Open Championship cut line tracker: LIVE projected cut updates

[ASFN Admin]

The projected cut line will loom large when Round 2 of the 2026 Open Championship begins on Friday, July 17 at Royal Birkdale because of the golfers that quickly put themselves in jeopady of missing the weekend at the sport's final major of the year. Past major winners like Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Justin Rose, Wyndham Clark and Brian Harman are each flirting the projected cut line after their opening 18 holes of action.

They would each be shocking in their own way. McIlroy is the two-time defending Masters champion. Spieth's last major win came in 2017 on this Royal Birkdale course. Rose is considered one of the hometown favorites after bursting onto the professional golf scene as a 17-year-old amateur at Royal Birkdale in 1998. Clark is coming off a win at the U.S. Open and Harman was the Open champion just three years ago.

The dry conditions and minimal wind forecast for England the rest of the tournament should yield more scoring opportunities than anticipated, but the fairways and greens are firm and fast. Mistakes will be punished mercilessly by Royal Birkdale's treacherous rough and deep bunkers, only adding to the cut line intrigue on Friday.

Here's a live breakdown of the projected cut line during Round 2 at the 2026 Open Championship, and which golfers are in danger of missing the 36-hole cut when tournament play is finished on Friday, July 17:


ANALYSIS: Bryson DeChambeau is a major threat again. Thank Scottie Scheffler

What is the projected cut line at the British Open right now?​

The current cut line after the completion of Round 1 is +1. All golfers with a score of +1 or better would make it to the weekend at Royal Birkdale. There's a 29.6% chance the cut line remains at +1, according to the live model developed by Data Golf. The most likely projected cut line is +2 (41.8% chance). There's also a 18.7% chance the cut line rises to +3, according to the website.

Open Championship cut rules: How many golfers make the weekend?​

Only the top 70 golfers (and ties) on the leaderboard after Friday's Round 2 make the cut to play the weekend at the 2026 Open Championship.

Open Championship cut tracker: Who's in danger?​

• Justin Rose: +5 (F)
• Rory McIlroy: +2 (F)
• Matt Fitzpatrick: +2 (F)
• Jordan Spieth: +3 (F)
• Wyndham Clark: +3 (F)
• Sam Burns: +3 (F)
• Jason Day: +3 (F)
• Patrick Reed: +2 (F)
• Brian Harman: +4 (F)
• Hideki Matsuyama: +2 (F)
• Adam Scott: +2 (F)
• Cameron Smith: +3 (F)
• Joaquin Niemann: +6 (F)
• Harris English: +3 (F)
• Padraig Harrington: +10 (F)
• Gary Woodland: +8 (F)
• Stewart Cink: +4 (F)
• David Duval: +3 (F)

2026 Open Championship live leaderboard​

All times Eastern

• 1. Jackson Suber: -5 (2:30 a.m.)
• T2. Sungjae Im: -4 (7:47 a.m.)
• T2. Daniel Brown: -4 (7:47 a.m.)
• T4. Bryson DeChambeau: -3 (10:04 a.m.)
• T4. Cameron Young: -3 (4:58 a.m.)
• T4. Robert MacIntyre: -3 (7:25 a.m.)
• T4. Thomas Detry: -3 (6:41 a.m.)
• T4. Francesco Molinari: -3 (8:09 a.m.)
• T4. Alex Smalley: -3 (9:09 a.m.)
• T4. Ryan Gerard: -3 (10:37 a.m.)
• T4. M.J. Daffue: -3 (11:10 a.m.)
• T4. Pierceson Coody: -3 (3:36 a.m.)

Click here for the full 2026 Open Championship leaderboard.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Open Championship cut line tracker: LIVE projected cut updates

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