The 2021 U.S. Open and U.S. Women's Open will feature open qualifying.
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If you woke up this morning feeling a little bit of extra optimism, maybe that’s because the smell of major championship dreams is in the air.
That’s right: U.S. Open qualifying is back! After canceling its usual process due to the coronavirus in 2020, the USGA announced this week that Local Qualifying is back for the U.S. Open, which is at Torrey Pines June 17-20, and Open Qualifying is back for the U.S. Women’s Open, which is June 3-6 at the Olympic Club.
On the men’s side, 18-hole local qualifiers will take place at 109 sites in 43 U.S. states plus Canada beginning on April 26 and running through May 18. The number of prospective qualifiers regularly approaches 10,000, with an all-time record of 10,127 for the 2014 U.S. Open at Pinehurst.
About half the field at a typical U.S. Open comes from open qualifying, though many of those qualifiers are exempt through the local stage. In 2019, more than 9,000 golfers signed up to try to play the championship at Pebble Beach, and 17 players who started at locals made it into the 156-player field, according to an email from the USGA. Of those 17, four players made the 36-hole cut. Ken Venturi (1964) and Orville Moody (1969) are the only golfers to win the U.S. Open after qualifying through both local and final play.
So where are the qualifiers being held? There are 14 local sites in California and 13 in Florida, by far the most of any state. Texas has six sites and New York and Pennsylvania each have five. (The complete list can be found below.)
To be eligible for qualifying, a player must have a handicap index of 1.4 or below or be a professional. Online player registration for the 2021 U.S. Open will begin in the fourth week of February at champs.usga.org.
On the women’s side, 36-hole qualifiers will be held at 22 U.S. courses between April 26 and May 13. USGA officials are still determining whether they can hold international qualifying and will make a decision on other potential sites in the coming weeks.
A record 1,873 women attempted to qualify for the 2015 U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster Country Club. Since open qualifying began in 1976, two qualifiers have gone on to win the championship: Hilary Lunke in 2003 at Pumpkin Ridge and Birdie Kim in 2005 at Cherry Hills.
Of the 22 qualifying sites, California has the most of any state with four, while Florida has three.
To be eligible, a player must have a handicap index of 2.4 or below or be a professional. Online entry applications open on Feb. 17 and continues through April 14 at champs.usga.org.
“Last year was a difficult one in many respects and the decision to cancel qualifying did not come easily,” said John Bodenhamer, senior managing director, Championships. “We are thankful to be able to safely bring back qualifying and the openness that embodies all our championships in 2021.”
You can see the entire list of men’s and women’s qualifying sites below:
U.S. Open Local Qualifying Sites (109)
Monday, April 26 (1) Fox Den C.C., Knoxville, Tenn.
Tuesday, April 27 (3)
Hoakalei C.C., Ewa Beach, Hawaii
Huntington Crescent Club, Huntington, N.Y.
Duke University G.C., Durham, N.C.
Wednesday, April 28 (1)
Waterlefe Golf & River Club, Bradenton, Fla.
Thursday, April 29 (7)
Mission Inn R. & C. (El Campeon Course), Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla.
Mayacoo Lakes C.C., West Palm Beach, Fla.
Oakbourne C.C., Lafayette, La.
Columbia C.C. (Ridgewood/Tall Pines Courses), Blythewood, S.C.
Jackson (Tenn.) C.C.
Amarillo (Texas) C.C.
The Pines C.C., Morgantown, W.Va.
Saturday, May 1 (1)
The King Kamehameha G.C., Wailuku, Hawaii
Monday, May 3 (16)
El Niguel C.C., Laguna Niguel, Calif.
Indian Ridge C.C. (Grove Course), Palm Desert, Calif.
Patterson Club, Fairfield, Conn.
Plantation Bay G. & C.C. (Club de Bonmont Course), Ormond Beach, Fla.
Marietta C.C., Kennesaw, Ga.
Cog Hill G. & C.C. (Dubsdread Course), Lemont, Ill.
Dylan Dethier is a senior writer for GOLF Magazine/GOLF.com. The Williamstown, Mass. native joined GOLF in 2017 after two years scuffling on the mini-tours. Dethier is a graduate of Williams College, where he majored in English, and he’s the author of 18 in America, which details the year he spent as an 18-year-old living from his car and playing a round of golf in every state.
