LIV Golfer Among Notable Withdrawals From US Open Qualifying

After the PGA Championship concluded on Sunday, it was straight back to business for some players, as US Open Final Qualifying got underway 12 hours later.

Taking place in multiple locations, one of those courses was Walton Heath, where a number of names from the DP World Tour and LIV Golf League were present as they looked to play their way in to the third men's Major of 2025.

Among those vying for a spot at the US Open was LIV Golf's Sam Horsfield, who is part of the Majesticks GC team.

Getting his round underway early on Monday morning, the Englishman birdied the third and fourth holes, with a bogey at the seventh and a birdie at the eighth putting him two-under for the day.

However, things would unravel on the back nine, as the LIV Golfer bogeyed the 10th, 11th and 15th and, although a birdie at the 16th put him back to level-par, a triple bogey at the last handed Horsfield a three-over-par first round.

At Walton Heath there were eight qualifying spots up for grabs but, sitting well back of those, Horsfield withdrew prior to his second round in the afternoon, joining multiple players in the process.

Among the names who withdrew included former Ryder Cup player Nicolas Colsaerts, who pulled out seven holes into his second round. There was also DP World Tour winners Todd Clements and Callum Shinkwin, as well as Matt Fitzpatrick's brother, Alex.

At the halfway stage, Jordan Smith led the way following an eight-under 64. In the afternoon, the 32-year-old produced a two-under 70 to finish 10-under, cementing his spot at Oakmont next month.

Earlier on in the day, and at Tarao Country Club in Japan, Yuta Sugiura, Scott Vincent and LIV Golf's Jinichiro Kozuma secured their spots at the US Open.

Both Sugiura and Vincent finished 10-under for their two rounds, while Iron Heads GC's Kozuma was nine-under following a five-under 67 final round.

As of writing, there is also one other US Open Final Qualifier taking place today in Texas, where players from the LIV Golf League and PGA Tour are present. These include the likes of Sergio Garcia, Joel Dahmen and Abraham Ancer.

During the first round, PGA Tour winners Mackenzie Hughes, Tom Kim and Branden Grace were among the big names to withdraw. Five-time PGA Tour winner, Ryan Moore, also withdrew early on on Monday morning.