Bubba Watson was one of seven players tied to LIV Golf that opted to withdraw from a U.S. Open final qualifying site on Monday in Rockville, Md.
Monday is the final day of U.S. Open qualifying, often billed as “the longest day in golf,” as players at 10 sites across North America play 36 holes to compete for the final spots in the major championship field.
A number of LIV Golf members signed up to play at the Woodmont Country Club qualifying site before the league plays outside Washington, D.C., later this week.
Watson opted not to move forward with the qualifier, joined by Ben Campbell of New Zealand, David Puig of Spain, Matt Jones of Australia, Thomas Pieters of Belgium and Englishman Lee Westwood.
Additionally, Australia’s Wade Ormsby, a reserve who has appeared in two LIV events in 2025, dropped out.
Not all LIV players decided to skip out, of course. Marc Leishman of Australia shot a 1-under-par 70 in his first 18 holes. Brendan Steele and India’s Anirban Lahiri were in the mix after even-par 71s.
However, only the top four players at the site will qualify for the major, slated for June 12-15 at Oakmont Country Club outside Pittsburgh.
Several of LIV’s most prominent players are already in the U.S. Open field. Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson and Spaniard Jon Rahm are invited as U.S. Open winners from the past 10 years; DeChambeau is the defending champion.
Englishman Richard Bland was invited after winning the 2024 U.S. Senior Open. A pair of other recent major winners — Phil Mickelson (2021 PGA Championship) and Cameron Smith (2022 Open Championship) — are exempt as well.
Sergio Garcia of Spain fell one stroke shy of a playoff at a final qualifying site last month in Dallas.
–Field Level Media
