An additional 30 additional golfers, including 2013 U.S. Open champion Justin Rose, have become fully exempt into the 124th U.S. Open Championship, to be contested June 13-16 at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club’s Course No. 2, in the Village of Pinehurst, N.C. These exemptions bring the number of fully exempt players to 83.
Exemptions were awarded to 22 players who earned a place in the top 60 of the Official World Golf Ranking® (OWGR®) as of May 20, who were not otherwise exempt. Rose will compete in his 19th U.S. Open. He owns five top-10 finishes, including his two-stroke victory at Merion Golf Club. He moved up 12 places from the previous world ranking to No. 56 by tying for sixth in last week’s PGA Championship.
At No. 6, Ludvig Åberg is the highest-ranked player in the current OWGR who was not previously exempt into the U.S. Open. Åberg, who will play in his first U.S. Open, recorded his first victories on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour last fall. The 24-year-old from Sweden was the runner-up in this year’s Masters. Thomas Detry climbed 17 spots from last week’s ranking to No. 54 by tying for fourth in the PGA Championship, his best finish in a major. He will compete in his third U.S. Open.
The other players who earned full exemptions through the current Official World Golf Ranking are: Byeong Hun An, Christian Bezuidenhout, Akshay Bhatia, Eric Cole, Adam Hadwin, Tom Hoge, Nicolai Hojgaard, Stephan Jaeger, Chris Kirk, Kurt Kitayama, Jake Knapp, Denny McCarthy, Grayson Murray, Alex Noren, Matthieu Pavon, J.T. Poston, Sahith Theegala, Cameron Young and Will Zalatoris.
Zalatoris, who is ranked No. 32, will compete in his fifth U.S. Open but first since he was runner-up in 2022 at The Country Club, in Brookline, Mass. Bhatia (No. 37) and Knapp (No. 59) also earned entry through the OWGR and each will make his second U.S. Open start.
Eight other players earned exemptions based on their performances in three additional categories. The top five players in the current PGA Tour FedExCup standings, who were not otherwise exempt, are: Billy Horschel, Mackenzie Hughes, Peter Malnati, Taylor Pendrith and Erik van Rooyen. The top two players from the final 2023 DP World Tour Race to Dubai Rankings, who were not otherwise exempt, are: Adrian Meronk and Victor Perez. Rikuya Hoshino is the highest ranked player on the current Race to Dubai Rankings who is not otherwise exempt.
In addition, the winner of the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship (May 24-29) and any multiple winners of PGA Tour events that award a full-point allocation for the season-ending Tour Championship will also earn an exemption. The number of fully exempt golfers may increase with the addition of the top 60 players from the OWGR as of Monday, June 10.
Three of the 13 final qualifiers for the 2024 U.S. Open are being held on Monday, May 20, in Dallas, Texas, England and Japan. Final qualifying results can be found at usopen.com.
Other 36-hole final qualifiers will take place at 10 additional sites on June 3: Cherry Hill Club, Ridgeway, Ontario, Canada; Lake Merced Golf Club, Daly City, Calif.; The Bear’s Club, Jupiter, Fla.; The Golf Club of Georgia, Alpharetta, Ga.; Woodmont Country Club (North Course), Rockville, Md.; Canoe Brook Country Club (North & South Courses), Summit, N.J.; Duke University Golf Club, Durham, N.C.; Ohio State University Golf Club (Scarlet Course) and Kinsale Golf & Fitness Club, Columbus, Ohio; Springfield (Ohio) Country Club; and Pronghorn Resort (Nicklaus Course), Bend, Ore.
The U.S. Open was previously hosted by Pinehurst No. 2 in 1999 (won by Payne Stewart), 2005 (won by Michael Campbell) and 2014 (won by Martin Kaymer). As an anchor site, Pinehurst will also host the U.S. Open in 2029, 2035, 2041 and 2047.
Click here to view the 83 golfers currently exempt into the 124th U.S. Open.
