The USGA is giving consideration to a qualifying path for the US Open specifically for LIV Golf players.
Speaking to Golf Channel on Monday, USGA chief championships officer John Bodenhamer suggested the governing body is looking at ways to get LIV Golf players into the US Open.
"From the beginning, we’ve been open - [if] you earn your way in, you get to play, whether it’s through qualifying or exemption as the past champion," Bodenhamer said.
"You know, we’ve watched what is happening in professional golf unfold and we’ve seen a lot of good players go over to LIV, and so we’re thinking a lot about it, we’ve talked a lot about it. I think it’s reasonable to expect that at some point, yes, we would create a pathway or someway that we would get those great players, give them an opportunity to be unified again."
With the conclusion of US Open final qualifying on June 3, there are 12 LIV Golf players in the 2024 US Open field. Three players qualified through the open qualifying process, while nine LIV Golf players were exempt based on Official World Golf Ranking position, or being former or current major champions. That's the lowest number of LIV Golf players in a 2024 major, though the USGA also has the most difficult qualifying criteria.
LIV Golf players cannot earn Official World Golf Ranking points through their finish in league events, making it practically impossible for most of the 54 players to qualify via the US Open's exemption for the top 60 in the OWGR.
"We get a lot of them, and there will be a lot that will play this week through exemption, a number of past champions and qualifiers so, yeah, I think we’re looking very seriously at that," Bodenhamer said.
How that looks is very much a subject of conjecture. What's most likely, though, is an exemption category specific to LIV Golf players based on the current or prior season standings in the LIV Golf League. The 30 players who qualify for the PGA Tour's Tour Championship (and are eligible for it) earn a US Open berth the following year, and that makes up the top 15 percent or so of PGA Tour players from that season. In the LIV Golf League, that equivalent, which may or may not be appropriate, would be eight players.
However, the USGA also gives serious consideration to the qualifying process when adding additional exemption categories. The organization very much still wants qualifying stories to be a significant part of the championship lore. Offering anywhere from five to eight exemptions for LIV Golf players would likely cover players who are already exempt.
