With the PGA Championship over, the focus on men’s Majors turns to the US Open from June 16-19 at The Country Club outside Boston, and the USGA is staging two qualifiers right now while also announcing overnight an additional 30 players who have received full exemptions. Among them are two former Major winners, Adam Scott and Keegan Bradley, and the PGA runner-up, Will Zalatoris.
There were 27 players who were not otherwise qualified and earned exemptions through their place in the top 60 in the Official World Golf Ranking as of Monday. Scott, the winner of the 2013 Masters, and Bradley, the 2011 PGA champion, are ranked 42nd and 46th, respectively, in the world. Zalatoris now stands 14th.
The most dramatic move into the top 60 came from Chile’s Mito Pereira [pictured], who rose 51 spots to No.49 by tying for third in the PGA.
The other players who earned full exemptions through the world ranking: Adri Arnaus, Richard Bland, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood, Talor Gooch, Brian Harman, Tyrrell Hatton, Russell Henley, Lucas Herbert, Tom Hoge, Kevin Kisner, Si Woo Kim, K.H. Lee, Min Woo Lee, Marc Leishman, Sebastian Munoz, Alex Noren, Thomas Pieters, Seamus Power, Sepp Straka, Cameron Tringale, Harold Varner III and Cameron Young.
There were three players who got exemptions based on their results on other pro tours. They are Joohyung Kim, the top finisher on the 2020-2021 Asian Tour Final Order of Merit; Jed Morgan, who topped the 2021-2022 ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia moneylist; and Shaun Norris, the current leading player on the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit.
There are officially 82 players in the field for the US Open, including the three who qualified in Japan on Monday. Japanese Tomoyasu shot nine under for 36 holes to be the medallist, followed by countryman Daijri Izumida and Australian Todd Sinnott.
The first of nine US final qualifiers for the 2022 US Open is being held today in Dallas.
PHOTO: Darren Carroll/PGA of America
