AUGUSTA, Ga. — The Masters has always had a limited field, but in 1957 it instituted a 36-hole cut with the low 40 players and ties moving on.
In 1962, the cut was changed to low 44 and ties. In 1966, the cut was amended to include anyone within 10 shots of the lead at the midway point.
From 2013 to 2019, the cut included the top 50 players and ties, plus anyone within 10 strokes of the leader.
The most recent cut rule change came in 2020 and is still in effect for 2023, with the low 50 players and ties qualifying for the final 36 holes.
Competitors who miss the cut are welcome to stick around Augusta National and watch the weekend action, but most professionals choose to move on.
That is, unless he happens to be the defending champion, who is required to help the winner slip into his green jacket at the conclusion of play.
Who has made the most cuts at the Masters?
Jack Nicklaus has made the most Masters cuts with 37. Fred Couples and Gary Player are next with 30.
Masters 2023 leaderboard: Get the latest news from Augusta
Couples and Player share the record for most cuts made in a row with 23.
Player’s streak went from 1959 to 1982 (he sat out 1973 because of a medical issue), while Couples compiled his mark from 1983-2007.
Tiger Woods had his streak of cuts made at 22 in 2022.
Nicklaus missed the cut in 1967 after winning in both 1965 and 1966. That earned him the lead headline the next day in The Augusta Chronicle with “Golden Bear muffs cutoff by a stroke.” Rounds of 72 and 79 derailed his attempt at a third consecutive win.
“There’ll be another day,” said Nicklaus, who became the first defending champ to miss the cut. “The world isn’t going to change that much just because this happened to me.”
Highest, lowest Masters cut scores
The lowest cut score of 143 (1 under par) sent players to the weekend rounds at the Masters in 2020. The highest cut score of 154 (10 over par) was good enough in 1982. The average cut score at the Masters is 148.43.
Oldest, youngest to make the cut
In 2020, Bernhard Langer at age 63 years and 78 days became the oldest golfer to make the cut.
The youngest? That’d be Tianlang Guan, who was an amateur aged 14 years and 169 days in 2013 when he made the weekend.
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