Does the PGA Championship feature a cut rule? Will we see the field shrink after two days? Find out below!
As with the other three major championships – the Masters Tournament, US Open and Open Championship – there is a cut after two days of play.
A cut means that roughly half of the players that start a tournament, in this case 72 holes (in most cases too), won’t play in the last two rounds because they haven’t accumulated a good enough score in the first two rounds to make it.
Every year, the PGA Championship begins with 156 players, the biggest field of the four majors. That is then whittled down at the halfway mark, but how does it work?
A history of the PGA Championship cut rule
The PGA Championship has implemented a cut since the tournament switched from match play to stroke play in 1958.
For the first seven events of the stroke play era, the PGA of America conducted two cuts (one after Friday’s play and then a second after Saturday’s play).
From 1965, just the 36-hole cut has been used, in line with all other majors and tour events.
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What is the PGA Championship cut rule?
The cut rule is pretty standard. Below is what is laid out in the tournament guidelines, and this will explain how many people make the cut at the PGA Championship.
“Following the first 36 holes of play, the field of 156 players will be reduced to the low 70 scores and ties.
“Those players will advance to complete the final two rounds.”
The top 70 and ties will make it through to the weekend, with more than half the field missing out on a chance to take home the Wanamaker Trophy on the weekend. In 2024, 78 players made the cut, and on that occasion, after two rounds at Valhalla, you needed to be at least 1-under-par to play at the weekend.
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In 2023, 76 players made the cut at Oak Hill when Brooks Koepka won, but in that year, players who were at least 5-over-par after 36 holes played in the last two rounds.
If you’re wondering, Jack Nicklaus and Raymond Floyd hold the record for most cuts made at this tournament, with 27. Nicklaus also won the PGA Championship five times which is the joint-most with the legendary Walter Hagen.
Incidentally, the Open Championship implements the same cut rule as the PGA Championship.
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Now have your say
What do you make of the cut rule for the PGA Championship? And who do you think will lift the Wanamaker Trophy on Sunday, May 18? Let us know your thoughts with a post on X, formerly Twitter!
