The LPGA Tour cut rule stipulates that, after 36 holes of most 72-hole tournaments, the top 65 players and ties qualify for the final two rounds and earn a paycheck for the week if they finish the golf tournament.
During the weeks there is a cut, the LPGA Tour purse is quoted based on exactly 65 players making the cut. Of course, that rarely happens. Most weeks, more than 65 players are getting through the cut and finishing the tournament. So, what does the LPGA Tour do with paying prize money when more than 65 players make the cut?
Quite simply, the LPGA Tour modifies how the purse is paid out.
For example, a purse on the LPGA Tour is $10 million. The quoted purse covers the 15 percent cut for the winner, which is $1,500,000, all the way down to $23,234 for 65th place (if there's not a tie).
In the event there are more than exactly 65 players who qualify for the weekend after the 36-hole cut, the purse remains the same, and the payout is modified for every player after first place. In the same $10 million purse example, if 70 pros make the cut, then the 65th place player earns $22,920, while the 70th place player earns $20,377.
The money is divided up so the LPGA Tour pays out all players who make the cut. The percentages change with each successive player that makes the cut.
With no secondary cut, every player who makes the 36-hole cut has a chance to move up the leaderboard for the final two rounds and improve their payday.
The same is true with Race to the CME Globe points. Every player who makes the cut and finishes the tournament earns Race to the CME Globe points. In standard events where the winner gets 500 Race to the CME Globe points, the 66th-place player earns 3.8 Race to the CME Globe points. The figure decreases by 0.1 points down to 85th place, when the points decrease from 1.5 to 1.45 for 86th place.
