Tiger, Koepka, McIlroy among exempt golfers for U.S. Open

Reigning Masters champion, Tiger Woods, and four-time major winner, Brooks Koepka, are among the exempt players for this year’s U.S. Open announced yesterday by the US Golf Association, reports AFP.

Woods, a 15-time major champion, and Koepka, seeking a third consecutive PGA Championship victory in August, will join defending champion, Gary Woodland, among 11 U.S. Open winners set to compete in the 120th U.S. Open from September 17 to 20 at Winged Foot in Mamaroneck, New York.

World number one, Rory McIlroy, and Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland, Britain’s Justin Rose and Germany’s Martin Kaymer will join fellow U.S. Open winners, Woods, Koepka, Woodland, Lucas Glover, Dustin Johnson, Webb Simpson and Jordan Spieth.

The coronavirus pandemic forced a postponement of the U.S. Open from its traditional June dates and wiped out all qualifying for the tournament, forcing the USGA to determine exempt categories for entry into the major championship.

“The decision to cancel local and final qualifying for this year’s U.S. Open was deeply disappointing, but we are pleased to still provide the world’s best professional and amateur players the opportunity to compete for this historic and coveted championship,” said USGA senior managing director of championships John Bodenhamer said.

“The exemption categories for this year’s championship at Winged Foot Golf Club were carefully developed to mirror a representative US Open field and we are excited that players will still have an opportunity to earn a place in the field through a variety of categories.”

The U.S. Open will be played following the scheduled conclusion of the 2019/20 U.S. PGA Tour season and as the second major event of the year after the PGA, with the British Open having been cancelled and the Masters pushed back from April to November due to the deadly virus outbreak.

Entries will be accepted from July 15 through August 26.

The USGA has not given up on having at least a limited number of spectators at the event, to be staged in what had been the first major US epicentre of the COVID-19 outbreak.

This year’s U.S. Open will include the top 70 players in the world golf rankings as of March 15 instead of the usual top 60.

That expansion will allow 50-year-old Phil Mickelson, who was 61st in the March 15 edition of the rankings, to compete in the event. The six-time U.S. Open runner-up needs a victory in the event to complete a career Grand Slam.

Players can also earn a berth in the lineup through performances in the last six scheduled U.S. PGA events of the current season, which resumed two weeks ago after a three-month hiatus.

The top five players on the final U.S. PGA FedEx Cup season points list, the top 10 in aggregate points from the first five events on the European Tour’s UK Swing and the top five on the developmental Korn Ferry Tour’s regular-season points and finals lists will be exempt into the U.S. Open.

The final 2019 Order of Merit categories for the Japan Golf Tour, Sunshine Tour, Asian Tour and Australasia Tour will help to complete a field of 144 players at the suburban New York layout.

Six amateurs are currently exempt and the top seven World Amateur Golf Rankings point leaders from August 19 not otherwise exempt will be added to the field.

An average of 15 amateurs has competed in the past five US Opens, including 2018 US Amateur winner Viktor Hovland, a Norwegian who shared 12th last year at Pebble Beach.

Exemptions remain unchanged for winners in several USGA events as well as for winners of the other majors, the Players Championship and BMW PGA Championship.

Other spots to fill the field will be taken from the August 23 edition of the world golf rankings.