LIV Golf Finally Gets Major Pathway As US Open Announces Groundbreaking Exemption

On Wednesday, the USGA announced groundbreaking exemptions for LIV Golfers at this year's US Open.

In a release, the USGA stated that: "For the 2025 championship, a full exemption will be awarded to the top player who is not otherwise exempt and in the top 3 of the 2025 LIV Golf Individual Standings as of May 19, 2025."

The release went on to add: "In addition, a local exemption will be awarded to the top 10 players from the 2025 LIV Golf Individual Standings as of April 7, 2025."

The exemption news now means that one LIV Golfer will have the chance to tee it up at the third men's Major in 2025, while two will get the opportunity in 2026.

For 2025, the full exemption is awarded to the top player who is not otherwise exempt and in the top 3 of the 2025 LIV Golf Individual Standings as of May 19, 2025. That means the cut off deadline follows LIV Golf Korea, which reaches a climax on May 4th.

What's more, the top 10 LIV Golf League players in April will be exempt from local qualifying and, therefore, secure a direct spot into the final 36-hole qualifier, which gets underway at the end of May 2025.

In terms of next year, the top player in this year’s final standings and the top player in next year’s standings by May will secure a spot in the field. Along with two automatic qualifiers, the top 10 players from the final 2025 LIV Golf Individual Standings and the top 10 players from the 2026 Individual Standings as of April 6, 2026 will earn their place in the final 36-hole qualifier.

Speaking about the news, LIV Golf's new CEO, Scott O’Neil, stated: “We’re pleased that the USGA has formally created a new exemption for LIV Golf players to compete in the US Open and appreciate Mike Whan’s leadership and commitment to growing the game of golf.

"Every golf fan in the world longs to see the greatest players in the world competing on golf’s biggest stages at the Majors. LIV Golf is committed to working hand in hand with golf’s governing bodies to elevate the sport in all corners of the world.”

The move means that the US Open becomes the first Major to hand exemptions to LIV Golf and shortly follows the news that Joaquin Niemann and Sergio Garcia received invitations to the PGA Championship in May.

As of writing, seven LIV Golfers are exempt into this year's championship at Oakmont. These are Richard Bland, Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson, Jon Rahm and Cameron Smith. Currently, the likes of Tyrrell Hatton sit inside the top 60 of the Official World Golf Ranking and would qualify he remains in that position.

Although the exemption has been announced it's worth noting that it doesn't necessarily mean a guaranteed entry for LIV Golfers, with the reason being that the top three could be already exempt at the time of the cutoff date.

For now though, attention will now turn to whether The R&A introduces its own exemption category for LIV Golfers into The Open. Golf Monthly has contacted The R&A for comment.