The first big event of the DP World Tour has officially completed two days of action. The first 36 holes saw some exciting moments from some surprising names at the top of the 2025 Hero Dubai Desert Classic leaderboard. The likes of Ewen Ferguson and Daniel Hillier dominated the field scoring 7-under par 65 each. They finished at -12 and -11 respectively, 3 strokes above Tyrrell Hatton. Hatton also managed a score of -7 in the 2nd round while finishing at 8-under par 144 in 2 days.

The top of the leaderboard was just as surprising as the bottom. The 126-player field of the 2025 Hero Dubai Desert Classic featured some of the biggest names in golf. Many of them were listed among the players who didn’t make the cut for the weekend. According to the official DP World Tour website, let’s see who will not be a part of the field in the 3rd round of the event.

Jon Rahm

After the 1st round ended, Jon Rahm seemed like a player who would be competing for the title on Sunday. Making his debut in the event, he was already ahead of the defending champion on the leaderboard with a score of -3. However, things took a surprising turn in the 2nd round, something no one saw coming. Rahm managed to score 4 birdies and an eagle in the 1st round. He couldn’t replicate the same form on day 2 as he managed 2 double bogeys and 3 bogeys to end up with a +5. His overall score took a major hit as well as he dropped from -3 to +2. This guaranteed that he would not be making the cut even before the cutline was announced.

Viktor Hovland

Coming into the tournament, Viktor Hovland was touted to be one of the favorites. However, things didn’t go as planned for the Norwegian as he never could find his form throughout the first couple of rounds. The 2022 Hero Dubai Desert Classic champion couldn’t match par on either of the days. Hovland ended the tournament with a +4 after finishing 1-over par 73 in the 2nd round. Just like Rahm, Viktor Hovland had also given up on the tournament long before the final hole.

Dean Burmester

Dead Burmester came off a great season in LIV Golf, finishing 9th on the individual standings in 2024. This included 1 win at LIV Golf Miami and a few other top-10 performances. However, he couldn’t replicate that form at the 2025 Hero Dubai Desert Classic. Burmester missed the cut with a score of 3-over par 147 to exit from the event before the weekend. This included 5 bogeys and 3 double bogeys.

Adrian Meronk

Adrian Meronk was another LIV Golf pro who failed to make it past the 2nd round of the 2025 Hero Dubai Desert Classic. Last year, Meronk was incredibly close to winning the title, fighting for it with Rory McIlroy till the very last hole. However, he couldn’t imitate the same this season as he ended with a score of 2-over par 146 after 2 rounds. He did manage to score 6 birdies in 2 days, but that was cursed with a lot of errors. Meronk managed to get 2 double bogeys and 4 bogeys to cancel out his birdies over the two rounds.

Paul Waring

Paul Waring came off an incredible year as he managed to bank his highest career earnings in 2024. The Englishman gained a whopping 1.53 million from his win at the 2024 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. However, the 39-year-old failed to show any sign of the same form at the 2025 Hero Dubai Desert Classic. Over the two days of the event, Waring had 7 bogeys and 1 double bogey. He showed promising signs in the 1st round after ending the day at -2. However, the majority of his errors came in the 2nd round, and he ended with 4-over par 148.

These were some of the most shocking exits from the 2nd round of the 2025 Hero Dubai Desert Classic. There are a few others who would were also expected to make the cut like Thomas Pieters and veteran Padraig Harrington. However, it seems that the course proved to be a little too tough for all 7 of these pro golfers.

Who do you think had the biggest upset at the 2025 Hero Dubai Desert Classic? Share your views in the comments section.