Scottie Scheffler set for early trip to Royal Birkdale after Scottish Open exit

By Carl Markham, Press Association

Defending Open champion Scottie Scheffler will be able to get an early first look at the Royal Birkdale set-up for next week’s major after his run of 78 consecutive made cuts came to an end at the Scottish Open.

With one under par predicted to be the minimum requirement to make the weekend, although it was fluctuating to two under, the American effectively had to hole his chip from off the front of the par-three ninth green, his final hole, to extend his stay at The Renaissance Club in North Berwick.

But it did not go in and, to compound his misery, he missed the six-footer to drop to level par with a two-over round of 72 and miss his first cut in four years.

While two additional days will allow the 30-year-old to arrive in Southport, where he has never played before, earlier than expected, it is not the start to the defence of his Claret Jug he will have wanted.

Asked what his plans now were, the four-time major winner said: “A little different to what I was planning. I’ll figure how to get down to Birkdale and kind of go from there.

“This week I really wanted to play well, and this is a golf course I feel like I can play well on – I just haven’t for some reason.

“It could be one of those things where you just get over jet-lag, get used to a new style of golf, and maybe I just haven’t adjusted as quick or this golf course just doesn’t suit my eye much.”

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Back-to-back bogeys at the 11th and 12th dropped Scheffler back to level par and his birdie at the short 15th was cancelled out by another dropped shot at the 17th.

He birdied the first but failed to gain momentum with a run of seven successive pars and his closing bogey.

Scheffler’s exit somewhat overshadowed Jordan Smith’s brilliant 63, which included four successive birdies from the 11th having started on the back nine.

Another at the 17th saw him turn in a five-under 30 and three birdies and a solitary bogey at the sixth saw him to nine under, one ahead of fellow Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick.

“I had three weeks off, put the clubs away for a week and then came back re-energised and looking forward to this next stretch,” Smith told BBC Scotland.

“Things are feeling good. I’m in a good mental space and just need to keep it going.”

Fitzpatrick almost aced the par-three 15th, his sixth hole of the day, but it was good enough for a fifth successive birdie as he went out in 31, eventually carding a 65.

“This stretch of sort of February, March, onwards to now it’s definitely the best golf I’ve played in my career,” said Fitzpatrick, whose three wins since finishing fourth at this event last year have seen him jump up the world rankings to fourth.

A second successive 67 lifted fellow Sheffield golfer and former Masters champion Danny Willett into a share of fourth on six under.

Spain’s Jon Rahm shot a second-round 65 to get to two under and make the cut, having been five over after 11 holes on Thursday.