Sixteen additional players have earned exemptions into the 120th U.S. Open Championship, which will be contested at Winged Foot Golf Club (West Course), in Mamaroneck, N.Y., on Sept. 17-20, 2020. The 144-player field for the championship will be entirely made up of exempt players due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Five players earned entry based on the three-event 2020 Korn Ferry Tour Series, which began with the Albertsons Boise Open and ended with the Tour Championship on Aug. 30. Exemptions also went to 11 players, who were not otherwise exempt, based on Week 34 of the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR), as of Aug. 23.
Additionally, Francesco Molinari, of Italy, who won the 2018 Open Championship, conducted by The R&A, has withdrawn and Jung-Gon Hwang, of the Republic of Korea, will not play this year due to a military service commitment, leaving the current field list at 139 players. The remaining spots in the U.S. Open field will be filled by the 2019-20 FedExCup Final Points List (top five players, not otherwise exempt) following the Tour Championship, which concludes on Monday, Sept. 7.
The Korn Ferry Tour Series exempt players are: Brandon Wu, 23, of Scarsdale, N.Y.; Stephan Jaeger, 31, of Chattanooga, Tenn.; Curtis Luck, 24, of Australia; Greyson Sigg, 25, of Augusta, Ga.; and Dan McCarthy, 35, of Syracuse, N.Y.
Wu, who tied for 35th as an amateur in his first U.S. Open last year at Pebble Beach (Calif.) Golf Links, shot a final-round 65 to win last weekend’s Korn Ferry Tour Championship. Sigg was the runner-up to Wu and will make his first U.S. Open start. Jaeger, who will play in his third U.S. Open, won the Albertsons Boise Open, while Curtis Luck was victorious in the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship to garner a spot in his first U.S. Open. McCarthy will compete in his second U.S. Open but first since 2010.
The OWGR exempt players are: No. 48 Kevin Streelman, of Scottsdale, Ariz.; No. 53 Harris English, of St. Simons Island, Ga.; No. 68 J.T. Poston, of Hickory, N.C.; No. 71 Joaquin Niemann, of Chile; No. 73 Thomas Pieters, of Belgium; No. 75 Max Homa, of Valencia, Calif.; No. 78 Lanto Griffin, of Blacksburg, Va.; No. 79 Mike Lorenzo-Vera, of France; No. 84 Matthias Schwab, of Austria; No. 87 Alex Noren, of Sweden; and No. 89 Matt Jones, of Australia.
Streelman, 41, will play in his seventh U.S. Open. His best finish is a tie for 13th in 2016 at Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club. Streelman has four top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour this season, including runner-up to Nick Taylor in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. English, who placed second behind Dustin Johnson in The Northern Trust earlier this month, will compete in his fifth U.S. Open. The 31-year-old has two career PGA Tour wins.
Poston, 27, and Niemann, 21, will each make his second U.S. Open start after they both competed in 2017 at Erin Hills. Poston, who tied for eighth in the RBC Heritage, has six top-25 finishes on the PGA Tour this season. Niemann posted a six-stroke victory in A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier on Sept. 15 for his first PGA Tour win, and tied for third in Sunday’s BMW Championship.
Pieters, 28, will compete in his third U.S. Open. He primarily plays on the European Tour, where he owns four career victories. He tied for third in the Celtic Classic on Aug. 16. Homa, 29, will make his second U.S. Open start, having played in 2013 at Merion Golf Club. He has registered four top-10 efforts on the PGA Tour this season, including a tie for third in the 3M Open.
Griffin, 32, won for the first time on the PGA Tour in the Houston Open on Oct. 13. He will make his second U.S. Open start. Lorenzo-Vera, who competes on the European Tour, will play in his first Open. The 35-year-old was two strokes off the 36-hole lead in this year’s PGA Championship before finishing in a tie for 43rd.
Schwab, 25, will make his U.S. Open debut, while Noren, 38, who has recorded 10 European Tour victories, will play in his eighth Open. Jones, 40, will compete in his fifth U.S. Open.