USGA CEO Mike Whan says he ‘can’ envision a pathway to the U.S. Open through LIV Golf

United States Golf Association (USGA) CEO Mike Whan recently hinted that LIV Golfers could play the U.S. Open in the future. The Saudi-backed series remains ineligible for Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points. Owing to this, the series’ players can only play in the major if they receive special exemptions from the organizers.

Interestingly, the USGA chief, who runs the U.S. Open, discussed the possibility of LIV golfers gaining exemptions to the major on Tuesday. Whan stated that he ‘can’ envision a pathway to the U.S. Open through LIV Golf in the future.

Interestingly, Whan stated that the idea of the league continuing to operate independently from the traditional circuits will be explored in the coming months. The official noted that he’d take his time to make the final decision.

Mike Whan told Golfweek:

“If you asked me a year ago, ‘What’s it going to be like in three months?’ I would have confidently given you an answer. I would have been confidently wrong.

If LIV stays as a separate entity and keeps the quality of players that it’s got, can I envision a pathway to the U.S. Open through LIV? I can, but I’d like to see what the final product is, and we’re just not exactly sure we know that yet.”

Whan’s comments came after the PGA Championship extended seven invites to LIV Golf players on Tuesday. The PGA of America will have 16 players, including the likes of Talor Gooch, Joaquin Niemann, Patrick Reed, Dean Burmester, Adrian Meronk, Lucas Herbert and David Puig, at the upcoming major in Valhalla.

The recent framework agreement between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund seems to have affected Whan’s decision. The USGA was reviewing the criteria for this year’s championship when the deal was announced.

It’ll be interesting to see if any LIV Golfer receives special exemptions for the major happening from June 13-16 at Pinehurst No. 2.

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Mike Whan 'invites' LIV Golf stars to U.S. Open qualifying

Whan’s comments on the possibility of letting LIV Golfers on the U.S. Open through exemptions come just days after he ‘invited’ the series’ players to the major’s qualification event.

Commenting on the players’ invite status, the USGA chief stated that the event’s field is “wide open” and added that the officials would welcome the players with “open arms."

Whan said earlier in May, as quoted by Sports Illustrated:

"When people talk about other majors, some of those majors are kind of full and the only way to get in is an invite. In our case, half of our field is not only not full, it's wide open. If you're good enough to get in, we welcome you with open arms."

It is pertinent to note that the U.S. Open qualification process includes more than 100 local qualifiers. The event will see over 10,000 registered players compete in the first stage of qualifying. This includes 35 of 54 players from LIV Golf.