The U.S. Open field is taking shape with 27 players added through world rankings and international qualifiers just a day after Scottie Scheffler won his third major at the PGA Championship.
Sergio Garcia will miss the tournament for the first time since 1999. He bogeyed his final hole in Dallas qualifying, which kept him out of a 7-for-1 playoff for the last spot. Rasmus Neergaard-Peterson led the seven qualifiers from that site, with Carlos Ortiz securing his place thanks to a clutch birdie on his final hole.
Davis Riley and Joe Highsmith played their way into the field with strong finishes at the PGA Championship, moving them into the top 60 in the world ranking. They’re among 36 players who earned exemptions from qualifying.
The U.S. Open returns to Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania from June 12-15, where Dustin Johnson won his first major. It’s worth noting that Johnson played a practice round that week with a 19-year-old Scheffler, who was making his U.S. Open debut. Scheffler opened with a solid 69 but followed with a 78 to miss the cut.
LIV Golf will have more representation at Oakmont. Jinichiro Kozuma qualified through the Japan site, while Ortiz made it through in Dallas. Joaquin Niemann earned his spot as the leading LIV points earner, with Tyrrell Hatton and Patrick Reed also getting in through the top 60 world ranking.
Most final qualifying is set for June 2 across North America.
The exempt player count now stands at 85, which is slightly higher than usual for a U.S. Open that aims to have about half its field (78 players) come through qualifying.
Riley’s path to qualification was particularly dramatic. He was in contention at the PGA Championship before taking a triple bogey on the seventh hole. At that point, he was 4 over for his round, but he played flawlessly the rest of the way—no bogeys and enough birdies to tie for second. That performance catapulted him from 100th to 53rd in the world rankings.
Highsmith’s qualification story was similar. He played the final 12 holes bogey-free with three birdies to climb nine spots to exactly 60th in the world.
Highsmith’s rise bumped Laurie Canter from the top 60, but Canter still got in as the highest-ranked player on the European tour points list not already exempt.
The only remaining exempt spot will go to the NCAA men’s individual champion, which will be decided May 26 at La Costa Resort in California.
