USGA increases tourney exemptions

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Updated: November 6, 2017

The United States Golf Association (USGA) announced that the U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open will increase the number of exemption categories from qualifying, effective with the 2018 championships. The U.S. Junior Amateur and U.S. Mid-Amateur champions from the previous year will be exempt from local and sectional qualifying for the U.S. Open. The U.S. Girls’ Junior and U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champions from the previous year will be exempt from U.S. Women’s Open sectional qualifying.

There are now 19 exemption categories from U.S. Women’s Open sectional qualifying. The championship will be played at Shoal Creek, in Shoal Creek, Ala., from May 31-June 3, 2018. To be eligible for the U.S. Women’s Open, a player must have a Handicap Index® not exceeding 2.4, or be a professional. Sectional qualifying was conducted at 21 sites in the United States and four international sites in 2017 (England, Japan, the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Korea). The USGA accepted 1,709 entries for the 2017 championship.