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

The 2025 U.S. Open arrives this week as the world’s best golfers descend on Oakmont Country Club to face the toughest examination of the season.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is coming off three wins in his last four starts, including emphatic wins at the 2025 PGA Championship and Memorial Tournament. Reigning Masters champion Rory McIlroy has scuffled since his historic victory as driver woes and a career Grand Slam hangover have led to subpar results since he won at Augusta National. LIV Golf’s Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm are both coming off great showings at the 2025 PGA Championship and figure to be among the biggest threats to Scheffler in western Pennsylvania.

The U.S. Open has a loaded field filled with stars and those who played their way into golf’s most democratic tournament via qualifying, including dentist Matt Vogt and 17-year-old Mason Howell.

The field at Oakmont is loaded, but not all of golf’s big names made it, as some notable names will miss the proceedings due either to poor play or injury.

Here are eight players who won’t be teeing it up at Oakmont this week.

8 notable players who will miss 2025 U.S. Open

Rickie Fowler

Fowler received an exemption into the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, where he missed the cut. He came out of that missed cut with good showings at the Charles Schwab Challenge and Memorial Tournament, where he punched his ticket to the Open Championship at Royal Portrush thanks to a T7 finish.

Fowler hoped to ride his improved play to a U.S. Open spot via final qualifying at Kinsale Golf and Fitness Club in Columbus, Ohio. Fowler played his way into a five-for-one playoff in Kinsale but lost to Cameron Young on the first playoff hole.

Max Homa

Like Fowler, Homa’s recent bout of poor play left him needing to qualify at Kinsale.

Carrying his own bag at Kinsale, Homa put himself in position to qualify but three-putted the final hole to drop into that five-for-one playoff and lost to Young.

Sergio Garcia

The 2017 Masters champion lost out on the LIV Golf exemption to Joaquin Niemann, which meant he needed to advance to the U.S. Open through the qualifying tournament in Dallas. Garcia played well but needed to make par on his 36th and final hole of the tournament to get into a seven-for-one playoff. He made bogey, and his streak of 24 consecutive U.S. Open appearances will now come to an end.

Luke Clanton

The newest member of the PGA Tour finished T41 at last year’s U.S. Open, finishing two spots behind Neal Shipley for low amateur honors.

After earning his PGA Tour card through PGA Tour University Accelerated, Clanton finally turned pro at this week’s RBC Canadian Open, which meant he forfeited the exemption he had into the U.S. Open as the top-ranked amateur. He tried to qualify via a tournament in Canada but did not advance.

Billy Horschel

Horschel has been on the shelf since early May due to hip surgery. He is expected to be out for several months.

Will Zalatoris

Zalatoris recently announced that he had undergone another back surgery to deal with herniated discs. Zalatoris, who has two top-six finishes in his U.S. Open career, will be out for the remainder of the FedEx Cup Playoffs season.

Alex Noren

Noren, who recently returned from a partially torn tendon of the muscle that attaches to his sit bone, found himself in the final group with Scheffler at the PGA Championship. Noren couldn’t press Scheffler, but did manage to finish tied for 17th.

Despite the solid showing at Quail Hollow, Noren needed to advance through qualifying at Kinsale but failed to do so.

Tiger Woods

The 15-time major champion had surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles in March and has not played in a PGA Tour event this season.