Currently being played at The Renaissance Club, the Genesis Scottish Open has a habit of exposing even the smallest cracks in a player’s game. Its links-course design has proven challenging for even the greatest golfers. JJ Spaun (2025), Justin Thomas (2022), Collin Morikawa (2022 and 2025), Ian Poulter (2022), Jordan Spieth (2023 and 2024), and Rickie Fowler (2024) are just some of the big names who have missed the cut at the Scottish Open in the recent past.

However, the ongoing edition delivered surprises few could have predicted. Play at Royal Birkdale is just around the corner, and this was a final competitive links rehearsal before the Open Championship. But while many professionals were looking to fine-tune their game, the rehearsal took an unexpected turn. Here are the five most shocking names to miss the cut at the Genesis Scottish Open 2026.

Brooks Koepka

Brooks Koepka’s Scottish Open preparations were anything but straightforward. This was the first time he had played the event in 11 years. However, even before he arrived in Scotland, there was confusion about his participation. Rumors started flying that he had withdrawn from the event. Many assumed it was due to pain in his ring and pinky fingers, which also made him withdraw from the RBC Canadian Open 2026.

🤔 golf trivia

This Should Be an Easy One, Right?

01/10

Before 2026 Scottish Open, in Which Tournament Scheffler Last Missed the Cut?

2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship2023 Memorial Tournament2021 Players Championship2024 Genesis Scottish Open

Oops, bogey!

But don’t worry, there’s still the back 9 to prove your high golf IQ

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Although the rumors were false and Koepka played in the Genesis Scottish Open, he missed the cut by two strokes, just like Scottie Scheffler. Koepka started with a four-under 66 and was in strong contention. He started his second round on the right foot, too. But after a birdie on the first, he scored two bogeys on the front nine and then one birdie, two bogeys, and a double bogey on the back nine.

Cumulatively, Koepka finished at even par, which was not good enough to get him to moving day. This is his second consecutive missed cut after the 2026 U.S. Open.

Ludvig Aberg

Ludvig Aberg has made his presence alongside players like Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy feel completely natural. With two PGA Tour titles already under his belt, Aberg has shown that he can be consistent: 13 cuts made in 15 starts before the Scottish Open, including 10 top-25 finishes and five top-5 finishes. His best performance was a T3 finish at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

However, that consistency faltered at The Renaissance Club. Aberg carded rounds of 68 and 71 to finish one-under 139. While his opening round was still good, his driving and short game were only average at best in the second round. Because of that, he ended with two birdies and three bogeys on Friday, missing the cut.

Xander Schauffele

Xander Schauffele has already proven himself on links courses. He won the 2022 Genesis Scottish Open with rounds of 72-65-66-70 to finish seven-under 273. He then backed it up with strong finishes of T42, T15, and T8 in 2023, 2024, and 2025, respectively. The 10-time PGA Tour winner was playing well this season, too. Of the 14 starts before the Scottish Open, he had missed the cut in only one. But the Scottish Open became the second.

Schauffele started with a round of 69, which was still decent. However, it also meant that he had no room for error in Round 2. But he made more errors than he could imagine. The 32-year-old started his second round with a birdie on the first but could only manage five bogeys in the next 17 holes. After a second round of four over 74, his total score was three over 143, and he was out of the tournament.

Patrick Cantlay

Patrick Cantlay‘s 2026 season shows a gradual slide away from the elite tier. After turning pro in 2012, he has won eight PGA Tour titles and $60,944,966 in official earnings. It is quite a resume. The problem is that his last win came in 2022 at the BMW Championship. This season, he has made the cut in only 11 out of 15 events played so far, including the Genesis. This is the most cuts he has missed in a single season since the 2020-2021 campaign, and it is not even over yet.

Like Aberg, Cantlay had a good start. With an opening round of five-under 65, he was one of the co-leaders alongside Rory McIlroy and others. The bogey-free opening round featured five birdies. The second round was the complete opposite: five bogeys and a single birdie. With a 36-hole score of one-under 139, he fell one shot shy of the cut line.

Aaron Rai

Being an English professional, Aaron Rai is used to playing in demanding links conditions. His accurate driving and composed iron play make him well-suited for courses like The Renaissance Club. This compatibility was on full display in 2020, when he won the Scottish Open for his second title on the DP World Tour. Add to that the confidence he would have got from his 2026 PGA Championship win, and it would appear as if the 31-year-old were bound to be in strong contention.

He carded rounds of 71-70 to finish one-over 141 and miss the cut. The English professional never looked in a position to make it to the weekend. He never had an under-par round in these two days, thanks to his poor short game. In Round 1, his SG: Putting was -3.031, and he was 153rd in the field. This improved slightly to -1.031 in the second round, but it didn’t help him make the cut.

With Royal Birkdale now the next stop, these early exits leave plenty of work for the biggest names. They would want to get something positive out of it by heading to Royal Birkdale early and starting with practice for the final major of the season.