USGA Makes Sensible Move By Creating LIV Qualifying Pathway

For the first time ever, there is a formal pathway for a player to qualify into a major based on performance in LIV events.

It’s a small yet meaningful step.

Up to one LIV player will earn their way into the U.S. Open based on the LIV standings this season. To qualify, the player must be in the top three of the standings as of May 19, 2025.

If the top three guys are already in the U.S. Open, nobody will get the exemption.

So, let’s say the top three is Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson. Those players are already in the U.S. Open based on previous major performance. In that case, there won’t be any exemption given.

But last year, the top three LIV players by mid-May were Joaquin Niemann, Rahm and Dean Burmester. In that case, Niemann would have been given an exemption into the U.S. Open—it was the only major he didn’t play last year because two of the others (Masters and PGA Championship) gave him special exemptions and he qualified into the other (Open Championship) based on results in the Australian Open. (Niemann has already been given exemptions into the Masters and PGA Championship for 2025).

There is a high likelihood that at least one LIV player in the top three of the standings won’t be already exempt into the U.S. Open. By my count, there are only seven LIV players currently in the U.S. Open: DeChambeau, Rahm, Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson, Cameron Smith and Richard Bland.

The other three majors are all set to have at least 11 LIV players in each field.

In addition to the one potential exemption, the USGA is also helping the top 10 LIV players in the league standings by allowing them directly into final qualifying for the U.S. Open. This just means they don’t have to go through the local qualifying, an arduous step prior to the next stage.

This could give players incentive to qualify the hard way. Some LIV players chose not to try U.S. Open qualifying in previous years.

This is a smart move by the USGA

If you remember back in 2022 and 2023, there was a lot of talk about the majors having the luxury of ignoring LIV because their qualification criteria centered around the Official World Golf Ranking.

With LIV never earning OWGR points, the table was set for the majors to let their qualification system do the talking. The best LIV players were already exempt based on previous major victories. Middle-of-the-road guys like Talor Gooch—players who didn’t really need to be in major fields—would naturally fall out of position to qualify based on their ranking.

But as time went on, the Masters and PGA Championship—who lack open qualifying—became more aggressive with adding special exemptions for LIV players who were competing at a high level in both LIV and non-LIV events.

Niemann is the best example. This is a player who is No. 14 in Data Golf but only No. 68 in the OWGR. He is one of the best golfers in the world and has gone outside of the LIV ecosystem to prove that. He has not won a major or even played well in majors, but he’s a young player worthy of competing in majors given his recent accomplishments.

If the goal of majors is to have the best players in the world, Niemann should be in all of them.

Your next question is how many LIV guys fall into the Niemann category.

Very few. Maybe none depending on your definition.

Sergio Garcia is No. 39 in Data Golf and No. 471 in the OWGR. Louis Oosthuizen? Abraham Ancer? They are realistically top 60 players in the world without an accurate OWGR to reflect that.

This is why I like the U.S. Open’s move here. It probably gets a guy like Niemann or at least one top 60 player in the world into their major, but it doesn’t push much beyond that line. I don’t think the USGA needs to at the moment.

Even this small step says a lot about how golf has changed in the past couple of years.

LIV is a going to be here long-term and there are going to be some good players coming out of the league who deserve to be in majors. These majors are, of course, not run by the PGA Tour. Their objective should be to host the best competitions.

“I’ve told LIV people that when we announce a pathway (into the U.S. Open), you will find it totally inadequate relative to the size,” USGA CEO Mike Whan said on the No Laying Up podcast. “Every tour finds their pathway into the U.S. Open inadequate. And that’s fair. But we also remember that half our field is wide open (through open qualifying), so you really want to be in, we don’t block a bunch of people out of it.”

The USGA doing this opens the door for more collaboration between the majors and LIV moving forward.

And, like it or not, the LIV stigma of being exhibition golf could erode slightly if the majors put more formal qualifying structures in place that reward good performance in LIV events.

Don’t get me wrong—the situation is slimy because LIV is a (almost entirely) closed circuit based on invitations. If you start saying the top 10 LIV guys in the standings (out of 54 players) get into the majors, then that feels inherently unfair. Those players didn’t earn their way on LIV. Their competition in LIV events is a lot less than on Tour.

What if a guy like Anthony Kim has one good week and all of a sudden he’s in the U.S. Open? That doesn’t feel right.

Over time, the majors will figure out the best mix.

But should there be more formal pathways given where we are now in a pro golf world?

Absolutely. I don’t think there is any question at this point. It’s better for the majors and better for pro golf as a whole.

Top Photo Caption: Joaquin Niemann could be the beneficiary of a new USGA rule. (GETTY IMAGES/Sarah Reed)