What is the cut rule at The Players Championship?
How many players will make the cut at TPC Sawgrass?
If you make the cut, anything is possible.
It is one of golf’s great features that provides an extra element of drama and intrigue in the second round.
A player could play badly on the PGA Tour during the first round but, as long as you make the cut, you can still win the tournament and you can still earn money.
This is even more important at The Players Championship which has reached its 50th edition in 2024.
Not only because of the monumental $25 million prize purse on offer but because of its prestige and its role as golf’s fifth major championship.
But how do you make the cut and what are The Players Championship cut rules this year?
We look to break down where the line is drawn and where a player must finish if he wants to play at the weekend on the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass.
ALSO: What is the prize money at the 2024 Players Championship?
ALSO: Which Players have won The Players Championship?
2024 Players Championship cut rules
The Players Championship is a full-field event that will host 144 competitors in the middle of March at Ponte Vedra Beach.
As with regular PGA Tour events, there will be a 36-hole cut where approximately half of the field makes it to round three and round four on Saturday and Sunday.
The cut rules on the PGA Tour say that the 65th-placed player and ties make the cut. Prior to the 2018/2019 season, the top 70 players and ties would advance after 36 holes.
At the 2023 Players Championship, two-over-par (a score of 146) was good enough to make the weekend, but players on three-over-par and worse had to pack their bags.
The same score made the cut at the 2022 Players Championship as well, but the score that makes the cut can differ from year to year depending on course conditions and how difficult the course is playing in that particular week.
No player is immune to missing the cut at TPC Sawgrass. Rory McIlroy might have won the event in 2019 but, during his career, he has missed the cut six times.
Are there any PGA Tour events without a cut?
The answer is yes.
In 2024, the PGA Tour introduced eight Signature Events which each featured an elevated prize purse of $20 million. Five of these events don’t have a cut.
The Genesis Invitational, the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Memorial Tournament have a 36-hole cut, but The Sentry, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the RBC Heritage, the Wells Fargo Championship and the Travelers Championship don’t have cuts.
NOW READ: Who is playing at the 2024 Players Championship?
NOW READ: Which players have had a hole-in-one at The Players?
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Matt Chivers
Now on the wrong side of 25, Matt has been playing golf since the age of 13 and was largely inspired to take up the game by countless family members who played golf during his childhood.
Matt is a member at Royal Cinque Ports in Deal playing off a 5 handicap, just a pitching wedge away from his hometown of Dover where he went to school and grew up. He has previously been a member at Etchinghill and Walmer and Kingsdown in Kent.
Having studied history at the University of Liverpool, Matt went on to pass his NCTJ Exams in Manchester a year later to fulfil his lifelong ambition of becoming a journalist. He picked up work experience along the way at places such as the Racing Post, the Independent, Sportsbeat and the Lancashire Evening Post.
Matt joined NCG in February 2023 and is the website’s main source of tour news, features and opinion. He has reported live from events such as The Open, the Ryder Cup and The Players Championship, having also interviewed and spent time with some of the biggest names in the sport.
Consuming tour golf on what is a 24/7 basis, you can come to Matt for informed views on the game and the latest updates on the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, LPGA Tour, Ladies European Tour and LIV Golf.
What’s in Matt’s bag: Cobra LTDx LS driver, Cobra LTDx 3-wood, TaylorMade P7MC irons, Ping Glide 4.0 wedges, Odyssey putter.