Making the U.S. Open: Qualifying and Exemptions Explained

Amateur players must have a have a Handicap Index of 0.4 or better to enter U.S. Open qualifying

By
, GolfLink Senior Editor
Updated February 5, 2025
Adam Hadwin at the 2022 U.S. Open

Adam Hadwin at the 2022 U.S. Open

  • DESCRIPTION
    Adam Hadwin at the 2022 U.S. Open
  • SOURCE
    Rob Carr
  • PERMISSION
    Getty image license

Think you have what it takes to play in the U.S. Open? The USGA invites you to try.

As a true Open, the championship is open to all. Getting there is simple, but not easy. For an amateur to qualify for the U.S. Open, they need to first get their handicap down to 0.4 or lower. Then they’re eligible for an 18-hole local qualifier, and if they play well enough there, it’s on to a 36-hole final qualifier. Those who play well enough in the final qualifying advance to the field of 156 who play in the U.S. Open.

In addition to open qualifying, the USGA also gives exemptions to players who meet certain criteria (see below for all 25 exemption categories, including one new one for 2025).

U.S. Open Qualifying

The U.S. Open takes place every June and qualifying begins all over the United States in late April and runs through early June.

A U.S. Open Qualifier is a golf tournament in which players compete for the right to play in the U.S. Open. U.S. Open qualifying takes place in two stages; Local Qualifying, and Final Qualifying.

In 2024, 9,929 players entered U.S. Open qualifying for a chance to tee it up at Pinehurst No. 2 in the 2024 U.S. Open. That tally fell just shy of the record 10,187 players who entered qualifying in 2023, perhaps because the USGA raised the bar for amateurs to enter. 

Any professional golfer or amateur with a Handicap Index that does not exceed 0.4 is eligible to enter. Amateurs with a Handicap Index not exceeding 1.4 could enter U.S. Open qualifying prior to 2024, but the USGA changed that standard in 2024.

U.S. Open Qualifying
Stage Participants (2024) Sites Qualifiers
Local 9,522 109 530 (5.6%)
Final 937 13 73 (7.8%)
Advertisement

Local Qualifiers

The first step to qualifying for the U.S. Open is to advance through an 18-hole Local Qualifier.

In 2024, 109 local qualifiers were staged across the United States from late April through mid-May. Roughly the top 5.6% of players who enter Local Qualifying advance to Final Qualifying. 

The exact number of players who advance from each local qualifier depends on the field size at each event. For example, 83 golfers competed in the Local Qualifier at Palouse Ridge Golf Club in Pullman, Washington in 2024, and four of them advanced. The smallest local qualifier in 2024 was at Palmer Golf Course in Palmer, Alaska, where 14 players tried, and one advanced.

Final Qualifying

Callum Tarren reached the 2022 U.S. Open through qualifying

Callum Tarren reached the 2022 U.S. Open through qualifying

  • DESCRIPTION
    Callum Tarren reached the 2022 U.S. Open through qualifying
  • SOURCE
    Warren Little
  • PERMISSION
    getty image license

The second and final step in qualifying for the U.S. Open is the aptly named Final Qualifying stage.

Players who advance through local qualifying, and those who were exempt from local qualifying, head to one of 13 Final Qualifying sites. In 2024, 10 of those 13 were contested in the United States and one each was held in Japan, England, and Canada.

Final Qualifying is played over 36 holes in a single day in late May or early June, known as Golf's Longest Day. Roughly the top 7.5% advance to the U.S. Open. The exact number of players to advance from each site is determined by the number of players and the strength of each site’s field. In 2024, 73 out of 937 players who reached final qualifying advanced to the U.S. Open. 

In addition to the 530 golfers who advanced through local qualifying in 2024, 407 more players were exempt into final qualifying, bringing the total number of players to attempt to qualify for the 2024 U.S. Open to 9,929.

While golf's most popular players have typically earned an exemption from U.S. Open qualifying by the time they become household names, some top-level tour players must attempt to earn their way into the U.S. Open alongside the golfing public. Here are some of the biggest names to attempt U.S. Open qualifying in recent years. 

  • Sergio Garcia
  • Graeme McDowell
  • Henrik Norlander
  • Adam Long
  • Luke List
  • Stewart Cink
  • Nick Dunlap (a)
  • Lucas Glover
  • Erik Van Rooyen
  • Cameron Champ
  • Aaron Baddeley
  • Peter Uihlein

It's likely we will see even more big-name pros attempt U.S. Open Qualifying as most professionals who compete in LIV Golf will see their world ranking drop, and miss out on opportunities to qualify through the PGA Tour by winning PGA Tour events or reaching the PGA Tour Championship.

However, beginning in 2025, the USGA is giving the top LIV players a clear path to the U.S. Open with a new exemption that rewards the top player (who is not already exempt) from the top 3 of the LIV individual standings as of May 19, 2025 with a U.S. Open exemption.

That exemption will expand for the 2026 U.S. Open to also include the top player (who is not already exempt) from the top 3 of the final 2025 LIV individual standings.

Advertisement

U.S. Open Exemptions

Speaking of those paths to the U.S. Open through the PGA Tour, the USGA gives out exemptions into the U.S. Open to golfers based on their credentials, and after the USGA added four exemptions for 2023, and another for 2025, there are 25 categories by which a golfer can earn an exemption into the U.S. Open, including by receiving a special invitation from the USGA. Many of these include earning a bid through performance on the PGA Tour. The 25 exemption categories are:

  1. Winners of the U.S. Open Championship the last 10 years
  2. From the 2024 U.S. Open Championship, the 10 lowest scorers and anyone tying for 10th place
  3. Winner of the 2024 U.S. Senior Open Championship
  4. Winner of the 2024 U.S. Amateur Championship
  5. Winners of the 2024 U.S. Junior Amateur and U.S. Mid-Amateur Championships, and the 2024 U.S. Amateur runner-up (must be an amateur)
  6. Winners of the Masters Tournament 2020-2025
  7. Winners of the PGA of America Championship 2021-2025
  8. Winners of The Open conducted by the R & A 2021-2024
  9. Winners of The Players Championship 2023-2025
  10. Winner of the 2024 DP World Tour BMW PGA Championship
  11. Those players who qualified and were eligible for the season-ending 2024 Tour Championship
  12. Multiple winners of PGA Tour events that award a full-point allocation for the FedExCup, from the conclusion of the 2024 U.S. Open (June 13-16) to the initiation of the 2025 U.S. Open
  13. The Top 5 players in the 2025 FedExCup standings as of May 19, 2025, who are not otherwise exempt
  14. The points leader from the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour season using combined points earned on the Official Korn Ferry Tour Regular Season Points Standings and points earned in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals
  15. The top two players from the final 2024 Race to Dubai Rankings, who are not otherwise exempt as of May 19, 2025
  16. The top player on the 2025 Race to Dubai Rankings as of May 19, 2025, who is not otherwise exempt.
  17. Winner of the 2024 Amateur Championship staged by the R&A (must be an amateur) 
  18. Winner of the 2024 Mark H. McCormack Medal (Men’s World Amateur Golf Rankings) (must be an amateur) 
  19. Winner of the 2025 NCAA Division I Men’s Individual Golf Championship (must be an amateur)
  20. Winner of the 2025 Latin America Amateur Championship (must be an amateur) 
  21. From the current Official World Golf Rankings, the top 60 points leaders and ties as of May 19, 2025
  22. From the current Official World Golf Rankings, the top 60 points leaders and ties as of June 9, 2025 
  23. Winner of the 2024 Olympic Gold Medal, contested August 1-4, 2024
  24. The top player who is not otherwise exempt and in the top 3 of the 2025 LIV Golf Individual Standings as of May 19, 2025
  25. Special exemptions selected by the USGA. Deadline for submission of request: May 15, 2025