LUKE Donald made his first cut at the Open in six attempts but his dreams of winning the event fell away after a poor second day.

The Beaconsfield and Hazlemere Golf Club member hit a superb 68 on the opening day to be in contention but a second round of 73 put him three under par and eight shots behind the leader Tiger Woods.

Donald spent the first two days going round with the legendary Jack Nicklaus on his final Major appearance and it was tough not to be distracted by the crowds at St Andrews keen to see Nicklaus for the last time.

But Donald's tournament went from bad to worse when he hit a 77 in the third round.

The 27-year-old bounced back with a final-day 70 but it was only good enough to see him finish on level par, 14 shots off the winner in 52nd place.