Following the second round of the BMW PGA Championship, some players will have been breathing sighs of relief after narrowly making the 36-hole cut.
The likes of Matt Wallace, Robert MacIntyre, Thomas Pieters and Tommy Fleetwood all squeezed above the cut line on the number at Wentworth.
However, if any of them assumed that it meant they’d guarantee their participation for the remaining 36 holes, they would have been mistaken.
That’s because, for the first time in three years on the DP World Tour, there will be a second cut after the third round, but why is that?
The reason is because of the sheer number who made it beyond the halfway stage. A total of 26 players finished their second rounds on two under to scramble above the cut line by a shot, swelling the number of players heading into the final 36 holes to 86.
That’s unusually high and, as a result, at the discretion of the Tournament Director, a maximum of 78 will be making it as far as the final round, thanks to the introduction of a second cut.
As a result, the stakes are a bit higher for players in and around 78th on the third round leaderboard.
Tommy Fleetwood was one of many who made the cut on the number at the BMW PGA Championship
(Image credit: Getty Images)
The good news for the players who made the first cut but won’t be appearing in the final round of the DP World Tour’s flagship event is that they will earn prize money and points on the Race to Dubai Rankings, unlike those who left Wentworth after the second round, who went away with nothing.
The last time a DP World Tour event had a cut following the third round was the Hero Dubai Desert Classic in 2023, after 87 players and ties made it past the halfway stage.
At the top end of the leaderboard, Hideki Matsuyama held a one-shot lead over Justin Rose, Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg after the second round in pursuit of his maiden DP World Tour title.
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