Why did Tiger Woods receive US Open 2024 exemption? Rules and eligibility explored

Tiger Woods received on Thursday, May 2, a special exemption to play in the 2024 US Open. The news was announced by the United States Golf Association (USGA), the governing body that organizes the event.

Despite his innumerable achievements in professional golf, Tiger Woods didn't qualify to play the upcoming edition of the US Open. Unlike other tournaments like The Masters, the US Open doesn't provide lifetime exemptions for any player, regardless of their record.

Tiger Woods has won the tournament three times, but the last of them was in 2008. The exemption category expires after 10 years, with no special treatment for multi-winners.

These are the exemption categories for professional players (Tiger Woods doesn't meet any of them):

Winners of the U.S. Open for the last 10 years
Winners of each of Masters Tournament, Open Championship and PGA Championship for the last five years
Winners of the last three Players Championships
Winner of the current year's BMW PGA Championship
Winner of the last U.S. Senior Open
Players who win multiple U.S. PGA Tour events during the time between tournaments, provided the tournaments each offer 500 or more points to the winner and are not opposite-field events.
Top 10 finishers and ties from the previous year's U.S. Open
Players who qualified for the previous year's Tour Championship
The top 60 in the Official World Golf Ranking as of two weeks before the start of the tournament
The top 60 in the OWGR as of the tournament date
The top player in the PGA Tour second-tier developmental series points.

All players who do not meet the above categories are required to seek qualification in local qualifiers. Otherwise, they must receive a special exemption, as was the case with Tiger Woods.

Special exemptions are not a novelty at the US Open. To date, a total of 52 have been granted to 34 players, primarily great golf legends. Jack Nicklaus received eight, Arnold Palmer and Tom Watson five, Hale Irwin three and Gary Player, Lee Trevino and Seve Ballesteros two.

A look at Tiger Woods' history at the U.S. Open

The 2024 edition will be Tiger Woods' 23rd US Open appearance. His overall results include three victories (2000, 2002 and 2008), two second places, eight top-10s and 15 top-25s.

Wood made his amateur debut in 1995 and withdrew after two rounds. A year later, he finished T82 to start a nine-round top-20 streak in 1997, which included two of his victories.

In 2006, he missed the cut and returned a year later in style, stringing together four editions in the top-10s, including a win and a second-place finish. From 2012 to 2023, Woods only played six editions, with three missed cuts and a T21 (twice) as his best result.

His record in the event is 65, achieved during the first round of the 2000 edition played at Pebble Beach. His worst score was 85, carded in the second round of the 1995 edition at Shinnecock Hills.