Seven golfers officially joined the field at the 126th U.S. Open on Sunday, filling out the 156-man field for Shinnecock Hills next week.
Bud Cauley and J.T. Poston made it by getting inside the top 60 of the Official World Golf Ranking as of June 15 while Hennie du Plessis, Harry Higgs, Bryan Lee, Jack Schoenberger and Spencer Tibbits were chosen from first alternate list from Final Qualifying sites to round out the field.
J.J. Spaun celebrates with the championship trophy after winning the 125th U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club.
The 36-year-old Cauley earned his fourth U.S. Open start. He vaulted from 68th to 40th after registering his first PGA Tour victory at the RBC Canadian Open on Sunday. He’s missed the cut twice and finished T-63 in 2011 in his previous Open appearances.
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Poston, 33, will make his seventh U.S. Open start. He won the Memorial Tournament on June 7, which vaulted him inside the top 60 in the OWGR, and checking in at No. 38. He’s made the cut in three of his six previous Open appearances with a best of T-32 in 2024.
Du Plessis, a 29-year-old South African, will make his U.S. Open debut after getting into the field as the first alternate from the Walton Heath Golf Club final qualifier. He was in a 4-for-1 playoff for last qualifying spot and wound up as the first alternate after posting 10-under 134 in Surrey, England, on May 18.
Higgs, a 34-year-old veteran playing the Korn Ferry Tour this season, will make his second U.S. Open start after surviving a 2-for-1 playoff for first alternate at Gaston Country Club in Gastonia, N.C. He shot 64-66.
Lee, a 22-year-old amateur and recent University of Virginia graduate got into his second consecutive U.S. Open, this time as the first alternate from the Woodmont Country Club site in Rockville, Md. Lee had shot 5-under 137, but lost a 2-for-1 playoff with Jake Sollon for the final spot.
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Schoenberger, a 23-year-old amateur and recent Kentucky graduate, will make his first U.S. Open start after getting into the field as the first alternate from the Ball Ground, Ga., site. Schoenberger, who played his first two seasons at Belmont University, was in a 2-for-1 playoff for the two alternate spots.
Tibbits, a 27-year-old former Oregon State standout will make his second U.S. Open start after getting into the field as the first alternate from the Creswell, Ore., site. Tibbits went nine playoff holes with Andrew Putnam, which lasted into Tuesday morning, before losing out on the second and final spot from Emerald Valley Golf Club. Tibbits played the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach as an amateur.
If there are any withdrawals, replacements are determined by who withdraws. If it’s a golfer from Final Qualifying, that golfer will be replaced by the next alternate from the same site. However, if a qualifier who gained entry via another conduit withdraws, the USGA calls on the next alternate on its master list consisting of all remaining first and second alternates from Final Qualifying. According to the USGA, it does not release its master list in order to avoid confusion.
The U.S. Open begins on Thursday. J.J. Spaun is the defending champion.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Seven golfers claim final spots for 126th U.S. Open
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