USGA to mull potential exemption for LIV golfers into U.S. Open - ESPN

PINEHURST, N.C. — The United States Golf Association will weigh in the offseason whether to create an exemption category that would make it easier for LIV Golf League players to qualify for the U.S. Open, CEO Mike Whan said Wednesday.

«We're going to talk about it this offseason, whether or not there needs to be a path to somebody, or somebodies, that are performing really well on LIV that can get a chance to play in that way,» Whan said ahead of the 124th U.S. Open, which starts Thursday at Pinehurst No. 2.

«I think we are serious about that. Exactly what that looks like and how that'll curtail, I'm not just being coy, we haven't done that yet.»

There are 12 LIV Golf League players in the field this week, including past U.S. Open champions Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and Martin Kaymer.

Jon Rahm, winner of the 2021 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines in San Diego, withdrew from the tournament Tuesday because of a left foot injury.

«There [are] no out-of-bounds stakes on our field criteria,» Whan said. «In other words, this major, probably different than some others, you can get in. It's not a closed field. It doesn't require a committee or an invitation. If you want to play in this field, you've got an opportunity to play in this field, and we're proud of that.»

Kaymer, who won the last U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 in 2014, is in the final year of his 10-year exemption in the event. Phil Mickelson, a six-time runner-up in the U.S. Open, will have just one year left on his five-year exemption for winning the 2021 PGA Championship.

Three LIV Golf players — Dean Burmester, David Puig and Eugenio Chacarra — made the field through final qualifying. Sergio Garcia, playing in his 25th straight U.S. Open, was added as