Some of the PGA Tour heavy hitters are headed home early from the Scottish Open as Fowler and Spieth lead that pack.
At the Genesis Scottish Open, two rounds have been played, meaning that half of the field is already home.
There are well-known names who won’t perform during the weekend. Ludvig Åberg performed admirably, leading Antoine Rozner by one shot going into Moving Day. Six golfers are at 9 under, while Sungjae Im and Matteo Manassero lead the field at 10-under. Some individuals just plain struggled at the Renaissance Club, while many others were successful.
Anyone scoring more than three under was sent home. Three under was the required minimum. Which guys were among those that concluded their workweek early? Let’s look at the most well-known players that the Scottish Open eliminated.
The most popular PGA Tour players to MC at the Scottish Open
— Luke Donald (68-70; -2)
— Hideki Matsuyama (71-67; -2)
— Jordan Spieth (71-68; -1)
— Rickie Fowler (73-71; +4)
— Justin Rose (69-72; +1)
— Padraig Harrington (70-71; +1)
— Will Zalatoris (71-71; +2)
— Denny McCarthy (73-74; +7)
— Keith Mitchell (69-70; -1)
Even though several of these men didn’t play particularly poorly, their performance was nonetheless significantly below the 3-under cutline. It feels unexpected that both Fowler and Spieth are leaving early for their homes. Although he didn’t play poorly last week, the former Texas Longhorn was unable to find his game in Scotland.
Mitchell appears to be in the exact spot and manages to avoid the cut by a whisker. McCarthy performed admirably at the John Deere, but he was unable to maintain that form at the Scottish Open. Just four players scored the same or worse than him, and he struggled.
Given that both Rose and Matsuyama have a strong track record in this competition, they are also surprising. Zalatoris was unable to help himself much. There’s no proof, so one could ask if it was still his back that was giving him trouble.
The field needs to stay up when there are players who are 10-under or greater. These athletes had to leave early since they failed to do that. Given that the Open Championship will also take place in Scotland, certain players will likely be able to start preparing for that competition earlier than others.
Which player’s inclusion on this list surprised you the most?