Kevin Gorman live from the US Open on the Final practice day before the players tee it up for real in Oakmont.
Trib Writer Andrew Erickson on what is happening today at the US Open at Oakmont.
The United States Golf Association (USGA) announced that one additional player has earned a full exemption into the 116th U.S. Open Championship, to be contested June 16-19 at Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club, bringing the number of fully exempt players to 76. Additionally, five alternates from sectional qualifying were added to complete the 156-player field.
William McGirt earned an exemption based on the current Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR). McGirt, who is No. 45 in the OWGR, is playing in his first U.S. Open. The 36-year-old from Boiling Springs, S.C., won the Memorial Tournament on June 5 when he defeated Jon Curran on the second playoff hole. McGirt, who has three other top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour this season, advanced to match play at the 2003 U.S. Amateur, held at Oakmont Country Club.
The USGA held six spots in the field for those players who could potentially qualify by moving into the top 60 of the OWGR, as of June 13. Since McGirt was the only player to earn an exemption, five alternates from sectional qualifying were added to the field. They are Zach Edmondson, Tony Finau, Kevin Foley, Daniel Summerhays and Mike Van Sickle.
Edmondson, 25, of Cary, N.C., was the first alternate from the Jacksonville, Fla., sectional. He will play in his first U.S. Open. Edmondson played as a collegian at East Carolina University and competes on PGA Tour Canada’s Mackenzie Tour.
Finau, 26, of Lehi, Utah, was the first alternate from the Springfield, Ohio, sectional. He is competing in his second U.S. Open after tying for 14th with a 72-hole score 1-over-par 282 at Chambers Bay last year. Finau won the 2016 Puerto Rico Open, his first PGA Tour victory, by defeating Steve Marino with a birdie on the third playoff hole.
Foley, 29, of Somerville, N.J., is competing in his first U.S. Open. He was the first alternate from the Summit, N.J., sectional. Foley, who is one of 27 players who advanced to this year’s U.S. Open through both local and sectional qualifying, won the 2013 Panama Claro Championship on the Web.com Tour. He played at Penn State University and won the 2009 Sunnehanna Amateur.
Summerhays is playing in his third U.S. Open, with his best finish a tie for 27th last year at Chambers Bay. He was the first alternate from the Powell, Ohio, sectional qualifier. The 32-year-old from Fruit Heights, Utah, has played in 18 PGA Tour events and recorded seven top-25 finishes this season. Summerhays played Tony Finau in the final of the 2006 Utah Amateur, falling to Finau by a 3-and-2 margin.
Van Sickle, 29, of Pittsburgh, Pa., was the first alternate from the Rockville, Md., sectional qualifier. He is playing in his first U.S. Open. Van Sickle, a three-time All-America selection at Marquette University, won the 2007 Pennsylvania State Amateur and Pennsylvania State Open in 2007 and 2008.
There were 111 U.S. Open local qualifying sites that led to 12 sectional qualifiers, including international sites in Japan and England. Sectional qualifying in the United States took place at 10 sites on June 6. The USGA accepted 9,877 entries by the deadline of April 27, the third-highest total ever in championship history
A list of the 76 golfers fully exempt into the 2016 U.S. Open is below.
2016 U.S. Open Exemption List (as of June 13):
Byeong Hun An 13 Brooks Koepka 12, 13
Kiradech Aphibarnrat 13 Matt Kuchar 12, 13
a-Derek Bard 2 Anirban Lahiri 13
Daniel Berger 12, 13 Danny Lee 12, 13
Steven Bowditch 12 Marc Leishman 13
Keegan Bradley 7 David Lingmerth 13
Angel Cabrera 1 Shane Lowry 11, 13
Rafael Cabrera Bello 13 Jeff Maggert 10
Paul Casey 12, 13 Hideki Matsuyama 12, 13
Kevin Chappell 13 Graeme McDowell 1
Jason Day 7, 8, 11,12,13 William McGirt 14
Jamie Donaldson 13 Rory McIlroy 1, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13
Jason Dufner 7 Phil Mickelson 6, 13
Ernie Els 6 Ryan Moore 13
Harris English 12 Kevin Na 12, 13
Matthew Fitzpatrick 13 Geoff Ogilvy 1
Rickie Fowler 8, 12, 13 Louis Oosthuizen 11, 12, 13
Jim Furyk 12, 13 Scott Piercy 12, 13
Sergio Garcia 13 a-Jon Rahm 4
Lucas Glover 1 Patrick Reed 12, 13
Branden Grace 11, 13 Justin Rose 1, 12, 13
Emiliano Grillo 13 Charl Schwartzel 11, 13
Retief Goosen 15 Adam Scott 5, 11, 13
Bill Haas 12, 13 Webb Simpson 1
James Hahn 13 Cameron Smith 11
Charley Hoffman 12, 13 Brandt Snedeker 11, 12, 13
J.B. Holmes 12, 13 Jordan Spieth 1, 5, 11, 12, 13
Billy Horschel 13 Henrik Stenson 12, 13
Dustin Johnson 11, 12, 13 Robert Streb 12
Zach Johnson 6, 12, 13 Andy Sullivan 13
Smylie Kaufman 13 Justin Thomas 13
Martin Kaymer 1, 8, 13 Jaco Van Zyl 13
K.T. Kim 13 Jimmy Walker 12, 13
Chris Kirk 13 Bubba Watson 5, 12, 13
Kevin Kisner 12, 13 Lee Westwood 13
Patton Kizzire 13 Bernd Wiesberger 13
Soren Kjeldsen 13 Danny Willett 5, 13
Russell Knox 13 Chris Wood 9, 13
Bold – U.S. Open champion a-amateur
Key to Player Exemptions:
1. Winners of the U.S. Open Championship the last 10 years (2006-15)
2. Winner and runner-up of the 2015 U.S. Amateur Championship (must be an amateur)
3. Winner of the 2015 Amateur Championship, conducted by The R&A (must be an amateur)
4. Winner of the 2015 Mark H. McCormack Medal (top-ranked in WAGR & must be an amateur)
5. Winners of the Masters Tournament the last five years (2012-16)
6. Winners of The Open Championship, conducted by the R&A, the last five years (2011-15)
7. Winners of The PGA of America Championship the last five years (2011-15)
8. Winners of The Players Championship the last three years (2014-16)
9. Winner of the 2016 European Tour BMW PGA Championship
10. Winner of the 2015 U.S. Senior Open Championship
11. From the 2015 U.S. Open Championship, the 10 lowest scorers and anyone tying for 10th place
12. Those players who qualified for the season-ending 2015 Tour Championship
13. Top 60 point leaders and ties from the current World Ranking as of May 23, 2016
14. Top 60 point leaders and ties from the current World Ranking as of June 13, 2016
15. Special exemptions selected by the USGA