TIGER WOODS will still be world number one at The Open next week after a quintuple bogey nine led to Phil Mickelson missing the halfway cut in the Scottish Open.

The Masters champion had to finish first or second at Loch Lomond to go top for the first time in his career, but it all went horribly wrong on the 455- yard 18th.

The hole was Mickelson’s ninth of the day and in pouring rain he put two balls in the water hazard left of the fairway.

‘‘The club felt like it slipped a little bit on the first one,’’ said the lefthander, who will spend the weekend practising at St Andrews instead.

‘‘You can always look at the positives, but I wanted to play and get a couple more competitive rounds.’’ Reminded that he had also made an early exit from the tournament in 2004 and a week later came third at Royal Troon – his only top ten finish in The Open – Mickelson answered: ‘‘That’s true.

‘‘I’ve played well weeks after missing the cut – and I’ve played poorly. It is what it is. I’m trying to get ready for the British Open and get ready for St Andrews, get my game sharpened and the first two days gave me the opportunity to see where it needs work the next few days.’’ Mickelson has spent 254 weeks as number two in various spells, but all of them tucked in just behind Woods.

The man who has won the last two Opens at the Home of Golf – by eight and five strokes – has held top spot uninterrupted for more than five years and for 607 weeks in total. That will now become 608. At least.

Mickelson’s second drive down the 18th actually turned out to be playable, but he had hit a third and that became the ball in play.

‘‘I probably could have wedged it (the second) out a few yards, but I was signalled that the ball was in the water, so I didn’t really want to walk 300 yards up and 300 yards back.’’ As it turned out, though, it could have made all the difference.

Ernie Els, who doublebogeyed two of his last four holes, also finished three over, but Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie did not have to wait until 7.15pm to learn his fate.

Two rounds of 74 meant a second successive missed cut for him on six over.