U.S. Open Final Qualifying Storylines: Dallas, England

The road to the 126th U.S. Open Championship at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club enters its next phase on Monday, May 18, as final qualifying begins with the first two 36-hole qualifiers in Dallas, Texas, and England. The championship will be contested June 18-21 at Shinnecock Hills in Southampton, N.Y. (Note: The number of qualifying spots will be determined at the outset of play).

Here’s a look at some of the notables trying to advance to the championship proper. (NOTE: The number of available spots will be determined the morning of May 18)

Dallas Athletic Club (Blue and Gold Courses)

Dallas, Texas; 129 players for TBD spots

► Graeme McDowell, 46, of Northern Ireland, has four career PGA Tours wins, including the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach (Calif.) Golf Links. McDowell, who has played in 15 U.S. Opens, joined LIV Golf in 2022. The former Great Britain & Ireland Walker Cup-per has represented Europe in four Ryder Cups, including the winning point in the anchor match of the 2010 competition at Celtic Manor Resort in Wales.

►Sergio Garcia, 46, of Spain, saw his 25 consecutive U.S. Open appearance streak end last year. He bogeyed the 36th hole in the Dallas final qualifier last May, falling one shot short of a playoff. Garcia has posted five top 10s, with his best result a tie for third in 2005 at Pinehurst (N.C.) Resort & Country Club’s Course No. 2. He owns 11 PGA Tour titles, including the 2017 Masters. Garcia, the winner of two LIV Golf titles, has claimed 16 DP World Tour victories and been a member of six winning European Ryder Cup Teams.

► Danny Willett, 38, of England, has played in seven U.S. Opens, including a tie for 12th in 2019 at Pebble Beach (Calif.) Golf Links. The 2016 Masters champion currently plays on LIV Golf. He owns eight victories on the DP World Tour.

► Tom Kim, 23, of the Republic of Korea, has played in four consecutive U.S. Opens, including a tie for eighth at The Los Angeles (Calif.) Country Club in 2023. This year marks the first time Kim has had to try to qualify for the U.S. Open, having earned exemptions into his first four. The three-time PGA Tour winner has represented the international side in two Presidents Cups.

► Jose Luis Ballester, 22, of Spain, won the 2024 U.S. Amateur at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn., earning him an exemption into the 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont, where he missed the cut. Ballester joined LIV Golf in June of 2025 and has a third and fifth place finish in his last two starts.

► Austin Eckroat, 27, of Edmond, Okla., owns two PGA Tour wins and has played in three U.S. Opens, including a top-10 finish at The Los Angeles (Calif.) Country Club in 2023. Both of the former Oklahoma State star’s PGA Tour wins came in 2024. He was also a member of the victorious 2021 USA Walker Cup Team.

►Abraham Ancer, 35, of Mexico, competes on LIV Golf where he won in Hong Kong in 2024. He also was victorious on the PGA Tour in 2021, captured the 2018 Australian Open and was the gold medalist in the 2023 Pan American Games. Ancer has made the 36-hole cut in three of his four U.S. Open starts. His best finish is a tie for 49th in 2019 at Pebble Beach Golf Links.

► Michael La Sasso, 22, of Raleigh, N.C., won the 2025 NCAA Division I Championship at Ole Miss, but turned professional before the spring semester of 2026 to join LIV Golf. La Sasso, the youngest player on that circuit, was a member of the winning USA Walker Cup Team in 2025 at Cypress Point Club, in Pebble Beach, Calif. He hopes to play in a second consecutive U.S. Open after garnering an exemption last June by virtue of his NCAA win.

► Joel Dahmen, 38, of Clarkston, Wash., has competed in four U.S. Opens, with his best finish a tie for 10th in 2022. He advanced to The Country Club that year through the Columbus, Ohio, final qualifier, which was documented by Full Swing, a Netflix documentary series. Dahmen has one PGA Tour title and two wins on PGA Tour Canada.

► Eric Cole, 37, of Palm Springs, Calif., was the 2023-23 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, and has 18 top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour. Cole has played in four U.S. Opens and has advanced from final qualifying twice, including in 2023 when he finished T39 at The Los Angeles (Calif.) Country Club. Cole got into the field as an alternate last year following a 5-for-1 playoff at the Columbus, Ohio, qualifier that featured Cameron Young, Chase Johnson, Max Homa and Rickie Fowler. Young ended it with a birdie on the first hole, and when Young and Bud Cauley (another qualifier) later became fully exempt, Cole got a spot. His father, Bobby Cole, was a successful player on the PGA Tour and European Tour, and his mom, Laura Baugh, won the 1971 U.S. Women’s Amateur at age 16, represented the USA in the 1972 Curtis Cup Match and later played professionally on the LPGA Tour.

►Branden Grace, 37, of South Africa, has played in 10 U.S. Opens with three top-10 finishes. He tied for fourth in 2015 at Chambers Bay and tied for fifth in 2016 at Oakmont Country Club. He has won twice on the PGA Tour, once on LIV Golf and owns nine DP World Tour victories. He carded a 62 (8 under par) in The Open Championship in 2017 at Royal Birkdale, the lowest round recorded in a major championship. The score has since been matched four times.

► Rasmus Neergard-Petersen, 26, of Denmark, advanced through the Dallas final qualifier a year ago at Bent Tree Country Club. Neergard-Petersen shot 66-65 to earn medalist honors and a spot in his first U.S. Open, where he tied for 12th.

► Byeong Hun An, 34, of the Republic of Korea, became the youngest champion of the U.S. Amateur when he won in 2009 at 17 years old at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla. He has played in seven U.S. Opens, including finishing in a tie for 16th in 2019 at Pebble Beach. An has five professional wins across the DP World Tour, Korn Ferry Tour and Korean Tour.

►Ryan Moore, 43, of Las Vegas, Nev., has competed in 10 U.S. Opens but has not played since 2016 at Oakmont. His best finish is a tie for 10th at Bethpage State Park’s Black Course in 2009. Moore, a five-time PGA Tour winner, won the 2004 U.S. Amateur and the 2002 and 2004 U.S. Amateur Public Links titles and is one of five golfers to win the NCAA Championship and U.S. Amateur in the same year (2004). He is also one of five male golfers to win multiple USGA titles in the same year, joining Bob Jones, Chick Evans, Jay Sigel and Colt Knost. He was a member of the 2003 USA Walker Cup Team.

►Scott Piercy, 47, of Las Vegas, Nev., tied for second with Jim Furyk and Shane Lowry behind champion Dustin Johnson in the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont. Piercy, an eight-time U.S. Open competitor, has won four times on the PGA Tour, including the 2012 RBC Canadian Open, and twice on the Korn Ferry Tour. He played college golf at San Diego State before turning professional in 2001.

►Cameron Champ, 30, of Sacramento, Calif., has played in three U.S. Opens, with his best finish a tie for 32nd in 2017 at Erin Hills when he advanced through both stages of qualifying as an amateur. Champ has won three PGA Tour events and once on the Korn Ferry Tour. He was a member of the 2017 USA Walker Cup Team. His father, Jeff, was selected in the Major League Baseball draft by the Baltimore Orioles.

► Nick Dunlap, 22, of Jupiter, Fla., won the 2023 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills Country Club, becoming the second golfer ever to win both the U.S. Junior Amateur (2021) and U.S. Amateur, joining Tiger Woods. Shortly after, he made history as the first amateur in 33 years to win a PGA Tour event at the 2024 American Express, subsequently turning professional. He won a second PGA Tour title later that year (Barracuda Championship). Dunlap has played in four U.S. Opens, earning three starts by exemption. Dunlap advanced from the Columbus, Ohio, final qualifier in 2023.

► Sam Bennett, 26, of Madisonville, Texas, won the 2022 U.S. Amateur at The Ridgewood Country Club, in Paramus, N.J. Bennett, who has played in three U.S. Opens, earned a spot in the 2023 U.S. Open at The Los Angeles (Calif.) Country Club with his U.S. Amateur win and advanced through final qualifying in 2022 and 2024.

► Trevor Gutschewski, 19, of Omaha, Neb., currently a freshman at the University of Florida, won the 2024 U.S. Junior Amateur at Oakland Hills Country Club. Gutschewski missed the cut in the 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club. His father and brother, Scott and Luke, both advanced through local qualifying from their home course, Omaha Country Club, and will tee it up on June 8, Golf’s Longest Day.

Walton Heath Golf Club (New and Old Courses)

Surrey, England, 89 players for TBD spots

► Thomas Detry, 33, of Belgium, has played in four U.S. Opens, making the 36-hole cut in two. His best finish came in 2024 when he tied for 14th at Pinehurst (N.C.) Resort & Country Club’s Course No. 2. Detry, the winner of the 2025 WM Phoenix Open, joined LIV Golf prior to the 2026 season.

►Rafa Cabrera Bello, 41, of Spain, has competed in eight U.S. Opens, making the cut in seven. His best finish remains a tie for 23rd in 2020 at Winged Foot. He has won four times on the DP World Tour and twice on the European Challenge Tour. He tied for fifth in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil. His sister, Emma, competes on the Ladies European Tour.

► Thriston Lawrence, 29, of South Africa, has played in two U.S. Opens with one made cut (T12 in 2025 at Oakmont C.C.). Lawrence, who finished fourth in the 2024 Open Championship at Royal Troon Golf Club, owns five wins on the DP World Tour.

► Guido Migliozzi, 29, of Italy, finished tied for fourth in his first U.S. Open at Torrey Pines Golf Course in 2021. Migliozzi, a four-time winner on the DP World Tour, has played in three U.S. Opens with two made cuts.

►Edoardo Molinari, 45, of Italy, played in his sixth U.S. Open in 2025 at Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club. He advanced from the England final qualifier for the second year in a row. Edoardo, whose best finish in the U.S. Open is a tie for 35th in 2021, won the 2005 U.S. Amateur at Merion Golf Club. He has registered three DP World Tour victories. His younger brother Francesco won the 2018 Open Championship at Carnoustie.

►Sam Horsfield, 29, of England, has played in four U.S. Opens and 15 USGA championships. Horsfield, who competes on LIV Golf, owns three victories on the DP World Tour. He starred at the University of Florida before turning pro.

► Victor Perez, 33, of France, has competed in six U.S. Opens with one made cut. He finished tied for 19th in 2025 at Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club. Perez, a member of LIV Golf, owns three DP World Tour wins.

► Jacob Scov Olsen, 26, of Denmark, won the 2024 Amateur Championship at Ballyliffin Golf Club, but forfeited his exemption into the 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club when he turned professional before the championship. Olsen plays on the DP World Tour and has made 10 cuts in 13 events in 2026.

►Ross Fisher, 45, of England, finished fifth in the 2009 U.S. Open at Bethpage State Park (Black Course). He made his sixth championship appearance in 2023 when he advanced from the England final qualifier. Fisher has won five DP World Tour events, including the 2009 Volvo World Match Play at Wentworth. He was a member of the winning 2010 European Ryder Cup Team.

►Yannik Paul, 32, of Germany, aims to qualify for his second U.S. Open after playing in 2022 at The Country Club, in Brookline, Mass. He won the Mallorca Golf Open in that same year, his lone DP World Tour victory. His twin brother, Jeremy, who plays on the PGA Tour, is scheduled to play in the Canadian final qualifier on June 8, Golf’s Longest Day.