Mickelson, Lowry, DJ… Big names miss the Open cut
By Matt Coles
It’s the halfway stage of the Open, and some of the stars of the sport will not feature this weekend.
DJ, Mickelson, Lowry, Rose, JT… They are just a few of those who have failed to make the cut for the Open.
There have been some very surprising scores this week so far, none more so than the 11-over-par 82 Justin Thomas shot on Thursday.
He is one of several major champions who will not be teeing it up at Royal Liverpool on Saturday.
The two-time PGA Champion carded an 11-over-par 82 on the opening day, which was rounded out by a 9 on the last.
He improved greatly on the second day, firing in a level-par 71 in trickier conditions, but Thomas is scraping around for form ahead of the Ryder Cup in Rome.
Two-time major champion Dustin Johnson was in a position to make the cut despite a poor opening round of 74. However, DJ faltered on the second day.
His front nine saw him fall a further three shots back to six-over, but coming home in 43 thanks to a pair of double bogeys. Johnson misses the cut at the Open for the first time since 2018.
Six-time major champion Phil Mickelson struggled over the opening two rounds. The 2013 Open Champion was only three-over going down the last on day one.
A drive out of bounds and two to get out of a greenside bunker saw that move up to six-over. He then shot a second round 74 to finish at nine-over, well outside the top 100.
Six more Open champions, including 2019 victor Shane Lowry and 2021 winner Collin Morikawa, will also not be in action over the last two rounds. Darren Clarke, John Daly, Ernie Els and Francesco Molinari all missed the cut.
Major winners Keegan Bradley and Justin Rose were also among those to finish below the cut line of three-over.
Former BMW PGA Champion Billy Horschel, Tony Finau, Talor Gooch and Branden Grace, the only man to ever shoot a 62 in an Open, will also not feature.
NOW READ: Everything you need to know about the 151st Open Championship
Selected players to miss the cut (+3, 145):
- Keegan Bradley: +4 (70-76, 146)
- Collin Morikawa: +4 (73-73, 146)
- Tony Finau: +6 (73-75, 148)
- Billy Horschel: +6 (73-75, 148)
- Francesco Molinari: +6 (73-75, 148)
- Justin Rose: +6 (74-74, 148)
- Shane Lowry: +7 (72-77, 149)
- Talor Gooch: +7 (74-75, 149)
- Darren Clarke: +8 (73-77, 150)
- Phil Mickelson: +9 (77-74, 151)
- Branden Grace: +10 (73-79, 152)
- Ernie Els: +10 (75-77, 152)
- Justin Thomas: +11 (82-71, 156)
- John Daly: +12 (77-77, 154)
- Dustin Johnson: +13 (74-81, 155)
Matt Coles
Mention a European country, and Matt will tell you which resorts make the National Club Golfer Top 100s: European Resorts list. He might even throw in who designed the golf course and how many rooms the hotel has got at each one…
Matt got into the game of golf from a young age, following his old man to the local golf club. He fell for the sport, and now can’t seem to go a day without thinking about how to improve his game (Thanks Dad!). Matt has been a member of Howley Hall GC in Leeds since 2020, and is just about managing to maintain a single-figure handicap. He likes to remind people that he once broke 75, but won’t tell people that it was on a shortened course during the winter.
He moved to Leeds after graduating from the University of Central Lancashire with a First Class Honours degree in Sports Journalism. Matt joined NCG after almost five years travelling the world with the Professional Squash Association, working on events in all four corners of the globe.
Matt currently plays a Cobra King LTDx driver and RadSpeed 3-wood. TaylorMade monopolise the rest of his bag, with a SIM UDI, M5 irons and both Milled Grind and HI-TOE wedges, along with a Monza Redline putter. He uses a Vice Pro Plus golf ball, because he’s a bit different…
Away from golf, Matt is a Manchester United fan, and a keen runner, having ran the Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon (his first and possibly last), in May 2023.
