USGA U.S. OPEN EXPRESS ENTRY and EXPRESS RE-ENTRY POLICY

Consent to Collect, Use, and Disclose Biometrics

You (“ticketholder” or “credential holder”) will be asked to submit a photograph of your face, which will be provided to USGA’s third-party service provider, Wicket (our “Service Provider”), who will use your photo as set forth in more detail below, to enable your entry and/or reentry at the USGA’s U.S. Open Championship (“Event”) using facial recognition technology (“EXPRESS ENTRY” or “EXPRESS RE-ENTRY”). Before you submit a photograph, you must read this EXPRESS ENTRY and RE-ENTRY Policy (“Policy”) and execute the consents presented at the time of registration.

For Event entry, use of EXPRESS ENTRY is voluntary.  You are free to withhold your consent to use EXPRESS ENTRY’s facial recognition technology for Event entry purposes, in which case you will need to present either your digital ticket or credential to gain initial entry to the Event.

For entry to Restricted Areas (as defined herein) by designated credential holders, use of EXPRESS ENTRY is required. You are free to withhold your consent to use EXPRESS ENTRY’s facial recognition technology to access Restricted Areas; however, if you withhold such consent, you will not be permitted to access Restricted Areas.

For Event reentry by digital ticket holders who are permitted to exit and reenter the Event, use of EXPRESS RE-ENTRY is required. You are free to withhold your consent to use EXPRESS RE-ENTRY’s facial recognition technology for Event reentry purposes; however, if you withhold such consent, you will not be able to reenter the Event once you exit.

If you are an attendee who enters the Event using credentials, you may reenter upon exiting the Event without use of EXPRESS RE-ENTRY. 

You are free to opt-out of EXPRESS ENTRY at any time by emailing your request to the USGA at privacy@USGA.org with the subject line “Opt-Out of USGA EXPRESS ENTRY”.

What the USGA collects:

Registration Prior to Entry:  As part of this registration, you will be asked to submit a photograph of your face (“Registration Photo”). When you submit your Registration Photo, the USGA will collect, capture, obtain, use, store, and share with our Service Provider. Our Service Provider will generate a scan of your face geometry (“a biometric identifier”) and/or generate information based on your face geometry used to identify you (“biometric information”) (collectively, “Biometric Scan”).  

Initial Entry: When you arrive at an entry gate at the Event, an iPad (or similar technology) will be used to scan your face, and the Service Provider’s facial recognition system will use the Biometric Scan generated from your Registration Photo to “recognize” you and permit your entrance to the Event. Once entrance is cleared, your digital ticket will no longer be available to use for reentry into the Event, but you will still be able to use credentials for reentry. 

Designated Areas:  For attendees with access to certain hospitality or other designated areas located within the Event premises which require verification (“Designated Areas”), you will need a wristband for access to these areas.  Prior to entering the Designated Hospitality Area, an iPad (or similar technology) will be used to scan your face, and the Service Provider’s facial recognition system will use the Biometric Scan generated from your Registration Photo to “recognize” you to allow Event staff to provide you with a wristband for access to the Designated Area.  Please note, attendees may also use their digital ticket to obtain the required wristband for access to the Designated Area. In addition, for attendees who enter the Event using a digital ticket and are given access to Designated Areas that permit exit and reentry to the Event, you may not reenter the Event unless you register for EXPRESS RE-ENTRY prior to exiting the Designated Area. You are free to withhold consent to EXPRESS RE-ENTRY for reentry purposes; however, you will not be able to reenter the Event once you exit. If you are an attendee who enters the Event using credentials, you may reenter upon exiting the Event without use of EXPRESS RE-ENTRY.   

Restricted Areas:  Certain areas within the Event premises, such as locker rooms, have restricted access for the safety of players and the security of their equipment and personal belongings (“Restricted Areas”). If you are a designated credential holder who has been permitted access to a Restricted Area, an iPad (or similar technology) will be used to scan your face, and the Service Provider’s facial recognition system will use the Biometric Scan generated from your Registration Photo to “recognize” you and permit your entrance. You are free to withhold your consent to use EXPRESS ENTRY’s facial recognition technology to access Restricted Areas; however, if you withhold such consent, you will not be permitted to access Restricted Areas.

Surveillance of Premises: USGA and/or the Event hosting site may utilize security solutions such as cctv and similar surveillance systems on the Event premises, which may collect images of you that have high definition and could be considered biometric information and sensitive personal data in certain states. Because these solutions are being utilized for the purposes set forth below, you may not opt out of image capture by these security systems. If you do not want your images captured by cctv and similar surveillance systems, you should not attend the Event.

Exit:  Prior to exiting the Event, you may be given the opportunity to enroll in EXPRESS RE-ENTRY for the purposes of reentry to the Event. If you are permitted to exit and reenter the Event and consent to EXPRESS RE-ENTRY enrollment, Event staff will capture a Registration Photo using an iPad or similar technology, which USGA will collect, capture, obtain, use, store, and share with our Service Provider.  Our Service Provider will then use the Registration Photo to generate a Biometric Scan to be used for the purposes of allowing your reentry to the Event.  Please note, attendees who entered the Event using a digital ticket may not reenter unless they register for EXPRESS RE-ENTRY prior to exiting the Event, regardless of whether they were permitted to sign up for and enrolled in EXPRESS ENTRY.  Attendees who entered the Event using credentials may reenter upon exiting the Event without use of EXPRESS RE-ENTRY.

Reentry: If you are permitted to exit and reenter the Event and you register for EXPRESS RE-ENTRY prior to exiting the Event, an iPad (or similar technology) will be used to scan your face, and the Service Provider’s facial recognition system will use the Biometric Scan generated from your Registration Photo to “recognize” you and permit your reentry to the Event. Please note, attendees who entered the Event using a digital ticket and are permitted to enroll in EXPRESS RE-ENTRY may not reenter unless they register for EXPRESS RE-ENTRY prior to exiting the Event.  Attendees who entered the Event using credentials may reenter upon exiting the Event without use of EXPRESS RE-ENTRY.

Purpose: The USGA collects, stores, and uses the photographs, biometric identifiers, and/or biometric information for the following purposes: to enable more efficient entry and reentry to an Event, to enhance Event security (including security of Restricted Areas), and to help reduce ticket fraud.  The USGA may also use deidentified data collected through this process to improve its services and to permit the Service Provider to improve its systems and services.

Retention: The USGA may store and use the photographs, biometric identifiers and/or biometric information it collects from you for up to six months from the end of the Event. Thereafter, the USGA will permanently destroy the photographs, biometric identifiers and/or biometric information collected for use of EXPRESS ENTRY and EXPRESS RE-ENTRY to the Event and will direct its Service Provider to do the same.

Disclosure: The USGA may disclose, redisclose, or disseminate the photographs, biometric identifiers and/or biometric information it collects from you to its Affiliates and contracted Service Providers, including Wicket, or as required by law or requested by law enforcement authorities.  We will not sell or share your photographs, biometric identifiers and/or biometric information with any other third parties without your express consent.

By registering and using the EXPRESS ENTRY and RE-ENTRY, you are voluntarily giving your consent to the USGA to collect, capture, obtain, use, store, disclose, redisclose, and disseminate your photographs, biometric identifiers and/or biometric information as set forth in this EXPRESS ENTRY and EXPRESS RE-ENTRY Policy and the USGA Privacy Policy. You may have certain rights regarding the collection and use of your images and personal information, including for the Wicket facial recognition system and any cctv surveillance system in use on the premises.  For more information on any privacy rights you may have and how to exercise them, see our USGA Privacy Policy.   In addition, you also agree that by providing your consent electronically, it has the same force and effect as if you were signing in person. If you are located in Illinois, you understand and acknowledge that submitting this consent form electronically constitutes executing a “written release” as defined in and used by the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act.