13 Notable Players Miss Cut at Alfred Dunhill Links Event

The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship uses a 54-hole cut rather than the usual 36, and when it fell this year at 6-under-par, it took down 13 recognizable names, including 2022 Open champion Cameron Smith, 2026 Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald and three-time event winner Tyrrell Hatton.

Why does the Dunhill Links cut after three rounds?

The tournament rotates its field across the Old Course, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns for the first three rounds, pairing professionals with amateurs in a team competition that runs alongside the individual event. Only after all three courses have been played does the field get trimmed to the top 60 and ties for a final round back at St Andrews. This year's 168-man field was cut to a group at 6-under or better.

Which big names missed the cut?

Smith returned to the Old Course, where he won the 150th Open in 2022, and closed with a 1-under 71 to finish at 5-under, one shot shy. Donald, who captains Europe's Ryder Cup team, was 5-under through two rounds but added an even-par 72 at the Old Course to miss by the same single stroke.

Hatton, who has won the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship a record three times, opened with a 2-over 74 at the Old Course before rallying with a 6-under 66 at Carnoustie. A 1-over 73 at Kingsbarns left him at 3-under, three off the pace. Justin Rose, fresh off a PGA Tour win at the Farmers Insurance Open, also finished at 3-under after rounds of 72-69-72.

Several LIV Golf players making their first DP World Tour starts since the 2023 Hero Dubai Desert Classic also fell short. Lee Westwood finished at 4-under, two shots back, while Ian Poulter rallied with a final-round 68 at Kingsbarns but still missed by six at even-par. Bubba Watson, Marc Leishman, Peter Uihlein and Carlos Ortiz each finished at 4-under, two shots outside the line.

A one-shot margin separated two of the week's biggest names, a Ryder Cup captain and an Open champion, from a fourth round at St Andrews.

Richard Bland, playing his first DP World Tour event since the 2023 Dubai Desert Classic alongside Westwood and Poulter, was in contention until five bogeys in his last six holes at Kingsbarns dropped him to 2-under. Lucas Herbert, fourth in LIV Golf's individual standings this season, finished at 1-under after a 5-over 77 at the Old Course undid a strong start. Thriston Lawrence, who beat Paul Casey in a playoff to win the Omega European Masters last month, carded rounds of 75-72-72 for his third missed cut in four starts.

Carlos Ortiz's 2-over 74 at the Old Course, which included a double bogey on his second hole of the day, left him two shots short for the second straight week after also missing the cut at the FedEx Open de France.