Depends who you ask. Nobody knows what professional golf will look like in six months, let alone six weeks. Dozens of questions still need answers, so let’s put on our speculation caps for this one.
Major championships don’t need any extra juice, especially a tough test like the U.S. Open, but the split between the PGA Tour and LIV has added some spice to the majors over the last year and a half.
If the deal is approved and this new global golf entity forms, the game would assumedly be unified again, though the terms for players returning to the Tour from who left for LIV have yet to be finalized.
LIV players qualified for the U.S. Open a myriad of ways, but a main point of entry is being inside the top 60 in the Official World Golf Ranking. Players who left for LIV haven’t been earning points and have since plummeted in the OWGR, and it’s unclear when LIV players will return to the Tour or how many events it will take for them to regain their previous status in the world ranking.
If players still can’t earn a spot via one of the 24 different qualification criteria the USGA currently offer – a subject that can change, just ask Talor Gooch – there’s always open qualifying, which is how four players earned spots in this year’s field. All of that is to say, if things go according to plan, it’ll be easier for players who left for LIV to play their way into next year’s field.
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