Patrick Reed, Justin Rose, Bubba Watson and several other notable players failed to make the weekend at the Open de Espana in Madrid, with the DP World Tour season entering its final stretch.
The field at Real Club de Campo Villa de Madrid was stacked, and the tournament carries major stakes. Places in the season-ending playoffs are on the line, and a PGA Tour card for 2027 is up for grabs. Here are the big names who got an early exit.
Patrick Reed (+2)
Patrick Reed was looking to extend his lead over Rory McIlroy in the Race To Dubai standings with a strong finish in Madrid. Missing the cut could instead see him knocked off top spot. Eugenio Chacarra, despite a broken toe, is challenging for his national open title at home. Only a victory will be enough for the Spaniard to overtake Reed, but a second or third-place finish would be enough to overhaul McIlroy and move into second.
Reed is recovering from the injury that forced him out of the BMW PGA Championship, so this was another week without points. He improved on Friday with a level-par round of 71, but his opening 73 on Thursday cost him, and he missed the weekend by a single stroke.
Justin Rose (+2)
Justin Rose finished T18 at the Tour Championship on the PGA Tour, but his return to Europe has not gone well. He finished T51 at the BMW PGA Championship and then missed the third-round cut at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. Rose shot 72-72 for a two-over total in Madrid, missing the weekend by just one shot and making it back-to-back missed cuts for the Englishman.
Jayden Schaper (+2)
Jayden Schaper has seen his strong start to the season fade. The South African won back-to-back tournaments at the Alfred Dunhill Championship and the Mauritius Open, but he has managed only a T36 at Wentworth since. He entered the week seventh in the Race To Dubai standings, then shot 73-71 to miss the weekend. It was his second straight missed cut and third in four starts.
Bubba Watson (+3)
Bubba Watson’s debut in the tournament did not go as planned. The two-time Masters champion opened with a four-over 75 on Thursday, which left him facing an uphill battle from the start. He improved to a one-under 70 on Friday but still finished a couple of shots short of the cut. Watson also missed the cut the previous week at the Dunhill Links.
Tom McKibbin (+3)
Tom McKibbin had found good form on the DP World Tour, finishing T6 and T5 at the British Masters and Irish Open in consecutive weeks. That form has deserted him. The Northern Irishman has now missed the cut in his last two events, following a missed weekend at Wentworth.
Nicolai Hojgaard (+4)
Nicolai Hojgaard’s poor run continued even with a hole-in-one on Friday. It was his fourth consecutive missed cut on the DP World Tour. He was wayward during an opening 74, and despite the ace on the third hole, he could not break par on Friday and finished at four over. Hojgaard started the week 100th in the Race To Dubai standings, so he faces a huge task to qualify for the season-ending playoffs.
Adrian Meronk (+5)
Last week’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship winner, Adrian Meronk, carried some of that momentum into Spain but struggled. An opening 72 was respectable, but he could not get anything going on Friday and a 75 sealed a missed cut the week after his victory.
Tyrrell Hatton (+6)
Jon Rahm’s decision to quit LIV Golf has made headlines, and his Legion XIII teammate Tyrrell Hatton may follow suit. For now, Hatton is focused on the DP World Tour, but his week in Spain went poorly. An opening 76 on Thursday did the damage. He shot a much-improved 72 on Friday but was nowhere near the cut mark. It was back-to-back missed cuts for the Englishman.
Andy Sullivan (+9)
Former Ryder Cup player Andy Sullivan entered Spain ninth in the Race To Dubai standings, despite withdrawing from the French Open on his previous start. He made a poor return to action in Madrid, opening with a 78. His 73 on Friday offered some improvement but was not enough to make the weekend.
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