​Golf can be relentless in its reach, catching even the game’s best players off guard. That harsh reality was on full display Friday as the world’s top-ranked golfers on both sides of the sport failed to survive the weekend at their respective events. Scottie Scheffler, the current top player in men’s golf, will not be teeing it up on Saturday or Sunday at the Genesis Scottish Open. Meanwhile, Nelly Korda’s defense of the Evian Championship ended earlier than planned, with a missed cut that surprised many given her standout season thus far. These outcomes are notable for different reasons in Scheffler’s and Korda’s careers.
For Scheffler, this marks his first missed cut in 78 PGA Tour starts. To put that in perspective, his last missed cut came 1,428 days ago at the 2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship. That stretch underscores just how consistently he has played at a high level for an extended period. It’s a striking contrast to headlines in other corners of the sports world; for context, this timeline runs through a period that included the public rise of Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift as a couple, with reports indicating they were married in a recent weekend. Yet Scheffler’s current miss serves as a reminder that even the longest streaks can come to an end in golf, a sport that is notoriously unforgiving when the smallest details go astray.
The 2026 season has been more mortal for Scheffler than his previous seasons, showing that even a player of his caliber is not immune to tougher weeks. His schedule now involves heading to the Open Championship, where he is the defending champion, a position that carries its own pressures and expectations. The transition from a weekend off to preparing for a major championship adds another layer to the storyline surrounding Scheffler’s performance and his relentless pursuit of excellence.
Nelly Korda presents a different narrative arc. She has enjoyed what many would call a banner season, capturing victories at the Chevron Championship and the U.S. Women’s Open. Yet her bid at the Evian Championship ended with a missed cut, marking the first time she had missed the cut in two years. This defeat was particularly notable given that she was chasing the Career Grand Slam this season, a feat she had targeted after her Riviera performance and a potential fourth major in the near term. Although this miss halted a rare and encouraging run, Korda is far from over, with another big chance to complete the Career Grand Slam still on the horizon at the British Open.
The coincidence of both Scheffler and Korda missing the cut on the same weekend is unusual and striking, given their typical dominance and the odds that such a situation would occur concurrently. It is a vivid reminder of golf’s, and sports’ in general, unpredictable nature. This sport does not grant forgiveness to even its most celebrated players when their games are not firing on all cylinders. A missed cut can be a turning point, a moment to reset and reframe for the next event, and both Scheffler and Korda have the talent and resilience to respond.
As the narrative unfolds, golf fans will watch to see how both players recover. For Scheffler, the Open Championship presents an opportunity to reclaim momentum and defend a title under the global spotlight. For Korda, the British Open represents another chance to pursue a Career Grand Slam, a dream that continues to drive her, even in the face of a surprising early exit in Evian. In the end, golf’s landscape remains as unpredictable as it is compelling, with even the sport’s most dominant figures occasionally finding themselves on the wrong side of the weekend forecast.