10 surprising players you won’t see at the 2024 U.S. Open

On Monday morning, the USGA announced two additional exemptions and four alternates who were added to the field for this week’s U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 in Pinehurst, N.C. Barring any last-minute changes, we know the 156 players teeing it up in golf’s national championship come Thursday.

One of the final qualifying criteria for the U.S. Open is securing a top-60 spot in the Official World Golf Ranking on Monday of the championship.

Robert MacIntyre won the RBC Canadian Open two weeks ago, which valued him into the top 60 (he’s now 41st) to earn a spot.

The other player who earned a bid was Adam Scott, who will play in his 92nd consecutive major. Scott’s streak was in danger of ending when he lost a playoff in a qualifier last week in Columbus, Ohio. He rose to No. 61 in the OWGR on Monday, but he became exempt when the late Grayson Murray (No. 59) was removed from the exempt list.

Four alternates from final qualifying were also added: Sergio Garcia, Otto Black, Maxwell Moldovan and amateur Brendan Valdes.

So, which players of note didn’t get a spot? Here are 10 pros you may know who missed out on the 124th U.S. Open.

10 surprising players you won’t see at the 2024 U.S. Open

Joaquin Niemann

Joaquin Niemann, who has played with LIV Golf since 2022, was invited to the Masters and PGA Championship, but he missed out on qualifying for this week via the Jupiter, Fla., site. He finished a shot out of a playoff at The Bear’s Club, where PGA Tour veterans Matt Kuchar and Daniel Berger were among the group that played their way in. This will be the first U.S. Open Niemann has missed since 2019 and the first major he’s missed in four years. He finished between T23 and T47 in his four U.S. Open starts.

Patrick Reed

While Scott extended his lengthy major streak, Patrick Reed’s is coming to an end. Reed withdrew from his Dallas qualifier and wasn’t allowed to enter another. He’ll sit out his first major in 11 years — a streak that ends at 41 consecutive starts.

Carlos Ortiz

Carlos Ortiz has only played in four U.S. Opens (his best finish a T52 in 2019) but his absence is notable given he won LIV Golf Houston on Sunday (which ironically is the same city his only PGA Tour win came in, back in 2020) and pocketed $4 million. Ortiz tried to play his way in through the Dallas qualifier but fell short. “I’ve been playing great. It’s a shame I doubled the last hole to miss the qualifier — it hurt a lot,” he said Sunday. “But I think with time, we’re going to get back into the majors because I know that I’m one of the best players in the world right now, and I deserve to be there. But the way things are happening right now, it’s kind of hard.”

Talor Gooch

Talor Gooch won three times on LIV last season, but he wasn’t extended an invite to the Masters. He he did get a PGA Championship invite (where he tied for 60th) but passed on trying to qualify for the U.S. Open.

Zach Johnson

The 2023 U.S. Ryder Cup captain finished five shots out of a playoff at the Springfield, Ohio, qualifying site. This is the third straight year he’ll miss the U.S. Open.

Keith Mitchell

The 2019 Honda Classic winner shot 68-67 at Cherry Hill Club in Ridgeway, Ontario, but that was still one shot short of creating a playoff for the last of seven spots. Ranked 82nd in the OWGR, Mitchell has had a solid year — only three missed cuts in 16 starts, eight top 25s and three top 10s — but came up just short of earning an Open bid.

Luke List

Luke List finished a shot out of a playoff at the Columbus, Ohio, site. He was battling the top-60 exemption all spring, briefly ducking inside the magic number when he tied for second at the Genesis Invitational. But missed cuts in his last three starts didn’t help List’s cause. He’s ranked 74th in the OWGR.

Joel Dahmen

A fan favorite, Joel Dahmen didn’t make it out of the Dallas regional (he was marked as a DNF). He’s had a decent season, making 11 of 16 cuts with one top 10, yet is still ranked 157th. At the U.S. Open two years ago, Dahmen held a 36-hole co-lead and ultimately tied for 10th, a week that went a long way in securing his popularity on Tour.

Louis Oosthuizen

Once a major staple, Louis Oosthuizen will now miss his third straight. He reportedly turned down a PGA Championship invite earlier this year and didn’t attempt to qualify for the U.S. Open. He last played the U.S. Open in 2022; in the three years prior he finished in the top seven all three times.

Patrick Rodgers

Another player who fought to secure a top-60 exemption, Patrick Rodgers, now ranked 88th, has three top 10s this season but missed cuts in big events offering even bigger World Ranking points (Players, PGA Championship and Memorial). In the last three U.S. Opens, Rodgers tied for 32nd and twice tied for 31st. He shot 75 in the second round of The Bear’s Club qualifier to finish two strokes out of a playoff.