Like most golf tournaments that are conducted over 72 holes, the field at the 2025 Masters will be cut after the conclusion of the second round, trimming the field of competitors from 95 to golfers who are in the top 50 positions on the leaderboard, including those golfers who are tied for 50th or better. Therefore, the number of golfers who make the cut and who will play in the third and fourth rounds is not pre-determined.
Before 1957, there was no 36-hole cut at the Masters. From 1957 until 1961, only the low 40 players qualified to play in the third and fourth rounds. Doug Ford became the first Masters champion at a tournament that had a 36-hole cut in 1957, and the cut was 6-over-par 150.
From 1962 until 2012, the cut was the low 44 players and those within 10 strokes of the leader. From 2013 to 2019, the low 50 and ties, along with those players within 10 strokes of the leader, qualified. Prior to the 2020 Masters, the 10-shot rule was eliminated, and the cut was changed to its current format, low 50 and ties.
Below is a chart that shows the cut number at each Masters since 2010.
As you can see in the chart, the cut at the 2020 (which was held in November) was at even-par (144), and that is the lowest score ever for the cut line. The highest score is 154 (10 over) in 1982. The most common cut line number has been 147 (3 over), and the average cut score has been 147.7, which is slightly above 4 over par.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: How many players make Masters cut? Cut history at Augusta National
