The Emirates Golf Club has been a cruel mistress this year. Just ask Rory McIlroy, who started the 2026 Hero Dubai Desert Classic with a 1-over par. While he still managed to scrape through the weekend rounds with a comeback on Friday, some other big names weren’t as lucky. Here’s a look at three high-profile players who missed the cut at the first Rolex Series event of the season.

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Dustin Johnson

In an interview with Today’s Golfer, Dustin Johnson warned his PGA Tour rivals of his intentions, “If I play well, I think I’ll get into them (the majors). I want to play and compete. I still feel like I’m good enough to compete with the best. Obviously, this year is a big year. I need to play well. I’m looking forward to it.”

He was anticipating a successful season ahead. And so, he started his campaign by making his debut at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic. However, the golf veteran wouldn’t be too pleased with the way he kicked off 2026. He started well with a couple of birdies on the first three holes, but things went downhill from there.

In 36 holes, Johnson managed to score eight bogeys and four birdies to register a score of 4-over par. That was enough to push him out of the 2026 Hero Dubai Desert Classic as he missed the cut by three strokes.

Joaquin Niemann

Joaquin Niemann is one of the biggest stars on LIV Golf. Notably, he finished the last two seasons as a runner-up on the individual leaderboard. The Chilean pro also had five LIV Golf wins to his name in 2025. But he barely managed to make an impact at the $9 million DP World Tour event.

Niemann didn’t perform badly at the Emirates Golf Club as he managed to score three birdies and an eagle. However, the 27-year-old just made a few too many bogeys to narrowly miss out on the weekend rounds.

A 2-over par on Thursday put him on the backfoot right from the beginning. He couldn’t recover from it in the second round as he only managed to score a par. That ended Niemann’s campaign with a score of 2-over par, one stroke away from making the cut.

Nacho Elvira

Just a week ago, Nacho Elvira was at the top of the world. He had beaten Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry to claim his third DP World Tour win at the the 2026 Dubai Invitational. However, things didn’t go his way at the Emirates Golf Club this week.

Elvira didn’t start the tournament as badly as Johnson and Niemann. While the two LIV Golf pros carded a 2-over par on Thursday, the Spaniard only went 1-over. But he had a nightmarish second round to crash out of the tournament.

The champion from last week was a mere shadow of himself at the Emirates Golf Club on Friday. With three double bogeys in 18 holes, Elvira struggled to find breathing space all through the day. He ended the round with a 5-over par and finished the tournament with a +6. That ended his campaign two rounds earlier than he would have hoped.