Scottie Scheffler wasn’t on pace to be in jeopardy of not having fully exempt status in 2028, but it’s no longer a concern after his victory at the WM Phoenix Open on Sunday. The 2022 Masters champion is exempt into THE PLAYERS Championship and all majors for years, so his successful title defense of his breakthrough title on the PGA TOUR didn’t yield anything new in the short-term. Other than a $3.6-million payday in the second designated event of the season and a return to No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking … breath … the only benefit he gained was an additional season at the end of his multi-year membership exemption. At the conclusion of the 2021-22 season, because of his win at the Masters, it had extended the maximum five seasons through 2027. The 26-year-old now is fully exempt as a winner through his age-32 season. Only Scheffler doing big things could bump the lede entering the weekend. The USGA recently released the list of all exempt players into the U.S. Open as well as new qualifying criteria into the major. Exemptions for all currently qualified are noted in the alphabetical list below. In addition to REMAINING QUALIFYING CRITERIA at the bottom, new exemptions for the golfers on the PGA TOUR and DP World Tour are specified. The NCAA Division 1 individual champion also will earn a spot in the field of 156 for the first time. Qualifying criteria for the PGA Championship and The Open Championship remain TBD.
TPC = THE PLAYERS Championship
MAS = Masters
PGA = PGA Championship
US = U.S. Open
OPEN = The Open Championship
Recent AdditionsTPC — none MAS — none PGA — none US — (all currently exempt have been added below) OPEN — none
REMAINING QUALIFYING CRITERIA
Criteria are listed in chronological order where possible. Best estimates are given but all are subject to change.
THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP (TPC) @ TPC Sawgrass (Stadium) – March 9-12• Winners of PGA TOUR events thru the final week before THE PLAYERS. • Top 10 in the FedExCup at the conclusion of The Honda Classic (Feb. 26). • Top 50 of Official World Golf Ranking (Feb. 27). • If necessary to complete the field of 144, golfers outside the Top 10 in the FedExCup at the conclusion of the Honda Classic on Feb. 26 will gain entry in order of position.
PGA CHAMPIONSHIP (PGA) @ Oak Hill Country Club – May 18-21• TBD
THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP (OPEN) @ Royal Liverpool – July 20-23• TBD (planned to be released in February)
Source: pgatour.com
