Does the PGA own the U.S. Open? Ownership details and more explored

The U.S. Open is one of the four Men's Major tournaments and is hosted by the United States Golf Association (USGA). The PGA Tour does not own any of the Majors. In fact, all four Majors are organized by independent bodies. However, the Majors are officially scheduled as PGA Tour and European Tour calendar events.

The U.S. Open is one of the oldest golf tournaments, established in 1895. Unlike the Masters, which is always held at the prestigious Augusta National, the U.S. Open takes place at various locations in the USA.

The tournament is held in a 72-hole stroke play format and generally takes place in June. Like all the other Majors, it has a cutline after 36 holes, and only players who meet the qualification criteria are allowed to compete further.

Last year, the tournament was held at Los Angeles Country Club. In 2024, Pinehurst No. 2 Golf Course will host the Major. Wyndham Clark, last year's champion, will return to defend his title in this year's edition, scheduled from June 13 to 16.

Thr other three Men's Golf Majors are The Masters, the PGA Championship and The Open Championship, hosted by different organizations. The Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia hosts the annual Masters, while the PGA of America hosts the PGA Championship. The R&A hosts The Open Championship.

While the first three Majors of the year take place in the USA, The Open Championship, also known as the British Open, takes place at various locations in the UK.

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Can LIV golfers play at the U.S. Open?

LIV golfers are banned from competing in PGA Tour events, but they can play in the Majors, and thus the U.S. Open, if they meet any of the qualification criteria.

Here are the qualification criteria for the U.S. Open:

• Winners of the U.S. Open in the last ten years
• Winner and runner-up from the previous year's U.S. Amateur and winner of the previous year's U.S. Junior Amateur and U.S. Mid-Amateur (The runner-up from the U.S. Amateur and the winner of the U.S. Junior Amateur and U.S. Mid-Amateur must remain an amateur)
• The previous year's Mark H. McCormack Medal winner for the top-ranked amateur golfer in the world
• Winners of The Masters Tournament, Open Championship and PGA Championship in the last five years
• Winners of the last three Players Championships
• Winner of the current year's BMW PGA Championship
• Winner of the last U.S. Senior Open Players
• In the year after the Olympic golf tournament, the reigning men's gold medalist
• Top 10 finishers and ties from the previous year's U.S. Open Players who qualified for the previous year's Tour Championship
• The top 60 as per the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) as of two weeks before the start of the tournament
• The top 60 as per the OWGR as of the tournament date
• The top player in terms of the PGA Tour second-tier developmental series points, based on combined points from the Regular Season and Finals, from the previous season (E.g., starting in 2023 for the 2024 U.S. Open)
• Special exemptions selected by the USGA
• All remaining spots after the second top 60 OWGR cutoff date are filled by alternates from qualifying tournaments

In 2024, only 12 LIV golfers met the criteria to play in the Major - Dean Burmester, Bryson DeChambeau, Tyrrell Hatton, Adrian Meronk, Dustin Johnson, Martin Kaymer, Phil Mickelson, Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka, Eugenio Chacarra, David Puig and Cameron Smith.