What’s the highest cut line in major golf history? How does 2024 British Open compare?

With the end of the second round at the Open comes ‘the cut’, a line in the rankings that sends home a huge portion of players. The remaining names who survive being slashed will be confirmed as having their hand in the money pot at the end of the tournament when things come to a close.

At the British Open, the cut line is the top 70 and ties, which means that any player who is within the top 70 or tied with the 70th-place player keeps their place over the weekend. The purse this year is a record $17 million, so it’s well worth squeezing into the top 70 this time.

The British Open, along with the PGA Championship, are the ‘easiest’ tournaments of the four major competitions from which to progress, as the U.S. Open takes the top 60 plus ties and the Masters takes just the top 50 plus ties.

What is the highest ever cut line?

As of Friday morning, the cut line at the Open was at 3-over, but difficult weather saw the number raised to +6. To put that into context, the highest cut ever at the Open to par was 8-over, which came in 1973 and 1982.

While we may be squinting in disbelief at the high +6 cut line at this year’s British Open, that number is frankly pint-sized compared to back in the old days, just before bell-bottomed jeans and handlebar moustaches turned into flares and space hoppers. It was in 1974 at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, NY, when the cut line was a stunning +13 after 36 holes.

That year, the US Open was won by Hale Irwin with +7, who secured the first of three titles he’d go on to win.