Not sure what the European Tour cut rule is? Don’t worry, National Club Golfer is here to help with the lowdown on how tournament fields are shortened heading into the weekend.
Due to the fact that tournament fields are larger than what is actually paid out a cut line is used to determine which players make it through to play the weekend and receive a pay out.
It sounds a simple process but it can be complicated to work out, so here’s a look at the European Tour cut rule.
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.
Players are paired in three balls for the first two days of a tournament.
What is the European Tour cut rule?
The European Tour cut rule for regular tour events sees the top 65 professionals advance to the weekend with the score of the 65th placed professional being the score needed to make the cut.
Any player that is lower than the 65th placed professional makes the cut and plays the final two days of the tournament.
What happens if there are ties?
In the event of ties causing more than 65 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.
In this case, the next highest score below the 65th player is used, and it is worked out how many players can make the cut should this be the cut line. This is known as the higher cut line.
Whichever number is closer to 65 players is the amount of players that make the cut which means less than 65 players can play the final two rounds.
If this occurs the players that miss the cut but are tied for 65th receive a small payout but don’t advance to the weekend.
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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.
This cut uses the same procedures as a normal cut but is used after the third round with the top 65 players making it through to play the fourth and final round in this scenario.
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 65th person in the field. This rule is usually used in major championships due to the difficulty of the golf course they are playing.
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