Liberty Corner - The United States Golf Association (USGA) on Monday announced that 26 additional golfers have earned full exemptions into the 2019 US Open to be played from June 13-16 at Pebble Beach Golf Links.
These exemptions bring the number of fully exempt players to 76 thus far.
All 26 exemptions were awarded to players who earned a place in the Top 60 of the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) as of May 19.
The players who earned full exemptions through the current Official World Golf Ranking are: Abraham Ancer, Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Lucas Bjerregaard, Rafael Cabrera Bello, Branden Grace, Justin Harding, J.B. Holmes, Charles Howell III, Kevin Kisner, Haotong Li, Luke List, Shane Lowry, Keith Mitchell, Alex Noren, Thorbjorn Olesen, Louis Oosthuizen, Cheng Tsung Pan, Eddie Pepperell, Ian Poulter, Chez Reavie, Adam Scott, Brandt Snedeker, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Byeong Hun An and Matt Wallace.
At No 20, Oosthuizen is the highest-ranked player in the current OWGR who was not previously exempt into the US Open. Oosthuizen, who won the 2010 Open Championship on the Old Course at St. Andrews, will compete in his 10th US Open. He was the runner-up alongside Dustin Johnson to Jordan Spieth in 2015 at Chambers Bay.
Any multiple winners of PGA Tour events that award a full-point allocation for the season-ending Tour Championship will also earn an exemption.
The number of fully exempt golfers may increase with the addition of the Top 60 players from the OWGR as of Monday, June 10.
The first of nine US sectional qualifiers for the 2019 US Open was conducted on May 20, in Dallas, Texas, where 10 spots in the 156-player field were determined.
Japan (Kuwana Country Club) and England (Walton Heath Golf Club) will host international sectional qualifying, scheduled for May 27 and June 3, respectively. A sectional qualifier will be contested for the first time in Canada (RattleSnake Point Golf Club) on June 3. Those players who qualify are in addition to the 76 fully exempt players listed below.
Pebble Beach Golf Links has hosted the US Open in five consecutive decades and the 119th edition will be the 13th USGA championship to be conducted at the resort.