US Open boss offers blunt response to LIV stars and addresses qualification path

USGA CEO Mike Whan pointed out that a number of LIV Golf stars had the opportunity to try and earn a spot in this year’s U.S. Open via final qualifying, as the Saudi-backed circuit’s major qualification struggles continue.

Since joining the LIV setup, a larger group of professional golf ‘s biggest names have lost their eligibility to compete at the sport’s four major championships due to their fall down the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR). The debate has once again become a hot topic at this week’s U.S. Open, with an array of LIV’s marque names missing from the field.

There was however little sympathy from USGA boss Whan, who pointed out that if those ineligible were set on competing at Pinehurst, they could have played their way into the championship by turning to 36-hole qualifying – which a number of LIV stars opted to do.

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“First, let’s start with the obvious,” Whan said. “About half this field is filled open, and I think we had 35 players from LIV that were exempted right into final qualifying. So if they really wanted to be here, they could go play 36 holes and qualify, and some did, to their credit.

“I think we have 13 or 14 LIV players in the field, and that’s essentially what we’ve had in ’22 and ’23.” Three of those booked their spot at the third major event of the year via qualifying, with David Puig, Dean Burmester and Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra playing their way into the tournament.

Whan continued: “There is no out-of-bounds stakes on our field criteria. 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.”

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The U.S. Open boss did however address the possibility of a qualification route for those competing on the Saudi-backed circuit moving forward, with the USGA set to discuss a potential plan centring around LIV in the offseason. “We have talked about it,” he added.

“And we’re going to talk about it this off-season, 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. 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.”

Whan went on to confirm that the USGA are still waiting to see what the structure of the sport will look like moving forward, with the PGA Tour still in negotiations with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF) over ending their ongoing fallout with the breakaway circuit.

The two sides have been in talks ever since the shock framework agreement announcement from Tour commissioner Jay Monahan last June. Earlier this week reports suggested that the two sides had signed off a ‘draft agreement’ in the build-up to the U.S. Open.