British Open cut rules explained: How many players make the cut at Royal Troon?

Not only is The Open Championship one of the most fascinating possible golf tournaments to watch every year with the influence of the conditions and a style of golf most PGA Tour pros aren't accustomed to playing, it's also the biggest field in major championship golf for the 2024 season. With the field at 158 players entering the week, that's a huge number of players.

Just qualifying for the British Open is a huge feat in itself, whether that is because of success throughout the year or due to open qualifying. It's an honor to step foot on the first tee at Royal Troon Golf Club and hear your name called by the starter. However, the next goal is making the cut at The Open.

But with such a big field for this tournament, there are going to be questions about the cut number and cut rules. So what are the British Open cut rules as of the 2024 tournament at Royal Troon? We have all of that explained plus a little fun historical look back at how the cut has shaken out in recent history at The Open Championship.

How many players make the cut at the British Open?

The British Open cut rules will have the Top 70 players and ties making it through to play the weekend after the first 36 holes of play. As is the case in almost every tournament nowadays -- though a change from yesteryear -- there is only the 36-hole cut and no chance of a 54-hole cut when it comes to The Open. Likewise, the once-present 10-shot rule wherein any player within 10 shots of the lead would make the cut, is no longer in place for this championship.

Golf fans will recognize that these are the same cut rules at The Open Championship that we see at the PGA Championship with the Top 70 and ties. However, it differs from that at the US Open (Top 60 and ties) and The Masters (Top 50 and ties) to complete major championship season. It's also different from the PGA Tour and DP World Tour where the Top 65 and ties make the cut. There is no cut in 54-hole LIV Golf events.

What was the cut number at the British Open the last 5 years?

With these rules in place, what has The Open cut line looked like in recent years? Let's take a look back at the last five to see where that number has been at.

Of the past five British Open tournaments we've seen, only St. Andrews has not been an over-par cut. That actually extends back to the last 10 of these events as well with the famous Old Course being the only two times the cut has been better than over-par, with the previous playing being in 2015. It's also worth noting that we've also seen some higher cuts at the more difficult tournaments, including a +5 cut line at Royal Birkdale in 2017 and a wild +8 cut number at Muirfield in 2013.

What was the cut number at the last 3 Open Championships at Royal Troon?

In the modern era of golf, the British Open has been played three times at Royal Troon. What has the cut number been there in the last three trips to this beautiful track in Scotland? Here's where the number has fallen.

We've seen the cut at Royal Troon essentially hover in the +3-to-+5 range over the last three playings at this course. The conditions plus links-style golf and the good and bad breaks that come from that type of play always seem to make things a bit squirrelly when the major season takes us to Troon.