The LPGA Tour 36-hole cut rule is changing, starting in March 2023.
Moving forward, the LPGA Tour will make its 36-hole cut down to the top 65 players and ties. Previously, the long-standing cut line on the LPGA Tour was to the top 70 and ties. The new rule will start with the first full-field tournament of 2023, the LPGA Drive On Championship, which is to be played March 23-26 at Superstition Mountain in Arizona.
“This new regulation, now more consistent with other professional golf organizations, will assist in ensuring a manageable field size after 36 holes of competition,” said Tommy Tangtiphaiboontana, senior vice president of Tour operations. “The change will provide increased chances of playing off a single tee on the weekend and help establish a faster pace of play in an effort to strengthen the competitor experience at LPGA tournaments.”
In recent years, the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Korn Ferry Tour have all moved to cut lines that are the top 65 and ties. For the PGA Tour, the change to the top 65 and ties from the top 70 and ties allowed them to remove the MDF third-round cut rule when 78 or more players made the weekend. While the change has not allowed the PGA Tour to always go off in twosomes on the weekends, the pace of play and tournament flow has demonstrably improved.
Of course, this cut change will impact payout percentages for LPGA Tour events, but those percentage changes have not yet been made public.
