What Scottie Scheffler’s miss at The Open means

Check in every week for the unfiltered views of our writers and editors as they analyze the hottest topics in the sport, and join the conversation by tweeting us at @golf_com. This week, we discuss the missed cuts of the World No. 1s and other cheap news before the Open Championship.

Scottie Scheffler missed the cut at the Genesis Scottish Open, ending what was the longest hitting streak on the PGA Tour. What’s next? The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale. Is he selling Scottie’s Open odds after his tough outing, or is he buying because it’s selling and now he can get to Royal Birkdale early?

Josh Schrock, news editor (@schrock_and_awe): I buy as much as I would pre-Scottish. As I wrote after the Travelers’ loss to Viktor Hovland, Scottie has been awful this close to the season. He’s still the best player in the world but going from being a foreign metal player to just being good has allowed a few others to sneak up on him as much as they can. He didn’t play well in Scotland but I still think he will be there at Birkdale. He’s not my pick, but I’d be surprised to see Scheffler go two games in a row without making an impact. So, I’ll stick with Scheffler Open stock.

Josh Sens, senior author, (@joshsens): Schrock pretty much sums up my feelings. Scheffler on his ‘B’ game is still good enough to compete with him. If anything, this week’s cut will serve as an added incentive — the equivalent of bouncing back after a bogey.

Sean Zak, senior author (@sean_zak): I remember the golf world marveling at Scheffler’s putting 12 months ago, when the Scottish Open didn’t go his way. How did you react? With a win in Portrush next week. A few more days of preparation should set him up well before Thursday’s first round.

Which Open Championship storyline is the best?

Scrock: There are two really obvious ones, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say it’s not Tommy Fleetwood, or Jordan Spieth. By Rory McIlroy. Now 37, McIlroy has relied on slow play, playing the tournaments he wants and throwing all his eggs into amassing high scores. He only has one Claret Jug (he should have two if not for Cam Smith). He has been one of the best Open players of the last 20 years and it would be strange if he didn’t get a second. He has only played four times since winning the Masters but he says that makes him feel young. He played well in the Scottish except for the third round. With Scottie “struggling,” this sounds like a great opportunity for Rory to catch another big one. There are only so many opportunities on the horizon.

Senses: I would add Scheffler to the list. The defending champion, looking to retain the title despite looking for something missing from his game.

Zak: He’s a kid from Southport playing the Open in Southport. How could it happen not be tommy fleetwood? He is in excellent form and has been looking towards this week for … years now? Just listen to people who know him better:

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One big Birkdale story is Tommy Fleetwood, a homeboy looking for his first major title. Although despite Tommy’s improved performance over the past year (he moved up to 3rd in the World Ranking at the start of the season) he has not recorded a major top 10 in the past two years. If you’re 35, is Fleetwood’s highest window closing? Or just open?

Scrock: I think it’s wide open. He is still a world class striker and I expect him to win one or two of these. But as we saw with Rickie Fowler, sometimes near misses become permanent misses and the window closes. I would like to see life from Tommy in Birkdale to show the big window is still open the way I think it is.

Senses: It’s still open but with every passing opportunity, that opening is starting to look tighter and tighter. The flipside of being a homeboy is the added pressure that comes with it. I don’t see that benefiting the Fleetwood makeup guy. Being a big player, he always seems to be more comfortable in team play than as a single player in the spotlight, trying to win a biggie in stroke play.

Zak: I think that window starts to close for guys when they’re 37 or 38. Fleetwood has a few more years of total vitality, I think. He has played at this top-8 level for three years in a row now, so there are no signs that the door is closing yet.

Speaking of Fleetwood, do you currently hold the title of Best Player Without A Major? If not, who does?

Scrock: I want to say it’s Hovland but I think the obvious answer is Cameron Young. He won the Players and took the lead at the Masters on Sunday. He is ranked number 3 in the world and has clearly improved this year. You wouldn’t be surprised to see him leave Birkdale with the Claret Jug and take his name off the list.

Senses: I would also go with Young. Our reigning Player’s Champion has come agonizingly close to several majors.

Zak: This is Fleetwood’s place. (I’m sorry for talking about him so much!) Umusha was at this level for a short time. I think that difference usually follows someone who has done it for a long time. But if we’re talking straight multi-talented non-major winners, I nominate Ludwig Aberg.

It’s the last men’s championship of the season; who feels the most pressure?

Scrock: I feel like my answer to this question has always been Jon Rahm. Ever since he left for LIV, our chances of seeing him compete against Scottie and Rory have been slim. He’s competed in two PGAs since moving to LIV, but we’ve seen little of it. With LIV’s future uncertain and Rahm’s future equally bleak, it will always be important for him to deliver his best this week and get the top three points.

Senses: Schrock is getting the words out of my keyboard again. And again, I’ll add Scheffler to the list. On the other hand, he’s never looked down — he’s very serious about that — but he’s coming off a rare stretch as the defending champion, in the final big game of what has been a disappointing season by his standards. This one will have to feel a little bigger than usual for him.

Zak: I was wrong to ask for Fleetwood again?!? You will hear things on the 1st tee of Birkdale that no one else will really hear this year. Or maybe even next year. Until Shane Lowry plays the first match in the 2027 Ryder Cup at Adare Manor, we won’t have a hometown, home legend building like he did at Fleetwood this week. That is incredible pressure.

Surprising miss cuts: Scheffler at the Genesis; or Nelly Korda, who until missing out on the Evian Championship had never finished worse than T8 (and four wins and three finishes) in nine strokes?

Scrock: It’s Nelly for me. He has a shaky record at Evian but I expected him to at least be on the edge. A missed cut was not in the cards given his performance this season. As mentioned above, Scottie has been a marker under his normal personality and if you add in some spirited golf links, sometimes you will get a bad result if you don’t have your ‘A’ game.

Senses: Scheffler. It had been almost four years since I had missed a weekend. That’s incredible.

Zak: From the look of confusion on his face Friday afternoon, I’d say it was Scheffler’s most surprising miss. People forget that he was riding an even more impressive streak: 37 straight top-25s (including Hero World Challenges, FWIW). As Jon Rahm told me, it wasn’t a surprise cut. That every time he played he seemed to have a chance to win.