Rory McIlroy once said he’s fed up with shooting 15-under on the European Tour and finishing 30th, so this got us thinking, what are the lowest two-round cuts on the European Tour?
We’re all interested in who wins each week on the European Tour and the PGA Tour – the trophy is what every player wants on Sunday.
But this can be a grind and the cutline battle can be exciting and dramatic. This dynamic adds a lot of intrigue on Friday afternoon.
Here are the four lowest European Tour cuts:
2005 TCL Classic
Yalong Bay GC – Par 72
Cut: -6 (138)
During its short three-year stint as a sanctioned tour event, the TCL Classic endured a bit of a beating.
In the history of the event, held at Yalong Bay Golf Club in China in each iteration, the winning total was never higher than 22-under-par and the cut never higher than five-under-par.
All three stagings of the TCL Classic could feature in this list, but the inaugural 2005 staging tops the lot. With a halfway cut of six-under-par, for a total of 138 strokes, the 2005 TCL Classic cut remains to this day tied as the lowest cut to par in European Tour history.
These incredibly consistent figures suggest Yalong Bay may quite possibly be the easiest course the tour has seen throughout all its years.
2003 Canarias Open de Espana – Golf Costa Adeje – Par 72
Cut: -6 (138)
The only other event with a six-under-par cut was the Canarias Open de Espana in 2003.
A tournament with simply outrageous scoring, 17-under-par would not have been enough to see you inside the top 20 come the end of the week.
Although not an event usually renowned for low numbers, the 2003 Open de Espana proved a record-breaking exception to the rule and one that still stands 16 years later.
2017 Rocco Forte Open – Verdura GC – Par 71
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Cut: -5 (137)
The record for the lowest-ever 36-hole total cut is 137 strokes. Prior to this year, only the 2017 Rocco Forte Open had ever seen such low figures.
Ironically in terms of this list, only seven players finished at double-digits under par for the week at Verdura GC, with the winning total at just 14-under-par. Remarkable, considering the cut itself was five-under-par.
The first two days of the Rocco Forte Open in 2017 were further proved to be an anomaly, however, as the cut fell at three-over-par in the 2018 playing.
2019 Aberdeen Asset Scottish Open – The Renaissance Club – Par 71
Cut: -5 (137)
The most recent tournament on this list – just a single stroke prevented the 2019 Scottish Open from taking the dubious low-cut honour all by itself.
The Renaissance Club, designed by Tom Doak, was neither soft nor easily set up but was torn apart by a top-class field.
Exactly 64 players finished at five-under-par or better. Had that number been 65, the cut would have moved to six-under-par and 136 strokes.
Just one more birdie from a four-under-par finisher then, and the 2019 Scottish Open would have held the lowest-ever halfway cut, both in strokes and in relation to par in European Tour history.
Instead, the Scottish Open had to settle for tied lowest, with a 137-stroke halfway cut. Doak would have been relieved.
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