European Tour UK Swing Offering 10 US Open Spots

The US Open is offering the European Tour 10 spots in the field after cancelling the qualifying events

European Tour UK Swing Offering 10 US Open Spots

It was announced last month that this year's US Open qualification tournaments would be cancelled due to Covid-19, effectively turning the Major into an invitational.

However, there is now hope for players to qualify into the tournament at Winged Foot, with the USGA and European Tour announcing that 10 spots will be up for grabs in the upcoming UK swing.

The UK swing comprises of six events across England and Wales, and the top 10 on the mini order of merit after the fifth event, the Wales Open, who haven't already made it into the US Open will qualify into Winged Foot.

The UK Swing begins at the Betfred British Masters hosted by Lee Westwood at Close House, near Newcastle, from Wednesday July 22 to Saturday July 25, and will launch the European Tour’s Golf for Good initiative, which underpins all events for the remainder of the 2020 season.

As part of the initiative, a mini order of merit will run for all six events in the UK Swing, with the top ten sharing an additional £250,000 to donate to charities of their choice.

Keith Waters, European Tour Chief Operating Officer, said: “Throughout our discussions with the USGA, it was clear that they shared our desire to offer European Tour players an opportunity to earn places in this year’s US Open. We thank them for working with us to create this new exemption category encompassing the first five events in the UK Swing.

“The UK Swing mini order of merit already offers an additional incentive through the Golf for Good initiative, and we are pleased that players now have more to play for, with places available in the second Major Championship of the season.”

The European Tour officially resumes with two smaller events in Austria – the Austrian Open on July 9-12 and the Euram Bank Open on July 15-18 – before the six-event UK swing.

John Bodenhamer, USGA senior managing director, Championships, said: “The US Open qualifier in England has historically featured a very strong field, and we felt it was important to provide an opportunity for players throughout Europe to earn a place in this year’s championship.

“We are grateful to the European Tour for the wonderful collaboration that allowed us to create this exemption category for the 2020 US Open.”

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