
How Is the Cut Determined in Golf Tournaments?
- The Opening Rounds. All players that qualify for or given a spot in a tournament are permitted to play the work week...
- 65th Place. The standard cut line for a PGA event after two rounds is the score of the 65th lowest scoring professional.
- Pre 2019-2020 season tiebraker. Prior to the 2019-2020 season, when more than 78...
How is the cut determined in golf tournaments?
How Is the Cut Determined in Golf Tournaments? Only the top scorers during the first two rounds of a tournament make the cut. Fields in golf tournaments are larger than the total number of places paid out.
What does the cut line mean in golf?
Brent Kelley is an award-winning sports journalist and golf expert with over 30 years in print and online journalism. The "cut line" is the score that represents the dividing point between golfers who continue playing and those who are cut from the field in a golf tournament.
What is the difference between a cut and a field in golf?
Fields in golf tournaments are larger than the total number of places paid out. A cut is used to determine which players will make it to play into the weekend and, in doing so, will qualify to receive a check from the tournament based on their place of finish.
What does it mean to have missed the cut in golf?
That further means that the second round ends with (typically) 154 golfers in the field, but the third round begins with only around 70 still playing. The golfers who failed to advance due to the cut rule are said to have " missed the cut ;" those that do advance " made the cut ."

How do golf tournaments determine the cut?
The standard cut line for a PGA event after two rounds is the score of the 65th lowest scoring professional. Any players that finish with that score or better are considered to have made the cut and continue play in the weekend rounds.
How is golf cut line calculated?
How is the cut line determined? The cut line at 36 holes is the top 65 players plus those tied at the end of that group.
How is the cut determined at the US Open?
The U.S. Open cut is the top 60 players and ties after 36 holes, regardless of how many shots those players are from the lead.
Did any club pros make the cut at the PGA?
Though no PGA Club Professionals made the cut this year, Matt Borchert will be receiving a crystal bowl, in honor of his finish, on Saturday morning at Southern Hills Country Club.
What is the cut rule for the PGA?
As of the 2019-2020 season, the cut rule is down to the top 65 players and ties, with those players getting to finish out the tournament. Before the 2018-2019 season, the PGA Tour cut rule was to the top 70 and ties after 36 holes. All players could finish the tournament, provided less than 78 players finishing inside the 36-hole cut line.
Does the FedEx Cup have a secondary cut?
The Northern Trust, the one FedEx Cup playoff event with a cut, did not offer a MDF. The secondary cut no longer exists. All players who make the 36-hole cut are paid according to the PGA Tour purse distribution guidance. However, not every PGA Tour event has a 36-hole cut line.
When will the Masters cut rule be changed?
The Masters announced a new cut rule at the 2020 November Masters, although it was put in permanently — not just for that daylight-hampered fall iteration.
How many overs did Tiger Woods win in 2019?
For updates on the Masters cut line, click here. Last year, in softer conditions, the cut was even par. It was three over when Tiger Woods won in 2019, eight over in 2018, and six over in both 206 and 2017. Video Player is loading.
How many rounds are played before the cut?
Every player in the tournament field plays two rounds before the cut line is determined, usually 18 holes on Thursday and 18 holes on Friday depending what tournament they’re playing in.
What is the PGA Tour cut rule?
The PGA Tour cut rule for regular tour events sees the top 70 professionals advance to the weekend with the score of the 70th placed professional being the score needed to make the cut.
What happens if there are ties?
In the event of ties causing more than 70 players to be on the cut line or below a second cut line will be determined and is used if more than 78 players can make the cut.
When is a 54 hole cut needed?
Should the higher cut line be used following 36 holes, and more than 78 players qualify for the third round, a second cut is used after 54 holes.
10 stroke rule
Some tournaments adopt a 10-stroke rule which allows players within 10 strokes of the leader to make the cut even if they rank higher than the 70th person in the field. This rule is usually used in major championships due to the difficulty of the golf course they are playing.
What is the cut rule in golf?
As noted, the standard cut rule applies to " regular" PGA Tour tournaments — those events that are not majors, not World Golf Championships tournaments nor other short-field tournaments, which have their own cut rules. Each of the four major championships of men's golf sets its own cut rule: Masters Cut Rule. U.S. Open Cut Rule.
What is the cut rule for PGA tournaments?
The standard cut rule used in "regular" PGA Tour tournaments (as opposed to major championships and several other tournaments that have their own, separate cut rule policies) is this: The field is cut after 36 holes to the low 70 scores plus ties. However, if that results in more than 78 golfers making ...
How many golfers are in the second round of the PGA Tour?
That further means that the second round ends with (typically) 154 golfers in the field, but the third round begins with only around 70 still playing. The golfers who failed to advance due ...
How many holes are there in a second cut?
However, if that results in more than 78 golfers making the cut (due to many golfers being tied for 70th place), a second cut takes place after 54 holes , again to the low 70 scores plus ties. PGA Tour events are 72-hole tournaments, with 18 holes played per day.
What is the third round cut on the PGA Tour?
The third-round cut is used at only a handful of tournaments per year on the PGA Tour. (The second cut is not used on any other tours.) There are exceptions to this cut rule, however, on the PGA Tour.
When was the last time the PGA cut rule was changed?
The PGA Tour Cut Rule Was Last Changed in 2016. The standard cut rule in place now on the PGA Tour has been in place since 2016, which is the year the last change was made to the tour's cut policy. However, in 2008, the tour introduced what came to be known as "Rule 78," a rule that proved quite controversial and resulted in a much larger overhaul ...
Does the British Open have a cut rule?
British Open Cut Rule. PGA Championship Cut Rule. The WGC (World Golf Championships) tournaments on the PGA Tour do not have cuts. The CIMB Classic—played in Malaysia with a field of only 78 to start—does not have a cut. Also, the tour's January winners-only tournament (currently named the Sentry Tournament of Champions) and ...
What is the cut line in golf?
The cut line is the score that players must have in order to continue playing. For example, if the cut line is +4, then all golfers in the tournament who are at +4 or better continue; those worse than +4 are cut from the field. That specific number is not known prior to the start of the tournament — only the cut rule used in the tournament is known.
What is the cut rule for golfers in the top 65?
That tour's cut rule is Top 65 golfers plus ties. The golfer (s) in 65th place might be at, say, 4-over par. But then a bunch of birdies are recorded, causing the cut line to change to 3-over ( the birdies mean a better score is required to get into the Top 65).
Why is the cutline at 2 under?
This leaderboard says the cutline is 'currently' at 2-under because the cutline can move up or down during play. Paul Kane/Getty Images. Brent Kelley is an award-winning sports journalist and golf expert with over 30 years in print and online journalism.
What is the cut line in European Tour?
On the European Tour, the cut rule is that the Top 65 players plus ties advance; those players outside the Top 65 are cut. So in this example, the cut line is the score that gets the player inside the Top 65 plus ties. That might be 3-under, 1-over or 12-over, depending on the scores of the leaders and the field. For some specific cut rules, see:
Does the cut line change?
The cut rule stays the same, but the specific score it takes to make the cut — the cut line — changes depending on scores being posted by the players. This is why it is not uncommon to hear television announcers on broadcasts of pro tournaments refer to the cut line "moving" or saying "the cut line just moved" to a new score.
Can the cut line move higher?
Or, conversely, if golfers still on the course start making bogeys, the cut line can move higher, in this example to 5- over (because those bogeys allow golfers with higher scores to move into the Top 65). Just remember: The cut line is fluid, the cut rule is not.
What is the lowest cut line in golf?
The record for the lowest cut line prior to that was one-over 145, which had happened six times since a cut first went into place at Augusta in 1957, most recently in 2011. Here’s what the cut line has been for the last 10 Masters: 2020: 144 (E) 2019: 147 (+3) 2018: 149 (+8) 2017: 150 (+6) 2016: 150 (+6) 2015: 146 (+2)
What is the 10 cut rule at Augusta National?
Augusta National’s decision to do away with the 10-cut rule brought it in line with the other three men’s major championships in terms of how they determine their cuts. At the U.S. Open, the low 60 players and ties play all four rounds. At the Open Championship and the PGA Championship, it’s the low 70 and ties.
When is the 36 hole cut for the Masters 2021?
Masters 2021: How the 36-hole cut is determined at Augusta National. By Ryan Herrington. April 09, 2021. Ben Walton. Unless Mother Nature makes an appearance Friday afternoon at Augusta National and delays the finish of the second round, at day’s end, tournament officials will make the 36-hole cut at this year’s Masters.
Why did the 10 shot rule change?
However, an old provision that any player within 10 strokes of the lead—the so-called “10-shot rule”—would also stick around was eliminated. Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley offered two reasons behind the change, the first being that it created a “reliable way” to predict the weekend field. Video Player is loading.
