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

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