LIV Golf Field: Suspended PGA Players Can Still Compete In 2022 U.S. Open

The PGA Tour has suspended 17 players for competing in the LIV Golf International Series, but that won’t stop those golfers from playing in the next major. Members of the first-ever LIV Golf field are still eligible for the 2022 U.S. Open next week.

The suspended players, highlighted by major champions Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Sergio Garcia, are not automatically barred from the majors because those tournaments aren’t run by the PGA Tour. The U.S. Open is conducted by the USGA, and the organization has stated that it won’t ban players who participate in a LIV Golf tournament this year.

"We pride ourselves in being the most open championship in the world and the players who have earned the right to compete in this year's championship, both via exemption and qualifying, will have the opportunity to do so. Our field criteria were set prior to entries opening earlier this year and it's not appropriate, nor fair to competitors, to change criteria once established," the USGA said in a statement Tuesday, two days before the PGA Tour announced its suspensions.

"Regarding players who may choose to play in London this week, we simply asked ourselves this question — should a player who had earned his way into the 2022 U.S. Open, via our published field criteria, be pulled out of the field as a result of his decision to play in another event? And we ultimately decided that they should not."

The LIV Golf tour kicked off Thursday with a three-day tournament at Centurion Golf Club near London. The U.S. Open is set to take place June 16-19 at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Mickelson has stated his intention to play for LIV Golf and the U.S. Open in consecutive weeks. Johnson, winner of the 2016 U.S. Open, said when he resigned from the PGA Tour that he still planned to compete in the majors tournaments.

Louis Oosthuizen is playing in the first LIV Golf field and has qualified for the U.S. Open. Oosthuizen was the 2021 U.S. Open runner-up.

It’s possible that the entities that run the majors could eventually join the PGA Tour in barring players associated with LIV Golf. That probably wouldn’t happen until 2023, after this year’s U.S. Open and Open Championship are complete. The Masters has not yet announced its decision on the matter.

Other LIV golfers who were suspended by the PGA Tour and have qualified to compete at next week’s U.S. Open include Taylor Gooch, Kevin Na and Branden Grace.