What is Make The Cut? Make The Cut Explained in 2 minutes
Mike Goodpaster Last Verified
19/04/2026
Make the cut is a term used in golf and is used to describe what happens to half the field of a golf tournament at the midway stage.
As a tournament is made up of four rounds, after the opening two rounds (36 holes of golf) the field is cut in half meaning the players who fail to achieve a certain score after their opening two rounds are knocked out of the tournament - they have failed to make the cut.
Due to the numbers of participants in a golf tournament (often in excess of 120) for a player to make the cut, they often have to ensure they are in the top 70 players on the tournament’s leaderboard in order to make the weekends play.
This is to ensure the course does not get too damaged from those too far back to be in contention over the weekend and to make sure the tournament can be finished on time.
How is Make the Cut used in Sports Betting?
Make the Cut markets are popular in golf betting, especially when it comes to the four major golf tournaments.
Players statistics at each course are important when it comes to placing a make the cut bet as that will determine the lowlihood of a player making the final two days play.
An example of making a make the cut bet would be to predict that Tiger Woods will ensure he is inside the top 70 on the leaderboard come Saturday evening when the second round draws to a close.
If he is not, then the bet is lost and also the players receive no prize money from the tournament organiser.
Did you know…
Englishman Justin Rose is widely regarded as one of the world’s best golfers.
However, after turning professional in 1998, Rose failed to make the cut in 21 tournaments before achieving one at the 1999 Compaq Open. Things turned out well for Rose though as he went on to win the 2013 US Open.
