US Golf Association ‘serious’ about letting more LIV rebels into US Open
The United States Golf Association unveiled plans Wednesday to discuss options for golfers signed with the rebel LIV Golf Series to the US Open, recognizing the sustainability of the sport’s “new world order.”
Jon Rahm’s withdrawal due to his injury on Tuesday left just a dozen LIV players in the 156-man field for the third major of the season at Pinehurst No. 2, four of whom entered through final qualifying and the other eight earned their place through other exemptions. Because the Saudi-funded breakaway circuit is not recognized by the official world golf rankings, players cannot earn points toward qualifying through LIV events.
“We’re going to talk about it this season, whether or not there should be a path to someone or someone who performs really well at LIV and can have the opportunity to play that way,” the USGA CEO said. , Mike Whan said at a press conference around noon on Wednesday. “I think we are serious about that. What exactly that will look like and how that will be contained, I am not just being coy. We haven’t done that yet.”
The one-year deadline to confirm a framework agreement bringing together the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) came and went last Thursday with no resolution in sight, although Tiger Woods is the latest negotiations between the parties as “positive” earlier this week.
Whan’s epiphany came as the United States National Championship returned to the sandhills of North Carolina for the fourth time in 25 years. A total of four players managed to finish under par in the previous three games here and the buzz on the ground during the run-in suggests there is no break in difficulty.
One after another, they’ve spoken about the par-70 course with equal parts excitement and fear, like paratroopers about to take a dive. When you consider the guided missiles and rocket launchers that are the standard of the modern professional, there is something almost endearing about a course built in the first decade of the last century that will likely leave the world’s best flying the white flag flutter.
The 7,548-yard course offers a twist on the treacherous setups that have given the US Open its reputation as the toughest test in golf, with sand, natural hardpan, pine straw and wire grass instead of the thick grass often associated with the event. Bryson DeChambeau and Rory McIlroy both nod to the “boring” golf the job will require, while defending champion Wyndham Clark spoke ominously about the course’s famous, fearless domed greens, which threaten to play even firmer and faster in temperatures expected to exceed the 90F will come out. 32C) on Friday and Saturday.
The inclusion of Pinehurst in the rotation – it is already booked for 2029, 2035, 2041 and 2047 – follows the USGA’s recent trend of awarding its flagship course to classic courses that have been restored to more challenging widths. In short, it is a circuit that lends itself well to shotmakers, the first of which is Scottie Scheffler, the 27-year-old Texan who will enter a major as the biggest betting favorite in 15 years, amid a charmed season in which he has become the first player since Tom Watson in 1980, winning five events in a campaign before the US Open.
“I don’t think about my wins anymore,” said Scheffler, who has a selection of the world’s top three in the first two rounds along with McIlroy and American PGA champion Xander Schauffele. “All I’m focusing on is this week and preparing to play. The fact that I won last week doesn’t give me any chance against the field this week. We all start at par, and from Thursday the field will be level again. Last week doesn’t really matter.”
A leading European contingent, including McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood and Victor Hovland, will be keen to thwart the Americans’ dominance of the four premier golf tournaments not seen in four decades. Five different American players have won each of the past five majors: Brooks Koepka at last year’s US PGA Championship, Clark at last year’s US Open, Brian Harman at the Open, Scheffler at Augusta and Schauffele at Valhalla last month. That represents the longest streak of American winners since Larry Nelson (US Open 1983), Tom Watson (Open 1983), Hal Sutton (US PGA Championship 1983), Ben Crenshaw (Masters 1984) and Fuzzy Zoeller (US Open 1984).
There will also be interest from the senior circuit. Phil Mickelson, an LIV stalwart and one of only two players in the field (along with Matt Kuchar) to have competed here in 1999, 2005 and 2015, will once again attempt to complete his career grand slam at a tournament where he finished second. six times. And Woods, making his fourth appearance of the year, is back at Pinehurst No. 2 for the first time since his second-place finish in 2005, ahead of Bill Coore’s radical $2.5 million restoration of the Donald Ross circuit and Ben Crenshaw, over a year ago. ten years ago.
“This golf course is going to test every aspect of your game, especially mentally, and just the mental discipline that it takes to play this particular golf course. It will take a lot,” said the fifteen-time champion. The US Open prize fund has risen to a record $21.5 million (£16.8 million). The winner on Sunday will walk away with a check worth $4.3 million.