USGA announces start of US Open qualifying
The United States Golf Association (USGA) today announced that online entry applications will be available beginning on Wednesday, Feb. 22, at 9 a.m. EST, for the 123rd U.S. Open Championship, to be played from June 15-18 on The Los Angeles (Calif.) Country Club’s North Course.
Thousands of golfers will attempt to qualify for the championship through a two-stage process, with a field of 156 players advancing to The Los Angeles Country Club, where one will be crowned U.S. Open champion. Non-exempt players will compete in one of 109 local qualifiers hosted throughout the United States (with one in Canada) between April 17 and May 22.
Nearly 1,000 players will then compete in final qualifying, scheduled at 13 sites worldwide. The final stage will be held in England (May 16), Japan (May 22) and Canada (June 5) as well as 10 U.S. sites, one on May 22 and nine on June 5. Final qualifying will be contested in England for the first time since 2019.
There are 24 categories for exemption into the U.S. Open, four of which are new this year. These are: 2023 Latin America Amateur champion (must be an amateur), 2023 NCAA Division I men’s individual champion (must be an amateur), 2022 Korn Ferry Tour season points leader (using points earned in KFT Regular Season and points earned in KFT Tour Finals), and the top 5 players in the 2022-23 FedExCup standings as of May 22, 2023, who are not otherwise exempt.
Entry applications along with a list of qualifying sites can be accessed at champ-admin.usga.org, and entries will be accepted through Wednesday, April 12, at 5 p.m. EDT. To be eligible for 2023 U.S. Open qualifying, a player must have a Handicap Index® not exceeding 1.4, or be a professional.
Allied Golf Associations (AGAs) in the United States, as well as the DP World Tour, Japan Golf Association and Golf Canada are working with the USGA to provide thousands of entrants from across the globe and from all backgrounds with the opportunity to compete for a spot in this major championship.
This collaboration with AGAs allows for an open qualifying process in all four USGA Open championships that conduct qualifying. Since 2010, the U.S. Open has averaged 78 players in the final field (50 percent) who have advanced through one or both stages of qualifying.
Entry applications for other USGA Open championships are also available.
The 78th U.S. Women’s Open Championship will be played July 6-9 at Pebble Beach (Calif.) Golf Links.
The 43rd U.S. Senior Open Championship will be contested June 29-July 2 at SentryWorld, in Stevens Point, Wis.
The 5th U.S. Senior Women’s Open Championship will be held Aug. 24-27, at Waverley Country Club, in Portland, Ore.
Entries for the 2nd U.S. Adaptive Open, which will be held from July 10-12 on Course No. 6 at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club in the Village of Pinehurst, N.C., will be available at 9 a.m. EST on Monday, Feb. 27.
The Los Angeles Country Club will host the U.S. Open for the first time. The championship returns to the area for the first time since 1948, when Ben Hogan won the first of his four U.S. Opens at The Riviera Country Club, in Pacific Palisades.