The USGA has made history By becoming the first major governing body to provide direct access to major championships for Liv Golfers on Wednesday.
Previously, LIV players were able to qualify for majors through various exemptions, including through official world ranking points, or through a variety of exemptions, including winning major titles in the past five years. But now, at the 2025 US Open in Oakmont, USGA will grant a full exemption to top LIV players who are otherwise not exempt. However, that player is also a possible catch as he must be the top three in LIV Golf individual rankings on May 19, 2025, the day after the final round of the PGA Championship.
“USGA continues to evaluate the pathways that exist to ensure the best-playing people have the opportunity to compete in our national championships,” USGA Chief Championship Officer John Bordenhamer said in a statement. I mentioned.
“In line with our historical approach, we are continuing to evaluate talent levels in professional tours and amateur events, so we are adding a new exemption category.”
Let's apply this new exemption as an example using the top three finishers in LIV Golf rankings for 2024. John Rahm finished first, but due to his victory at the 2021 US Open, he can play at the US Open until 2031. Joaquinnyman finished second. Join the world's best players at Oakmont in June.
But what if you reach Rahm, Brooks Koepka and Bryson Deccanbaugh on May 19, 2025, you're making up the top three LIV Golf rankings? Koepka won Oak Hill in 2023. This means that you can play in all four majors until 2027. Deccanbeau won Pinehurst No. 2 last year, so he will be a fixture at the next 10 US Open. -YEAR exemption. So in this scenario, LIV golf players will not win a full exemption from the US Open, as the top three players were already on the field.
That said, the USGA has created another exemption scenario in case this happens. As of April 7, 2025, local exemptions will be awarded to the top 10 individual players in 2025 LIV Golf Rankings. These 10 players will receive a direct invitation to the final qualifying rounds of the US Open. Last year, 73 of the 937 players in the 13 final qualifiers headed for Pinehurst No. 2. Previously, 530 of the nearly 10,000 players advanced to final qualifying from local qualifiers, but with this new exemption, the Top 10 LIV will avoid this first step.
Jack Mirco is a golf staff writer playing SB Nation. Please follow him in X @jack_milko。
