US Open 2024: LIV Golfers To Be Welcomed With Open Arms

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 3 May 2024

USGA boss Mike Whan says they will welcome LIV Golf players "with open arms" if they qualify for the US Open - and he's proud to have so many places available for those good enough to get in.

Around half of the places in the US Open field are up for grabs through qualifiers, a fact Whan is especially proud of as he feels theirs is the "most open" of all the Majors.

That includes players who ply their trade on LIV Golf, with nine of those exempt for the 2024 US Open at Pinehurst, while a further 35 have entered Final Qualifying in a bid to join them.

“One of the advantages we have versus most other championships in golf is, a lot of other championships call themselves open but we are the most open, meaning half of the spots in the US Open are not held and are going to be filled by qualifying players,” Whan told Sports Illustrated.

“There is a good chunk of LIV players and other major winners who are already in and have played since LIV started playing and we're proud of that.

"But there are a lot of great players on the DP World Tour, the PGA Tour, the Korn Ferry Tour, and the Asian Tours that aren't in either and they have to go play 36 holes and try to qualify.”

Former champions Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka and Martin Kaymer all hold exemptions, and are joined by Phil Mickelson, Cameron Smith, Tyrrell Hatton and Adrian Meronk.

Jason Kokrak and former US Open champion Graeme McDowell confirmed their intention to attempt to qualify at the same press conference Talor Gooch emphatically said he was not.

Gooch thought he'd qualified for last year's US Open in Los Angeles before a rule change meant he missed out as a result of not being able to play in the Tour Championship.

Talor Gooch takes a shot at LIV Golf Adelaide

That's obviously still a sore point for the 2023 individual LIV Golf champion, who is not trying to qualify for Pinehurst this year.

But even if Gooch feels unwanted, Whan insists anyone who is good enough to qualify for the US Open will be welcomed to the tournament with open arms.

“When people talk about other Majors, some of those Majors are kind of full and the only way to get in is an invite," Whan added,

"In our case, half of our field is not only not full, it's wide open. If you're good enough to get in, we welcome you with open arms.”

Paul Higham is a sports journalist with over 20 years of experience in covering most major sporting events for both Sky Sports and BBC Sport. He is currently freelance and covers the golf majors on the BBC Sport website. Highlights over the years include covering that epic Monday finish in the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor and watching Rory McIlroy produce one of the most dominant Major wins at the 2011 US Open at Congressional. He also writes betting previews and still feels strangely proud of backing Danny Willett when he won the Masters in 2016 - Willett also praised his putting stroke during a media event before the Open at Hoylake. Favourite interviews he's conducted have been with McIlroy, Paul McGinley, Thomas Bjorn, Rickie Fowler and the enigma that is Victor Dubuisson. A big fan of watching any golf from any tour, sadly he spends more time writing about golf than playing these days with two young children, and as a big fair weather golfer claims playing in shorts is worth at least five shots. Being from Liverpool he loves the likes of Hoylake, Birkdale and the stretch of tracks along England's Golf Coast, but would say his favourite courses played are Kingsbarns and Portrush.

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