US Open cut rules 2024: How many players make the cut at Pinehurst?

When weighing golf's major championships against one another, you'd find few arguments to the contrary that the US Open is the most grueling test. Low scores are rare if there at all when it comes to the USGA's championship and that may not be more true than what's on deck for the 2024 US Open at Pinehurst.

Lightning fast and domed greens create the primary US Open obstacle at Pinehurst but let's also not forget this is a Par 70 course measuring in at 7,500+ yards and that the waste areas can leave players with no choice but to take their medicine and almost surely look at bogey as their best score. It could be carnage but that's what this championship often entails.

Put simply, making the cut at a US Open that will be playing this difficult is an achievement in itself. But we all know that majors have varying cut rules. So what are the US Open cut rules that players will need to be eyeing if they want to see the weekend? Let's take a look.

US Open cut rules: How many players make the cut by USGA's rules?

The Top 60 players and ties will make the cut at the US Open, per the USGA's rules. While this is the largest major championship field at 156 players, the cut is one of the most strict in relation to the field size among the four majors. After all, it's the Top 70 and ties that make it through to the weekend at The Open Championship and the PGA Championship alike. Meanwhile, the Top 50 and ties make the cut at The Masters but that's with a field almost always under 100 players.

What was the cut at last year's US Open?

The cut at the 2023 US Open at Los Angeles Country Club was made at +2. Despite seeing record-low scores on Thursday in the first round and ultimately a winner in Wyndham Clark finish at -10 for the week at LACC, the cut was still over par, which is what golf fans expect to see from the USGA setup.

Now, here's a look at the cut at the last five US Opens played and where they were played.

One fun fact is that the cut has never been under par in the modern US Open. Relative to par, the closest we've come to even par was at Medinah in 1990 and Erin Hills in 2017 when the cut came in at +1. In total score, the LACC cut of 142 is the lowest cut in US Open history.

What has the cut been at the 3 previous US Opens at Pinehurst?

Speaking to the difficulty of Pinehurst, let's take a look at what the cut has been at this venue the first three times the US Open was played there.

Again, we're seeing just how daunting of a test Pinehurst No. 2 is with a US Open setup. The lowest cut in any of the three previous majors held here was +5 when Martin Kaymer went on to win. That, however, was after the redesign which had not taken place when the 1999 and 2005 tournaments were played, which could mean a cut line closer to that 5-over mark as opposed to even higher than that.