The U.S. Open will become the first major championship to offer direct a direct exemption to the LIV Golf League, announcing Wednesday that one player in the top of three of its points standings this spring will earn a spot in the championship at Oakmont in June.
The United States Golf Association released its 24 exemption categories for the championship that will also see the top 10 LIV Golf League players in April exempt from local qualifying and earning a direct spot into final 36-hole qualifying.
The exemption will change to two players in 2026 with the top player from this year’s final standings eligible along with another player based on the 2026 points standings in the spring.
“The USGA continues to evaluate the pathways that exist to ensure those playing their best have the opportunity to compete in our national championship,” USGA chief championships officer John Bodenhamer said in a statement. "Consistent with our historical approach, we continuously evaluate talent levels on professional tours and in amateur events, which has led us to add a new exemption category.”
None of the other major championships so far has offered a direct spot via a LIV ranking points system to their tournaments.
The Masters has so far given a special exemption to Joaquin Niemann for 2025, but made no mention of his play on LIV Golf. Niemann, who also this week learned he’d be getting an invite to the PGA Championship along with Sergio Garcia, the 2017 Masters champion.
They finished second and third, respectively, last year in the LIV Golf League individual standings behind Jon Rahm, who is exempt into all of the majors based on his 2021 U.S. Open and 2023 Masters victories.
Neither major, however, has formed an exemption category directly based on play in the LIV Golf League.
“We’re pleased that the USGA has formally created a new exemption for LIV Golf players to compete in the U.S. Open and appreciate (USGA CEO) Mike Whan's leadership and commitment to growing the game of golf,” LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil said in a statement. “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 British Open has yet to announce its 2025 exemption categories.
LIV Golf begins its fourth season this week in Riyadh and the cutoff for the U.S. Open is May 19, meaning seven events into the 14-tournament schedule. The top player among the top three not otherwise exempt will avoid final qualifying while the top 10 as of April 7—through the first five events—will be able to skip local qualifying.
Last year, LIV Golf dropped its bid for Official World Golf Ranking points, saying it believed the major championships would offer direct spots to reward play through its schedule.
Some within LIV’s hierarchy believe the league deserves to have 10 spots from its seasonlong points list or some combination of 10 players via various categories.
The USGA’s new category falls far short of that but still acknowledges play for the top player in LIV Golf. The U.S. Open exempts the top 60 in the OWGR as of two spring dates, a place that would be difficult for Niemann, for example, to obtain without getting points for LIV events.
Next year, the top player among the top three from the final 2025 standings along with the top player among three in the spring of 2026 who is otherwise not exempt will get a spot at Shinnecock Hills.
There are seven LIV Golf players who are exempt for the 2025 U.S. Open: Richard Bland (U.S. Senior Open champion), Bryson DeChambeau (defending U.S. Open champion), Dustin Johnson (2020 Masters, 2016 U.S. Open), Brooks Koepka (2023 PGA champion and two-time U.S. Open champion), Phil Mickelson (2021 PGA champion), Rahm (2023 Masters), Cam Smith (2022 British Open). Tyrrell Hatton, who is currently eighth in the OWGR, is a lock to qualify via the top 60 U.S. Open exemption.
This leaves open the possibility that if any combination of those eight players are first, second and third in LIV points at the cutoff, no other player will qualify via this category.
The USGA made no other changes to its exemption list from last year.
Winners of the other major championships for the past five years along with past U.S. Open champions for 10 years head the list of exemptions. The top 60 OWGR in May and June will also take up a bulk of spots along with the 30 players who qualified for the PGA Tour’s Tour Championship last year.
The DP World Tour gets three spots, two from the final 2024 standings of those not otherwise exempt and another from a points list this spring. A leading Korn Ferry Tour player will also be exempt.
As is custom, more than half the field will earn their way into the 156-player championship via local and final qualifying.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as One LIV Golfer Will Receive a Coveted U.S. Open Spot This Year.
