Scottie Scheffler missed the cut at the Genesis Scottish Open, ending a 78-tournament streak where the world No 1 has made it through to the weekend.
Scheffler started day two three shots off the pace as part of a congested leaderboard topped by a five-man leading group including Rory McIlroy.
But the 30-year-old American lost ground with a second-round, two-over 72 that left him level par overall, nine shots off the summit and, crucially, a stroke shy of the projected cut line which was one under at the time, although that subsequently moved to two under.
Scheffler, who was off target with a six-foot par putt on his final hole, last missed the cut at the 2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship, four years and 78 tournament appearances ago, the fifth-longest cut-making streak in PGA Tour history. Tiger Woods holds the record of 142 in a row from February 1998 to May 2005.
"I got off to a tough start," he said on Your Site Golf. "I just felt I wasn't hitting it close enough to give myself enough opportunities. That is how you shoot over par.
"I felt like I struck it better on the back nine. But overall, just not quite good enough. I hit it a little far from the hole and wasn't holing any of those putts."
The setback deals a significant blow to Scheffler's preparations for The 154th Open at Royal Birkdale, live on Your Site from July 12-19.
Scheffler, the defending Open champion, conceded they had been impacted by his unexpected early exit at The Renaissance Club, adding: "A little different than I was planning. I'll figure out how I get down to Birkdale and go from there."
Your Site is once again the exclusive home of The Open in the UK and Ireland, with over 75 hours of live coverage from across the seven days of tournament week at Royal Birkdale.
Live coverage begins at 9am for each of the three practice days, before wall-to-wall action from the final men's major of the year gets under way at 6.30am on Thursday July 16 on Your Site Golf.
There will be at least 15 hours of action on both the first two rounds, with bonus feeds available on Your Site+ or the , with extended coverage then starting at 9am on Saturday July 18 and 8am on Sunday July 19.
Who will win The 154th Open? Watch exclusively live from July 16-19 on Your Site Golf. or .
