Nine Star Players Who Failed to Make the Weekend at the Open de España
Patrick Reed, Justin Rose and Jayden Schaper are among the big names who missed the cut at the Open de Espana in Madrid, with several leading players heading home early from the DP World Tour event.
The tournament is the final stretch of the DP World Tour season, and the field at Real Club de Campo Villa de Madrid was again stellar. As well as the chance to win a national open, there are places at stake in the season-ending playoffs, and a PGA Tour card for 2027 is up for grabs.
Here are the big names who missed the cut.
Patrick Reed (+2)
Patrick Reed was looking to extend his lead over Rory McIlroy in the Race To Dubai standings with a strong finish in Madrid. Missing the cut means he could now be knocked off top spot.
Eugenio Chacarra, despite a broken toe, is challenging for his national open title in his own backyard. Only a victory will be enough for the Spaniard to overtake Reed, but a second or third place would be enough to overhaul McIlroy and move into second.
Reed is recovering from the injury that forced him out of the BMW PGA Championship, so it is another week without points for him. He improved on Friday with a level-par round of 71, but his opening 73 on Thursday cost him, and he missed the weekend by a single stroke.
Justin Rose (+2)
Justin Rose finished T18 at the Tour Championship on the PGA Tour, but his return to Europe has not gone to plan. He finished T51 at the BMW PGA Championship and then missed the third-round cut at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
Rose shot 72-72 for a two-over total, which means he has now missed back-to-back cuts. He agonisingly missed out on the weekend by just one shot.
Jayden Schaper (+2)
After a stunning start to the season, Jayden Schaper’s form has faded. The South African missed his second cut in a row and his third in four starts.
Schaper won back-to-back tournaments at the start of the season, the Alfred Dunhill Championship and the Mauritius Open. Since then, only a T36 at Wentworth has kept him going. He entered the week seventh in the Race To Dubai, but he shot 73-71 and just missed the weekend.
Bubba Watson (+3)
Bubba Watson’s debut in the tournament did not go as planned. He opened with a four-over round of 75 on Thursday, which left him with an uphill battle from the start.
The two-time Masters champion improved on Friday with a one-under 70, but he was still a couple of shots short of the cut mark. Watson also missed the cut the previous week at the Dunhill Links.
Tom McKibbin (+3)
Tom McKibbin had found good form on the DP World Tour, with a T6 at the British Masters and a T5 at the Irish Open in successive weeks. That form has now deserted him.
The Northern Irishman has missed the cut in his last two events, after also failing to make the weekend at Wentworth.
Nicolai Hojgaard (+4)
Nicolai Hojgaard’s wretched run of form continued in Madrid. Even a hole-in-one on Friday could not save him, and it was his fourth missed cut in a row on the DP World Tour.
He was out of sorts again and wayward during his opening 74. Despite the ace on the third hole, the Dane could not break par on Friday and finished on four over.
Hojgaard started the week 100th in the Race To Dubai standings, so he faces a huge task to make the season-ending playoffs.
Adrian Meronk (+5)
Last week’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship winner, Adrian Meronk, appeared to carry a hangover into Spain, so it was no real surprise to see the big Pole struggle.
He opened with a 72, which was not too bad, but he could not get anything going on Friday. A 75 condemned him to a missed cut the week after tasting victory. It shows how tough it is to win on the DP World Tour.
Tyrrell Hatton (+6)
Jon Rahm has made headlines by quitting LIV Golf, and his Legion XIII teammate Tyrrell Hatton may follow suit. For now, Hatton is focused on the DP World Tour, but things did not go well for him in Spain.
An opening 76 on Thursday did the damage. He was nowhere near the cut mark despite a much-improved 72 on Friday. It is 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 into Spain, despite withdrawing from the French Open on his last start.
He made a horror start on his return to action in Madrid, with an opening round of 78. His 73 on Friday offered some slight improvement but was not enough to make the weekend.