The Open 2022: Is there a cut at UK golf major, how many make it, when is it decided, what score is required?

The 2022 Open Championship is underway, with the first ball struck at 6:35am earlier today.

This year’s competition is one like no other, with a record prize pot in the competition’s 150th edition and the 30th played at the Old Course.

There is excitement aplenty heading into the competition, with Rory Mcllroy heading into the competition as favourite, despite Scottie Scheffler leading the PGA Tour comfortably at this point.

As many as 156 players will be vying to take the £2.1million prize, with £11.7million total prize money available to competitors.

With the competition already kicking off this morning, we have rounded up what you need to know about the cut in this year’s tournament.

How many players make the cut in The Open?

The cut will see the best 70 players progress to the next stage of the competition.

The number can rise due to players on tied scores, and those tied players will also progress to the third and fourth rounds.

Though, if there is a tie after the fourth round, a four-hole aggregate playoff takes place to determine the winner.

At the cut, the number of competitors is wittled down from 156 to 70 plus tied opponents.

When is the cut made?

The cut is made after 36 holes, which is two rounds of play.

That means the cut takes place after the second round of play on Friday, July 15, which is around the mid-way point of the competition.

What score is required?

Given the nature of golf competition, the score is always going to vary from year to year.

But in general, the score to make the cut is over par, given you only have to be in the top half.

For the last two editions, though, the cut line has been at a rather low +1, with the previous editions at +3, +5, +6, even, +8 and +3.

As you can see from those previous cut lines, the cut can really vary, but the last two editions suggest play at The Open is getting better and better, pointing to a low cut line.

Who is being backed to win The Open?

As far as the winner goes for the competition, Mcllroy is many people’s favourite.

But Sky Golf’s Rob Lee is backing another candidate, telling Today’s Golfer: “I made my predictions at the start of the year and I’m sticking with Jon Rahm, mainly because of his ability to hit flat shots when he needs to.”

Meanwhile, the BBC’s Andrew Cotter has predicted: “My home would very quickly be repossessed if I started betting on golf – it’s such a difficult sport to call.

“But let’s say Jordan Spieth for some decent memories from 2015 and the fact that he seems to be finding signs of life again.”

Odds

The odds are quickly changing for this year’s competition, but here is who Bet365 are backing at the time of writing:

Rory Mcllroy - 10/1

Xander Schauffele - 14/1

Scottie Scheffler - 16/1

Jon Rahm - 16/1

Jordan Spieth - 16/1

Matthew Fitzpatrick - 18/1

Justin Thomas - 20/1

Shane Lowry - 25/1

Cameron Smith - 25/1

Patrick Cantlay, Will Zalatoris, Colin Morikawa - 28/1