Far Hills, N.J. (May 24) – Seven additional golfers have earned full exemptions into the 2011 U.S. Open Championship, to be played June 16-19 at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md., bringing the number of fully exempt players to 72.
The exemptions were awarded to players who met one or more of the following criteria, as of May 23: top 50 point leaders in the Official World Golf Ranking; top 10 money leaders from the official 2011 PGA Tour money list; and top five money leaders from the official 2011 PGA European Tour money list.
Those who earned full exemptions through the current World Golf Ranking were: Anders Hansen, Peter Hanson, Ryo Ishikawa, Matteo Manassero, Rory Sabbatini and David Toms. In addition, Aaron Baddeley earned an exemption from his ninth-place position on the PGA Tour money list.
The remaining 44 of the top 50 ranked players were already fully exempt through other criteria.
Sabbatini and Toms also became fully exempt, joining Baddeley, by ranking among the year’s top 10 money leaders on the PGA Tour, as of May 23. The rest of the top 10 money leaders were already fully exempt.
Hansen was additionally exempt because he was among the top five money leaders on the PGA European Tour for 2011 as of May 23.
The number of fully exempt golfers may increase with the inclusion of the top 50 players from the Official World Golf Ranking as of June 13. Additional exemptions from sectional qualifying could be earned by a winner of one of the three remaining PGA Tour events to be played prior to the U.S. Open, if the winner is not already fully exempt and if it is his second PGA Tour win since June 20, 2010.
The first sectional qualifier was held May 23 in Japan, where four spots in the 156-player field were determined. Sectional qualifying in the USA will take place at 11 sites on June 6 and another qualifier will be held in Surrey, England on May 30.
A list of the 72 golfers who are already fully exempt into the 2011 U.S. Open follows: (a=amateur):
Robert Allenby
Aaron Baddeley
Jonathan Byrd
Angel Cabrera
Michael Campbell
Paul Casey
Alex Cejka
K.J. Choi
a-David Chung
Stewart Cink
Tim Clark
Ben Crane
Jason Day
Luke Donald
Ernie Els
Rickie Fowler
Hiroyuki Fujita
Jim Furyk
Lucas Glover
Retief Goosen
Bill Haas
Anders Hansen
Peter Hanson
Padraig Harrington
Gregory Havret
Charley Hoffman
Trevor Immelman
Ryo Ishikawa
Miguel Angel Jimenez
Dustin Johnson
Zach Johnson
Robert Karlsson
Martin Kaymer
Anthony Kim
Kyung-Tae Kim
Matt Kuchar
Martin Laird
Davis Love III
Hunter Mahan
Graeme McDowell
Rory McIlroy
Phil Mickelson
Matteo Manassero
Edoardo Molinari
Francesco Molinari
Ryan Moore
Kevin Na
Geoff Ogilvy
Louis Oosthuizen
Jeff Overton
Ryan Palmer
Ian Poulter
Alvaro Quiros
Justin Rose
Rory Sabbatini
Charl Schwartzel
Adam Scott
Heath Slocum
Brandt Snedeker
Henrik Stenson
Kevin Streelman
Steve Stricker
David Toms
a-Peter Uihlein
Bo Van Pelt
Camilo Villegas
Nick Watney
Bubba Watson
Lee Westwood
Mark Wilson
Tiger Woods
Y.E. Yang
Visit https://champs.usga.org/EntryForms/usopen_2011.pdf for a full list of exemptions.
About the USGA
The USGA annually conducts the U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open, U.S. Senior Open and 10 national amateur championships. It also conducts two state team championships and helps conduct the Walker Cup Match, Curtis Cup Match and World Amateur Team Championships. Each year, more than 35,000 players representing more than 80 countries submit entries to play in USGA championships.
The USGA’s Course Rating and Handicap systems are used on six continents in more than 50 countries. The USGA writes and administers the Rules of Golf, conducts equipment testing, provides expert course maintenance consultations, and, since 1920, has been a global leader in the development and support of sustainable golf course management practices. It serves as a primary steward for the game’s history, and funds an ongoing “For the Good of the Game” grants program.
For more information about the USGA, visit www.usga.org.
Contact:
Pete Kowalski (pkowalski@usga.org)
Web Address: www.usga.org
USGA Phone: 908-234-2300 ext.1322 (office) 908-216-8435 (cell)
