What is the eligibility criteria for the 2024 U.S. Open? All we know so far

Modified May 21, 2024 15:37 GMT

123rd U.S. Open Championship - Final Round — What is the eligibility criteria for the 2024 U.S. Open? All we know so far

Next up on the Major championship docket in 2024: the U.S. Open. The 124th iteration of that tournament is to be held next month, which means the field hasn't yet been solidified. There are a lot of ways for golfers to qualify, whether through their own other Major wins or just based on overall performance. Here's what you need to know about how PGA Tour and LIV Golf players can get into the third Major of the year.

How to qualify for U.S. Open

There are quite a few ways to qualify for the U.S. Open in golf. According to the DP World Tour, this is primarily how golfers can get in:

Past 10 champions
Top 10 from the 2023 U.S. Open
2023 U.S. Senior Open Championship winner
2023 U.S. Amateur Championship winner
2023 U.S. Junior Amateur and U.S. Mid-Amateur Championships winner and 2023 U.S. Amateur runner-up (must be an amateur)
2020-2024 Masters champions
Past five PGA Championship winners
2022-2024 Open Championship winners
2023 European BMW PGA Championship winner
2023 Tour Championship-eligible players
Multiple winners of PGA Tour events that award full-point allocation for the FedEx Cup in last calendar year
Top 5 players in the 2024 FedExCup standings as of May 20, 2024 who don't have other exemption
Points leader from the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour season
Top two players in 2023 Race to Dubai Rankings who are not otherwise exempt
Top player in the 2024 Race to Dubai Rankings
2023 The Amateur Championship winner
2023 Mark H. McCormack Medal winner
2024 NCAA Division I Men's Individual Golf Championship winner
2024 Latin America Amateur Championship winner
60 best-ranked OWGR players
Special exemptions as selected by the USGA

Most of the ways to get in involve winning something. Winners of quite a few PGA Tour, DP World Tour, Korn Ferry Tour, and even collegiate tournaments are awarded entry into the field.

Even those who don't win can get in, because the top 60 OWGR players in the world get in. If players earn points but don't win, they'll still be invited to play in June at Pinehurst.

There are also special tournaments set up specifically as qualifiers, and players will go to those events and play where they otherwise would not. A lot of LIV Golf players go to International Series events and participate to try and earn a spot in a Major.

Unlike the Masters, the past champion invite only extends to the past 10 years. At Augusta National, anyone who has ever won the tournament gets invited back every single year.

Special exemptions are key. This allows some LIV players to get in, such as Dean Burmester and Talor Gooch getting into the PGA Championship or Joaquin Niemann earning a spot in the Masters Tournament field.

Edited by Luke Koshi