Open De Espana 2026: 9 Big Names To Miss The Cut

Tyrrell Hatton, Patrick Reed and Justin Rose all pictured making a swing during the 2026 Open de Espana where they missed the cut — (Image credit: Getty Images)

We nearing the final stretch of the DP World Tour season and again there was a stellar field battling it out at the Open de Espana in Madrid.

And along with the chance to win a big national open there's also places at stake in the season-ending playoffs, while a PGA Tour card for 2027 is up for grabs.

But there's an early exit for some of the top players on the DP World Tour who failed to make the cut at Real Club de Campo Villa de Madrid.

Here's the big names who missed the cut at the Open de Espana.

Patrick Reed (+2)

A hammer blow for Patrick Reed who was looking to extend his lead over Rory McIlroy in the Race To Dubai standings with a strong finish in Madrid - but after missing the cut could now even be knocked off top spot.

That's because Eugenio Chacarra, despite a broken toe, is challenging for his national open title in his own backyard. Only a victory will be good enough for the Spaniard to overtake Reed but a second or third will be enough to overhaul McIlroy and go into second.

For Reed, who is recovering from the injury that forced him out of the BMW PGA Championship, it's another week without points and he'll hope to get right for what will be a nervous battle down the stretch.

Reed improved on Friday with a level-par round of 71, but his opening 73 on Thursday ultimately cost him as he missed out by a stroke.

Justin Rose (+2)

Justin Rose had a decent finish on the PGA Tour when coming in T18 at the Tour Championship, but his return to Europe hasn't gone so well.

Rose finished T51 at the BMW PGA Championship and then missed the third-round cut at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

So it's now back-to-back missed cuts for the Englishman after shooting 72-72 for a two over total - which saw him agonizingly miss out on the weekend by just a shot.

Jayden Schaper (+2)

Jayden Schaper during the final round of the Nedbank Golf Challenge

After a stunning start to the season it's all just fizzling out a bit for Jayden Schaper with the South African missing his second cut in a row and third in four starts.

Schaper won back-to-back tournaments at the start of the season at the Alfred Dunhill Championship and Mauritius Open but only a T36 at Wentworth has kept him going of late.

He entered the week in seventh in the Race To Dubai but after shooting 73-71 he's another player to just miss out on the weekend.

Bubba Watson (+3)

Bubba Watson's debut in the tournament didn't go as planned as he opened up with a four-over round of 75 in Madrid on Thursday to give himself an uphill battle immediately.

The two-time Masters champion improved on Friday with a one-under 70 but he was still left a couple of shots short of making the cut. Watson also missed the cut last week at the Dunhill Links.

Tom McKibbin (+3)

Tom McKibbin found a nice bit of form on the DP World Tour with a T6 and T5 at the British Masters and Irish Open in successive weeks, but that form has deserted him.

The Northern Irishman has now missed the cut in his last two events after also failing to make the weekend at Wentworth.

Nicolai Hojgaard (+4)

Even a hole-in-one on Friday couldn't save Nicolai Hojgaard as his wretched run of form continued with a fourth missed cut in a row on the DP World Tour.

He was badly out of sorts again and pretty wayward during his opening 74 and despite the ace on the third hole the Dane couldn't break par on Friday as he finished with a four over total.

Hojgaard started the week down in 100th in the Race To Dubai standings so faces a huge task to make the season-ending play-offs.

Rasmus you need to catch up 🤣 Nicolai Højgaard makes his first tournament ace and reveals the hole-in-one rivalry with twin brother Rasmus. #OpenEspana https://t.co/KO0w6JIMrfOctober 9, 2026

Adrian Meronk (+5)

Adrian Meronk on the Swilcan Bridge with the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship trophy

Last week's Alfred Dunhill Links Championship winner obviously carried over a bit of a hangover so it was no real surprise to see the big Pole struggle in Spain.

An opening 72 wasn't too bad but he couldn't get anything going on Friday with a 75 condemning him to a missed cut the week after tasting victory. Just shows how tough it is to win out here.

Tyrrell Hatton (+6)

Tyrrell Hatton at the Husqvarna British Masters

With Jon Rahm hitting the headlines by quitting LIV Golf, his Legion XIII teammate Tyrrell Hatton may well follow suit - for now he's focused on the DP World Tour but things didn't go so well in Spain.

An opening 76 on Thursday did all the damage and he was nowhere near getting in touch of the cut mark despite a much improved 72 on Friday.

That's now back-to-back missed cuts for the Englishman.

Andy Sullivan (+9)

Former Ryder Cupper Andy Sullivan was ninth in the Race To Dubai heading to Spain despite withdrawing from the French Open on his last start.

And he made a horror start on his return to action in Madrid with an opening round of 78, meaning his 73 on Friday did little but offer at least some slight improvement.

Paul Higham is a sports journalist with over 20 years of experience in covering most major sporting events for both Sky Sports and BBC Sport. He is currently freelance and covers the golf majors on the BBC Sport website. Highlights over the years include covering that epic Monday finish in the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor and watching Rory McIlroy produce one of the most dominant Major wins at the 2011 US Open at Congressional. He also writes betting previews and still feels strangely proud of backing Danny Willett when he won the Masters in 2016 - Willett also praised his putting stroke during a media event before the Open at Hoylake. Favourite interviews he's conducted have been with McIlroy, Paul McGinley, Thomas Bjorn, Rickie Fowler and the enigma that is Victor Dubuisson. A big fan of watching any golf from any tour, sadly he spends more time writing about golf than playing these days with two young children, and as a big fair weather golfer claims playing in shorts is worth at least five shots. Being from Liverpool he loves the likes of Hoylake, Birkdale and the stretch of tracks along England's Golf Coast, but would say his favourite courses played are Kingsbarns and Portrush.