"We welcome you with open arms": USGA CEO welcomes LIV Golfers to qualify at 2024 US Open
The US Open is getting closer and closer and the qualifying process has already started. Several LIV Golf players have entered the local qualifiers, looking for a place in the field of the event to be held in Pinehurst in June.
The issue is quite sensitive in the golf world. Since LIV events do not receive points for the world ranking, big stars playing in the league have had to play in the open qualification process.
However, the United States Golf Association (USGA), the organizer of the event, has assured that LIV players will be well received. USGA CEO Mike Whan said the event's field is open enough to welcome LIV Golf players 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 said to Sports Ilustrated. "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."
He added:
"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 U.S. Open are not held and are going to be filled by qualifying players."
The US Open qualification process includes more than 100 local qualifiers and 13 final qualifiers. Over 10,000 players registered to participate in the first stage, including 35 of the 54 LIV Golf players.
In addition, eight LIV players are exempt from qualifying for the US Open. They are Martin Kaymer, Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Cameron Smith, Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson, and Tyrrell Hatton.
The US Open and the Talor Gooch case
Mike Whan did not speak directly about the Talor Gooch case in his interview to Sports Illustrated. However, he did say that LIV Golf players (Gooch included) receive the same treatment as players on the other circuits.
"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," Whan said. "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.”
He added:
"We saw it last year, we had a pretty consequential amount of LIV players go to qualify. We had players who went to qualify and got in and some went to qualify and didn't. The same will be true this year."
The dilemma with Talor Gooch began during the 2023 season when he was exempt from participating in the US Open, but the USGA modified an exemption category and left him out. Gooch and many of his supporters interpreted this as a way for him not to play in the event at a time when he was the big star of LIV Golf.
Since then, Gooch has not pursued options to qualify for the US Open and the other majors. Other LIV Golf players have played events in Europe and Asia to improve their place in the world ranking, and Joaquin Niemann received a special invitation to The Masters, for what he has done in 2024.