The Open Championship cut ensures that only the top 70 players and ties make it through to the weekend to battle it out for the famed Claret Jug. That means, of the 156 competitors that begin with high hopes on Thursday, around half are sent packing after 36 holes.
There is no 10-shot rule at The Open, which was a common system utilised in various tournaments in the past, but it is no longer a feature in the Majors. Quite simply, the 10-shot rule meant that golfers within 10 strokes of the lead made the cut, no matter what position they were in.
Given the vagaries of links golf, the cut mark can vary dramatically from year to year. At last year's 150th Open at St Andrews, it fell at level par, with 83 players progressing to the weekend in the Home of Golf.
The projected cut for the 2023 edition of the game's oldest championship at Royal Liverpool currently sits at two-over but that is expected to change. The probability is that it will fall at either three- or four-over, putting the likes of Jon Rahm and Collin Morikawa at risk of an early exit.
It's not all bad news though, as everyone who tees it up in The Open receives a share of the prize money on offer, which has been increased to $16.5 million for 2023. The top 10 players who don't make the weekend at Hoylake will still get $12,000 as a consolation.
The next 20 will receive $10,000, while everyone else will walk away with $8,500 just for making it to The Open.
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