Seventy golfers and ties make the cut at The Open Championship. After 36 holes, the 156-player field is trimmed to the 70 lowest scores — plus anyone tied at that number — and everyone else goes home before the weekend. That rule is in effect right now at the 2026 Open at Royal Birkdale, where the cut falls at the end of Friday’s second round.
Two details trip people up. First, ties count: if a dozen players share 70th place, all of them advance, which is why the weekend field regularly runs to 75-80 players. In 2025 at Royal Portrush it landed on exactly 70, with one-over par the magic number. Second, there is no 10-shot rule — a player nine strokes off the lead but outside the top 70 is finished, full stop. The Open also uses no secondary cut, so however many survive Friday, they all play 72 holes.
Among the four men’s majors, The Open and the PGA Championship are tied for the most generous cut at top 70 and ties. The U.S. Open keeps 60 and ties, and the Masters — with its much smaller invitational field — keeps just 50 and ties. The full comparison is in the chart below.
The Cut in Practice at Birkdale
The 2026 edition — the 154th Open — opened Thursday, July 16 with 59 of the 156 players shooting par or better on a firm, fast Royal Birkdale, led by American debutant Jackson Suber at five-under 65. That bunching is exactly what makes cut Friday tense: with scores packed tight, more than 80 players can sit inside the provisional top-70 line while only 70-and-ties will survive it, and big names — Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Justin Rose among them this year — can find themselves grinding just to reach Saturday. Defending champion Scottie Scheffler, chasing the year’s final major after the first three went to McIlroy, Aaron Rai and Wyndham Clark, opened well clear of the danger zone.
The Bottom Line
The cut at The Open is the top 70 players and ties after 36 holes — the same as the PGA Championship, looser than the U.S. Open’s 60 and the Masters’ 50 — with no 10-shot rule and no second trim. Roughly half the 156-man field survives to chase the Claret Jug on the weekend, and at Royal Birkdale in 2026, that line falls Friday evening.