 holes of a tournament after falling short in Scotland.
The Australian returned to the scene of his greatest triumph for the third round, the Old Course at St Andrews, where he won the 150th Open in 2022.
That must have seemed a long time ago when he completed a one-under 71 to miss out on another round at the legendary layout on Sunday.
Justin Rose (-3)
Justin Rose was three points outside the cut line
After a successful PGA Tour season that included victory at the Farmers Insurance Open and finishing tied for 18th at the Tour Championship, Rose would have been confident of a productive week in Scotland.
However, despite performing consistently, with the cut line set at six-under-par, more was required to earn a place in the final round.
Rose completed rounds of 72, 69 and 72 to finish on three-under for the tournament, but it still left him three shots adrift of the cut line.
Tyrrell Hatton (-3)
Tyrrell Hatton had an inconsistent tournament
There were high hopes that Tyrrell Hatton would add to his haul of eight DP World Tour titles, particularly having won the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship a record three times.
The most recent of those titles came just two years ago, but he couldn't make it four this year.
Hatton’s week didn’t start brilliantly, with a two-over-par 74 at the Old Course, before he bounced back with a six-under 66 in the second round at Carnoustie.
He couldn’t do enough at Kingsbarns, though, firing a one-over-par 73 to miss the cut.
Lee Westwood (-4)
Lee Westwood's first DP World Tour event in more than three years ended in a missed cut
Lee Westwood is one of several LIV Golfers playing his first DP World Tour event since the 2023 Hero Dubai Desert Classic, but it didn’t result in a glorious comeback for the Englishman.
Westwood was four-under after the opening two rounds, but a 72 at the Old Course on Saturday was his worst of the week, and enough for him to miss out on the final round.
Bubba Watson (-3)
Bubba Watson didn't do quite enough to book a place in the final round
After a T13 at the Danish Golf Championship, two-time Masters winner Watson was making his second DP World Tour start of the year in Scotland.
Like several who missed the cut, Watson didn't have a particularly poor week, with an even-par round on Thursday followed by rounds of 70 and 71, but it wasn't quite enough to secure another 18 holes for the LIV Golfer.
Ian Poulter (E)
Ian Poulter fell six short of the cutline
Like Westwood, Ian Poulter made his first DP World Tour start since the 2023 Dubai Desert Classic, but while he was tied for sixth on that occasion, he didn't get close to a similar finish in Scotland.
Poulter made a steady start with an even-par 72 in the first round at the Old Course, but a 76 at Carnoustie was damaging.
He rallied in the third round at Kingsbarns with a four-under-par 68, but it wasn’t enough as he missed the cut by six shots.
Lucas Herbert (-1)
Lucas Herbert had a disappointing third round
Lucas Herbert had a brilliant season on LIV Golf, picking up his first two wins on the circuit to place fourth in the Individual Championship.
Herbert was also in contention for his maiden Major title at The Open, and fired a second-round 62 at Royal Birkdale.
As a result, he would have surely been confident ahead of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
He was six-under-par after two rounds, but a five-over 77 at the Old Course put paid to his chances.
Luke Donald (-5)
Luke Donald came close to making the cut
Donald may no longer be the force that took him to the top of the world rankings 15 years ago, but his status as European Ryder Cup captain meant he remained one of the bigger names in the field.
The Englishman very nearly made the cut, too. Donald was five-under after two rounds, but an even-par 72 at the Old Course ensured that's where he stayed, and he missed out by one.
Peter Uihlein (-4)
Peter Uihlein's week began relatively poorly, before getting better and better. It still wasn't enough for him to make the cut, though.
The American's first round was at the Old Course, but he struggled at the Home of Golf with a two-over-par 74.
He gained a foothold at Carnoustie with a two-under-par 70, before a four-under 68 at Kingsbarns.
Uihlein may have warmed to the task as the week progressed, but his four-under for the tournament still left him two shots adrift of the cut line.
Richard Bland (-2)
Richard Bland finished poorly in the third round
Richard Bland was another LIV Golfer making his first DP World Tour start since the 2023 Dubai Desert Classic.
Rounds of 69 and 70 left him in a relatively strong position, but it all went wrong for the Englishman in the third round at Kingsbarns.
Bland made five bogeys in his last six holes to finish on two-under-par for the week, and out of the tournament.
Marc Leishman (-4)
Marc Leishaman faltered at the end of the third round
Cameron Smith and Lucas Herbert's Ripper GC teammate Marc Leishman made his first start since LIV Golf Indianapolis, where he placed T10.
He began in similarly impressive fashion, with a three-under-par 69 at Kingsbarns before an even-par 72 at the Old Course.
That left him needing a performance similar to his opening round when he teed it up at Carnoustie.
All was on track until his final four holes, but, needing to play them in one-under-par or better, he instead dropped a shot at the 17th to miss the cut by two.
Thriston Lawrence (+4)
Thriston Lawrence has largely struggled since his win at the Omega European Masters
Just four weeks ago, Thriston Lawrence saw off the challenge of Paul Casey in a playoff to win his third Omega European Masters title.
His starts since then have not come close to a repeat of that achievement, though.
The South African arrived in Scotland off the back of a T28 at the FedEx Open de France, but rounds of 75, 72 and 72 left him 10 shots outside the cut line and with missed cuts in three of his last four starts.
Carlos Ortiz (-4)
Carlos Ortiz missed his second cut in as many weeks
Carlos Ortiz had appeared on track to make the cut.
The LIV Golfer carded rounds of 70 and 68 to leave him at six-under-par going into the third round at the Old Course.
However, a two-over-par 74, including a double-bogey on just his second hole of the day, meant he missed the cut by two shots, a week after failing to reach the weekend at the FedEx Open de France.
