The BMW PGA Championship Will Have An Additional Cut After The Third Round... But Why?

There will be a second cut after the third round of the DP World Tour’s flagship event, but why is that?

The clubhouse and first tee at Wentworth
There will be a second cut at the BMW PGA Championship
(Image credit: Getty Images)
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Following the second round of the BMW PGA Championship, some players will have been breathing sighs of relief after narrowly making the 36-hole cut.

The likes of Matt Wallace, Robert MacIntyre, Thomas Pieters and Tommy Fleetwood all squeezed above the cut line on the number at Wentworth.

However, if any of them assumed that it meant they'd guarantee their participation for the remaining 36 holes, they would have been mistaken.

That’s because, for the first time in three years on the DP World Tour, there will be a second cut after the third round, but why is that?

The reason is because of the sheer number who made it beyond the halfway stage. A total of 26 players finished their second rounds on two under to scramble above the cut line by a shot, swelling the number of players heading into the final 36 holes to 86.

That’s unusually high and, as a result, at the discretion of the Tournament Director, a maximum of 78 will be making it as far as the final round, thanks to the introduction of a second cut.

As a result, the stakes were a bit higher for players in and around 78th on the third round leaderboard, and among those to fail to make it to the final round was MacIntyre, although another big name, Fleetwood, made it by a shot.

Tommy Fleetwood at the BMW PGA Championship

Tommy Fleetwood was one of many who made the cut on the number at the BMW PGA Championship

(Image credit: Getty Images)

The good news for the players who made the first cut but won’t be appearing in the final round of the DP World Tour’s flagship event is that they will earn prize money and points on the Race to Dubai Rankings, unlike those who left Wentworth after the second round, who went away with nothing.

The last time a DP World Tour event had a cut following the third round was the Hero Dubai Desert Classic in 2023, after 87 players and ties made it past the halfway stage.

At the top end of the leaderboard, Adrien Saddier held a two-shot lead after the third round in pursuit of his second DP World Tour title.

Players Who Missed The Additional Cut At The BMW PGA Championship

  • Alex Fitzpatrick
  • Niklas Norgaard
  • Nacho Elvira
  • Frederic LaCroix
  • Robert MacIntyre
  • Jayden Schaper
  • Ugo Coussaud
  • Matthew Baldwin
  • Dale Whitnell
  • Ryggs Johnston
  • Todd Clements
  • Andrea Pavan
  • Joe Dean
Mike Hall
Mike Hall
News Writer

Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories. 


He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game. 


Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course. 


Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.

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