Scottie Scheffler's Open Plans In Disarray As Long Run Of Cuts Ends In Scotland

After 78 events and 1,428 days Scottie Scheffler has finally missed a cut on the PGA Tour - as he won't make the weekend at the Genesis Scottish Open.

It's hardly the ideal preparation for the upcoming Open Championship for the defending champion and World No.1, who will now have to make alternative plans for the weekend ahead of Royal Birkdale.

Scheffler followed an opening round of 68 with a 72 on Friday at the Renaissance Club to finish on level par - just one shot off the projected cut line but down in 91st place on the leaderboard.

That means the longest active streak of cuts made on the PGA Tour comes to an end, with Scheffler missing his first cut since the FedEx St. Jude Championship in August 2022.

Xander Schauffele had the previous longest active streak with 72 straight cuts made until he missed out at Torrey Pines in January this year - 1,391 days after he last failed to make the weekend.

And now Scheffler's own run of 78 made cuts is over, leaving him well short of the PGA Tour record set by Tiger Woods, with a whopping 142 cuts in a row made.

The current longest active streak is now Matt Fitzpatrick with just 28 in a row - showcasing what an achievement it was for Scheffler.

Now Scheffler has to find new plans for the weekend as he looks to defend his Open Championship title at Royal Birkdale next week.

“A little different than I was planning,” Scheffler said about his preparation for The Open after missing the cut in Scotland.

“I’ll figure out how to get down to Birkdale and go from there.”

Scheffler won the Claret Jug at Royal Portrush last year and is still seen as one of the favorites to win at Royal Birkdale, but missing the cut in Scotland is a big blow.

He's currently on his longest winless run for three years, with the Scottish Open his 14th start since his last victory at the American Express at the start of the year.

Scheffler still had four runner-up finishes and arrived in Scotland on the back of a playoff defeat to Viktor Hovland at the Travelers Championship.

But a missed cut throws his prep into disarray, with Scheffler admitting he didn't give himself enough birdie chances with his approach play.

“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," said Scheffler.

"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 will now head to Birkdale early and have an extended practice run on the Southport links ahead of his Claret Jug defence.