It’s time for the third major championship of 2021: the U.S. Open. This year, the championship is returning to Torrey Pines in La Jolla, Calif., for the first time since 2008, when we bore witness to one of the most epic duels in golf history, as Rocco Mediate went toe-to-toe with Tiger Woods in a playoff, with Woods eventually emerging the victor. What drama will transpire this year? Below, you’ll find everything you need to know about the tournament field, including a complete list of competitors.
2021 U.S. Open Preview
Bryson DeChambeau won the 2020 U.S. Open at Winged Foot, which was played less than nine months ago. As venues, Torrey Pines and Winged Foot couldn’t be more different, but the two courses are sure to share one ubiquitous U.S. Open trait: they’ll both play tough as nails.
As defending champion, hopes are high for DeChambeau’s performance this week. When it comes to odds, he’s the third favorite at 16/1 (alongside Brooks Koepka and Xander Schauffele) and behind Jon Rahm (10/1) and Dustin Johnson (14/1).
For Rahm, a win this week would not only mark the first major championship of his career, it would also be his second victory at Torrey Pines. In 2017, his win at the Farmers Insurance Open was his first on the PGA Tour. Rahm is also primed for a big-time comeback statement, after a positive coronavirus test forced him to withdraw from the Memorial after the third round, when, after amassing a six-shot lead, Sunday’s round looked to be more of a coronation round than a competitive one. After a stint in PGA Tour-mandated isolation, he’s been cleared to play.
And what about Phil Mickelson? The newly-minted PGA champion has one rung left to climb on the career-grand-slam ladder. Could this be the week at last? We can’t wait to find out.
Who earns an invite to the PGA Championship?
The USGA — the governing body responsible for hosting the U.S. Open — lists 18 criteria for earning an invitation to Torrey Pines. They are as follows:
1. All former U.S. Open champions from the last 10 years (2011-2020)
2. The lowest 10 scorers and ties from the 2020 U.S. Open
3. The winner of the 2020 U.S. Amateur
4. The runner-up in the 2020 U.S. Amateur (permitted they remain an amateur)
5. Winners of the Masters from 2017-2021
6. Winners of the PGA Championship from 2016-2021
7. Winners of the Open Championship from 2016-2019
8. Winners of the Players Championship in 2019 and 2021
9. Winner of the 2020 BMW PGA Championship
10. Players who qualified for the 2020 Tour Championship
11. Winners of multiple full-point PGA Tour events from the originally scheduled 2020 U.S. Open to the 2021 U.S. Open.
12. The top 10 aggregate points earners that are not otherwise exempt from the three-event U.S. Open 2021 European qualifying series (Betfred British Masters, Made in Himmerland Championship and Prosche European Open).
13. Winner of the 2020 The Amateur Championship staged by the R&A (permitted they remain an amateur)
14. Winner of the 2020 Mark H. McCormack Medal for being the No. 1 player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (permitted they remain an amateur)
15. The top 60 points leaders and ties from the May 24, 2021 Official World Golf Ranking
16. The top 60 points leaders and ties from the June 7, 2021 Official World Golf Ranking (if not previously exempt)
17. The leading player from the 2020 Asian Tour Order of Merit; 2020 ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit and the 2021 Sunshine Tour Order of Merit
18. Special exemptions as selected by the USGA.
So, who made the cut? Check out the full field list below.
2021 U.S. Open field
Thomas Aiken
Steve Allan
Abraham Ancer
Marcus Armitage
Yosuke Asaji
Chris Baker
Luis Fernando Barco
Paul Barjon
Daniel Berger
Christiaan Bezuidenhout
Akshay Bhatia
Richard Bland
Hayden Buckley
Sam Burns
Rafael Cabrera Bello
Patrick Cantlay
Mario Carmona
Paul Casey
Cameron Champ
Stewart Cink
Wyndham Clark
Eric Cole
Corey Conners
Pierceson Coody (a)
Roy Cootes
Dave Coupland
Christopher Crawford
Bryson DeChambeau
Thomas Detry
Harris English
Tony Finau
Matthew Fitzpatrick
Tommy Fleetwood
Dylan Frittelli
Wilson Furr
Luis Gagne
Sergio Garcia
Fabian Gomez
Branden Grace
Lanto Griffin
Adam Hadwin
Cole Hammer (a)
Brian Harman
Tyrrell Hatton
Russell Henley
James Hervol
Garrick Higgo
Joe Highsmith (a)
Bo Hoag
Charley Hoffman
Tom Hoge
Max Homa
Billy Horschel
Rikuya Hoshino
Viktor Hovland
Mackenzie Hughes
John Huh
Sungjae Im
Ryo Ishikawa
Dustin Johnson
Zach Johnson
Michael Johnson
Matt Jones
Sunghoon Kang
Martin Kaymer
Brad Kennedy
Si Woo Kim
Chan Kim
Kevin Kisner
Brooks Koepka
Jason Kokrak
Andrew Kozan (a)
Matt Kuchar
Martin Laird
Rick Lamb
Kyoung-Hoon Lee
Marc Leishman
Joe Long (a)
Shane Lowry
Robert MacIntyre
Peter Malnati
Hideki Matsuyama
Rory McIlroy
Adrian Meronk
Troy Merritt
Dylan Meyer
Phil Mickelson
Guido Migliozzi
Francesco Molinari
Edoardo Molinari
Taylor Montgomery
Collin Morikawa
Sebastian Munoz
Kevin Na
Joaquin Niemann
Wilco Nienaber
Louis Oosthuizen
Wade Ormsby
Carlos Ortiz
Alvaro Ortiz
Charles Osborne (a)
Ryan Palmer
Taylor Pendrith
Victor Perez
Andy Pope
J.T. Poston
Ian Poulter
Jon Rahm
Spencer Ralston (a)
Chez Reavie
Patrick Reed
Patrick Rodgers
Justin Rose
Sam Ryder
Carson Schaake
Xander Schauffele
Scottie Scheffler
Matthias Schmid (a)
Charl Schwartzel
Adam Scott
Matthew Sharpstene (a)
Robby Shelton
Davis Shore
Greyson Sigg
Webb Simpson
Cameron Smith
Jordan Smith
Matthew Southgate
J.J. Spaun
Jordan Spieth
Hayden Springer
Brendan Steele
Henrik Stenson
Tyler Strafaci
Kevin Streelman
Brian Stuard
Zack Sucher
Justin Suh
Sahith Theegala (a)
Justin Thomas
Brendon Todd
Erik Van Rooyen
Johannes Veerman
Jhonattan Vegas
Jimmy Walker
Matt Wallace
Bubba Watson
Kyle Westmoreland
Lee Westwood
Bernd Wiesberger
Matthew Wolff
Gary Woodland
Dylan Wu
Cameron Young
Zach Zaback
Will Zalatoris
