Masters Cut Line 2022: Latest Projections After Thursday's Leaderboard Analysis

Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm are among the golfers who will try to avoid the projected cut line at the Masters on Friday. 

The top 50 players and ties on the leaderboard will advance to the weekend at Augusta National Golf Club following the second round. 

If that was applied to Thursday's scores, the golfers at two-over or better would make it to the weekend. 

DeChambeau alternated between good and bad rounds in the last two Masters. He has four rounds of 73 or worse, while the other four scorecards were 72 or lower. 

The heavy-hitting American has to hope for his form to turn around on Friday in order to qualify for the final two rounds. 

Rahm entered Augusta as the tournament favorite but sits at two-over going into the second round. 

The 2021 U.S. Open champion has typically played well at Augusta, and he needs to benefit from his experience across the course to rebound and put himself in solid position heading into Saturday. 

       

Masters Leaderboard

Sungjae Im (-5) 

Cameron Smith (-4) 

Danny Willett (-3) 

Joaquin Niemann (-3) 

Scottie Scheffler (-3) 

Dustin Johnson (-3) 

Jason Kokrak (-2)

Corey Conners (-2) 

Patrick Cantlay (-2) 

Full leaderboard can be found on Masters.com.

         

Latest Projections

DeChambeau Struggles To Get To Cut Number

DeChambeau has a few things going against him on Friday. 

The 28-year-old starts his round with at least a two-stroke advantage compared to the cut line, and it could be higher than two-over depending on how the morning threesomes play the course. 

DeChambeau is in the process of rediscovering his on-course form after returning from an injury hiatus two weeks ago at the WGC Match Play.

The Modesto, California native did not make it out of the group stage at the Austin Country Club then, and he missed the cut at the Texas Open last week with scores of 73 and 76.

DeChambeau did not look great throughout his four-over 76 first round at the Masters on Thursday, when he finished the final five holes with two bogeys and a double bogey. He needs to improve on the closing holes in order to make a push over the cut line on Friday. 

The 2020 U.S. Open winner played relatively clean on the first 13 holes, recording two bogeys, one birdie and 10 pars in that stretch. A long run of pars with a few birdies mixed in could be enough for him to qualify for the weekend. 

The second round at Augusta has not treated DeChambeau well, though. He has hit a 74 and 75 on his last two Fridays on the course. 

If he avoids a few tumultuous holes, he should rise up the leaderboard, but that feels like a difficult task with his bombing drive style that can sometimes send balls all over the course. 

         

Rahm Rebounds From 1st-Round 74

Rahm should not be concerned about his title contention yet. 

The Spaniard shot a two-over 74 on Thursday, but he is only three birdies away from the top 10. He began with seven pars, one birdie and one bogey. He needs another solid start plus an extra birdie or two to gain some confidence heading into the back nine. 

He did get a little choppy on the back nine, though, where he carded bogeys on the 11th, 13th and 16th holes. 

Rahm could use his trip to Augusta in 2018 for motivation on Friday. He started that tournament with a 75 and then had three rounds in the 60s to land a fourth-place finish. 

The 27-year-old could also benefit from the time of day when he will be on course. He will be part of the morning wave on Friday, but the wind is expected to pick up and the sun will fade behind the clouds as the afternoon goes on, according to Weather.com.

Rahm, Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth and others may benefit from the favorable conditions to climb the leaderboard, while the golfers with afternoon tee times may be up against some stronger winds.