Missing the cut is perhaps one of the worst things that can happen to a professional golfer.
Having spent hours and hours on the range, the practice greens and in the gym working on their game, undoing all that preparation to miss the cut at a Major championship can be devastating.
Rory McIlroy missed the cut at the 2023 Masters and the pain was visible on his face, with the Northern Irishman walking straight into the clubhouse after his dismal second round, refusing to speak to the media following the event.
Justin Thomas was also seen breaking into tears as he stood on the 18th green during his second round at Augusta National, knowing he too had failed to make the cut.
While it is a blemish on their season's stats, missing the cut also means they fall out of contention to win the tournament, losing their chance to cement themselves in golf folklore as one of the few players who have won one of golf's men's Majors.
The cut is one of the most unique aspects of a professional golf tournament. It's rare to see a similar procedure in operation in other sports and it can put a lot of pressure on those participating at the men's Majors.
Usually the cut will see around 50-60 players be removed from the field, with the top half going on to fight it out to win the tournament.
And making the cut can be a very difficult task in itself. We saw how Tiger Woods toiled with the elements at the 2023 Masters to narrowly make it through to the weekend by the skin of his teeth.
One measure of success for many golfers is how many cuts they make throughout their careers, and while getting through to the weekend may not always guarantee you a prize, it certainly does show consistency and an ability to rise above the pressure to put yourself in contention.
So which golfers have made the most cuts at Major championships?
While it's hard enough to secure a spot in the field at the PGA Championship, the Masters, the US Open and the Open in the first instance, getting into the weekend is even tougher.
Phil Mickelson knows all about that, having joined an illustrious trio of players to make 100 cuts at Major championships, following his T58 finish at the 2023 PGA Championship.
For context, Tiger Woods has made 77 cuts in 91 starts at the Majors, putting him a few rungs below the left-hander on the leaderboard.
But after making the weekend at the PGA Championship, Mickelson secured his standing behind Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player as the third player to have made the most cuts in the men's Majors.
Player, one of the most decorated golfers to have ever participated in the sport, winning nine Majors, sits second behind Nicklaus, having made 102 cuts during his career.
But it is the Golden Bear who takes the top spot, and by a long way too, having made the cut 131 times in his career at the men's Major championships.
And some of the stats behind the 18-time Major champion's career are remarkable. They lay bare how Nicklaus is perhaps one of the greatest players, if not the most successful, to ever grace the game.
He stands alone as the all time leading Major winner, winning six times at Augusta, the most of any player, while remarkably missing the cut just once in 44 Major championships between 1970-1980.
It will certainly be a long time before any player can surpass many of the American's achievements in the game.
Who holds the records for the most consecutive cuts at the men's Major championships?
In golf's recent history, Woods may have been the one player who has come the closest to taking on some of Nicklaus' mantle, but sits just three Majors shy of his record.
In any event, the five-time Masters winner levelled Nicklaus for one record at Augusta in 2023, after booking his way into the weekend to make his 23rd consecutive cut at the Masters, joining Nicklaus and Fred Couples, who also made 23 consecutive cuts at the tournament.
Woods also sits neck-and-neck with Nicklaus as the two golfers to have made the most consecutive cuts at all four Majors, with the pair having gone on sprees that saw them make 39 cuts in a row at some point during both their careers.
Woods' era of form came between 1996 and 2006 where he won nine Majors, while almost taking a clean sweep at the four competitions in 2000, narrowly missing out on the Masters that year coming T5.
Nicklaus's era came between 1969 and 1978, where he won eight Majors in just under ten years.
Below them sits Gary Player, who made 37 consecutive cuts between 1970 and 1980.
Most cuts made at Men's Major championships
- Jack Nicklaus - 131
- Gary Player - 102
- Phil Mickelson - 100
- Tiger Woods - 77
Most consecutive cuts made at Major championships?
- Jack Nicklaus - 39
- Tiger Woods - 39
- Fred Couples - 37
- Gary Player - 37
