Ever watch a golf tournament on a Friday and hear the commentators constantly talking about the cut? It's a term thrown around with a lot of weight, defining the week for every player in the field. This article will break down exactly what the cut is, what happens to players on both sides of that crucial line, and how it shapes the entire landscape of a professional golf tournament for the weekend.
At its core, the cut is a mechanism used in professional stroke-play tournaments to reduce the field size, typically after the first two rounds of play. Most standard PGA Tour or DP World Tour events start with a large field, often around 156 players. Having that many golfers on the course for all four days would be a logistical nightmare, leading to incredibly long rounds and a diluted apectator experience.
To solve this, a performance-based cut is made after 36 holes (two rounds). A "cut line" is established based on the scores. For a long time, the standard on the PGA Tour has been to cut the field to the top 65 players and anyone tied with the 65th-place score.
Think of it like this: the first two days are the qualifying heats. Everyone is fighting to earn a spot in the final rounds. The cut line is the minimum score required to advance. If that line falls at one-over-par (+1), any player who is +1 or better gets to play the weekend. Any player at +2 or worse is done. That single stroke can be the difference between a paycheck and going home empty-handed.
The moment the final putt drops on Friday, every player's fate is sealed. They either made the cut or they missed it. These two outcomes lead to dramatically different weekends and have significant financial and professional implications.
For a professional golfer, "making the cut" is the first and most fundamental goal of the week. Surviving the cut means three very important things:
The atmosphere also shifts. The weekend rounds feel more focused. The crowds grow larger, especially around the leaders. Your strategy might change from just "surviving" to actively "attacking" to get into contention for the win.
Missing the cut is one of the toughest parts of being a touring professional. It's a brutal, black-and-white outcome that signifies the end of your tournament. Here’s what it means in practical terms:
Once the cut is made and the field is trimmed, the tournament takes on a whole new ahape for the weekend rounds. The logistics and strategy both see a significant shift.
On Thursday and Friday, pairings are often pre-determined in groups of three, mixing players and staggering start times between the 1st and 10th tees to get everyone on the course. On the weekend, everything changes.
The field is re-ordered based on score. Players are sent out in pairs (groups of two), starting with the players who just made the cut on the line. These groups tee off early in the morning, often with little fanfare. As the day progresses, players with better and better scores begin their rounds.
This all crescendos with the "final group," which consists of the players in first and second place (or tied for the lead). They always tee off last, ensuring that the tournament's dramatic conclusion happens in the peak late-afternoon television viewing window.
Saturday in a golf tournament is famously known as "Moving Day." With the field reduced, better course conditions, and players feeling a bit more freed up, it’s the day where you often see the most significant leaps up and down the leaderboard.
A player who started the day tied for 45th place, seemingly out of it, can post a low score like an 8-under 64 and find themselves in the top 5 heading into Sunday. This player has "made a move." Conversely, a player who started near the lead can have a poor round and tumble out of contention.
The strategy on Moving Day is often aggressive. Players see it as their best chance to post a very low number and get into one of the final few groups for Sunday, giving them a real shot at winning the tournament.
By Sunday, the strategies become very clear and are almost entirely dictated by a player's position on the leaderboard.
This dynamic between the leaders trying to hang on and the chasers trying to close the gap is what creates the legendary tension and drama of a final round.
While the "top 65 and ties" rule is standard, some events, especially the majors, have unique variations you might hear about.
This is a secondary cut rule the PGA Tour can use when an unusually large number of players make the 36-hole cut. If more than 78 players make the cut, officials can invoke another cut after Saturday's third round to trim the field further. This is done purely for pace-of-play, to ensure all players can get through their round on Sunday in pairs. The players affected are given the designation "MDF," still receive official prize money and FedExCup points for their finish, but they just don't get to play on Sunday.
This historic rule, most notably used at The Masters and the U.S. Open, is an add-on to the main cut rule. At these events, not only do the top players (e.g., Top 50 &, ties at the Masters) make the cut, but so does *any player within 10 strokes of the leader*. This is designed to keep more players in the tournament if the leader is running away with it a far ahead.
Each of the four men's major championships has its own specific cut rule:
The cut is one of the most defining and dramatic elements of professional golf. It transforms a large, hopeful field into a concentrated group of contenders, guaranteeing payment for some and sending others home to regroup. It's the moment that officially shifts the focus from survival to the thrilling chase for a championship title on Sunday afternoon.
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