USGA gives LIV Golf ‘major’ route back to mainstream

February 6, 2025

You may or may not have noticed, but LIV Golf’s first tournament of the 2025 season was set to begin Thursday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

You also may or may not have heard, but on Wednesday the United States Golf Association (USGA) became the first governing body in the sport to provide players from LIV Golf a direct pathway into a men’s major championship, announcing that the top player from LIV who’s not otherwise exempt will earn a place in the U.S. Open field in June at Oakmont.Bryson DeChambeauBryson DeChambeau

Also, the top 10 players in the LIV Golf standings as of April 7 will be exempt from local qualifying and move straight into the 36-hole sectional qualifying.

Bryson DeChambeau (right) and Brooks Koepka are already exempt for this year's U.S. Open, but the USGA on Wednesday gave a pathway for some more non-exempt LIV golfers to qualify for this year's tournament, too. — Bryson DeChambeau (right) and Brooks Koepka are already exempt for this year’s U.S. Open, but the USGA on Wednesday gave a pathway for some more non-exempt LIV golfers to qualify for this year’s tournament, too. Getty Images for The Showdown

To say this is a seismic event may be an overstatement, but this move by USGA surely signals at least a thaw between the mainstream PGA Tour members and the Saudi-backed LIV Tour, which has been viewed as a disruptor in the game, having poached many of the sport’s top players for millions of dollars.

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