The British Open Championship 36-hole cut rule is one of the most accommodating in golf, limiting the weekend field to the top 70 players and ties -- more room compared to the PGA Tour 36-hole cut rule of the top 65 and ties.
So, in a field of 156 players at the British Open Championship, more than half are going home after the second round. Do British Open Championship players get paid if they miss the cut?
Actually, they do. At the Senior British Open Championship, the professionals who miss the 36-hole cut are also paid on a sliding scale. In 2023, the first 10 professionals (and ties) to miss the cut earned $12,000, while the next 20 professional golfers and ties got $10,000 and the remaining professional golfers took home $8,000.
At all four majors, players who miss the cut get paid:
- At the Masters, the players who miss the 36-hole cut are paid. In 2017, every professional who missed the cut was paid $10,000.
- At the US Open, the players who miss the 36-hole cut each earn $10,000.
- At the PGA Championship, the players who miss the 36-hole cut are also paid, earning $3,200 each.
Most weeks, when PGA Tour players miss the cut, they don't get paid. No PGA Tour event that's not a major pays out to players who miss the cut, though there are events where there's not cut.
