Majors Value Meter: U.S. Open Rankings

Below are RotoWire's rankings for the 120th U.S. Open, which begins Sept. 17 at historic Winged Foot Golf Club just north of New York City. This list is geared toward winner-take-all leagues and leagues that reward the lowest aggregate score, but it can serve all other leagues and for DFS purposes as well.

The field was compiled differently this year because of the pandemic. There was no qualifying, so the list of 144 golfers teeing it up for the year's third major was determined through a series of exemption categories. 

Most of the top golfers in the world are entered. Exemptions were granted to:

• The top 70 in the Official World Golf Ranking as of March 15.
• The 10 European Tour players who finished best combined on the first five events of the UK Swing, which began once the Tour resumed after the pandemic.
• 10 Korn Ferry players -- five via regular season and five from the playoffs).
• 13 amateurs, including the top seven in the world amateur rankings on Aug. 19)
• Three top-ranked club pros.

The USGA used the OWGR as needed to round out the rest of the field.

This will be Winged Foot's sixth U.S. Open, and first since 2006. The winning score in 2006 was Geoff Ogilvy's 5-over-par and in 1974 it was the 7-over carded by Hale Irwin won). Those are two of the highest winning scores in major championship history. In between, Fuzzy Zoeller won the 1994 Open at Winged Foot at 7-under-par and the 1997 PGA Championship was won there by Davis Love III at 11-under.

Fifteen golfers who were in the field in 2006 will be at Winged Foot again, including co-runner-up Phil Mickelson, who will always rue the way he played the 18th hole that Sunday, costing him the title and, as it turns out, the career grand slam. Tiger Woods missed the cut and for many years it was his lone missed cut at the U.S. Open.

Winged Foot's West course, designed by famed course architect A. W. Tillinghast -- who also drew up Bethpage and Baltusrol, is a par-70 measuring 7,477 yards. So it's another U.S. Open behemoth.

These rankings were posted before the completion of the PGA Tour's Safeway Open and the European Tour's Portugal Masters.

The golfers are listed in one of the following categories: Favorites, Contenders, Making the Cut, Borderline and Long Shots. The amateurs and club pros are listed separately at the end, except for any top amateurs listed higher.

FAVORITES

1) Dustin Johnson
Despite his record in majors, he simply has to go first. He finished 2-1-2-1 in his final four tournaments of the season and recaptured the No. 1 ranking in the world. One of those runners-up was at the PGA Championship. This will be his 13th U.S. Open. In his past six, he has a win, a second, a third and a fourth. He tied for 35th last year at Pebble Beach.

2) Jon Rahm
His major record is improving rapidly. He tied for 13th at the PGA Championship. He's been top-10 at the past two Masters. After missing the cut at the U.S. Open in 2017-18, he tied for third last year at Pebble Beach. He won twice after the restart, including the BMW Championship, the biggest title of his career.

3) Justin Thomas
This will be his sixth U.S. Open and it's a little hard to believe he's never done better than a tie for ninth -- at Erin Hills in 2017. He tied for 25th at Shinnecock Hills in 2018 and missed the cut last year at Pebble Beach. He also tied for 37th at last month's PGA. But his track record has to be viewed as nothing more than coincidence at this point. After all, he won the PGA Championship back in 2017 and was a three-time winner on Tour this past season.

4) Xander Schauffele
In three career U.S. Opens, he's gone T5-T6-T3. That's pretty good, right? He tied for 10th at the PGA Championship last month. And he's just coming off his second straight runner-up at the Tour Championship. Nobody gets consistently closer to the winner's circle in big events than Schauffele. But at some point, he has to win one, right? Right?

5) Collin Morikawa
Going by what he did in his last major, he could do pretty well. The 23-year-old stunningly won the PGA Championship last month and zoomed all the way into the top 5 in the world rankings. That followed up a win at the Workday Charity Open. There was a little regression after Harding Park: a missed cut and T20 in the first two playoff events, but that was to be expected. He rebounded with a solo sixth at the TOUR Championship. Morikawa had to go through qualifying for last year's Open and tied for 35th.

6) Bryson DeChambeau
He's never done better than a tie for 15th in five Opens; last year, he tied for 35th at Pebble Beach. He's coming off his best major finish ever, a tie for fourth at the PGA last month. It was his only high finish in his final six events of the season, including the TOUR Championship, but that shouldn't be too much of a concern.

7) Webb Simpson
His one major title came in the U.S. Open at the Olympic Club in 2012. He's missed only one Open cut in nine starts, which have included a T16 last year at Pebble Beach and a T10 the year before at Shinnecock Hills. Simpson won twice on Tour this past season, then notched a pair of top-6s at the Wyndham and Northern Trust in advance of the TOUR Championship (T12).

8) Tony Finau
He has played in four Opens and it's been all or nothing: T14-MC-5-MC, including an MC last year at Pebble Beach.  He was on fire at season's end, with three top-5s in his last five events before the TOUR Championship (solo 17th). That's a perfect example of Finau so often being in the conversation at the end, but never getting the last word.

9) Rory McIlroy
He finished a rather ordinary final three months of the 2019-20 season with a tie for eighth at the TOUR Championship. He looked pretty pedestrian throughout the restart. He just became a father for the first time, and that could be part of the equation. This will be his 12th U.S. Open. Outside of his win at Congressional, he's been … pretty bad. In the last five years, he has three missed cuts and two T9s, one of which came last year at Pebble.

10) Scottie Scheffler

Scheffler tested positive for COVID-19 and will not participate in the U.S. Open.

He is only 24 yet this will be his fourth U.S. Open. His only made cut was a tie for 27th at Erin Hills in 2017. But he is coming off a breakthrough season, one that likely will result in him winning the Rookie of the Year Award. He went to the TOUR Championship riding five straight top-25s, including back-to-back T4s at the PGA and Northern Trust, and he notched another top-5 at East Lake.

CONTENDERS

11) Patrick Cantlay
He stunningly did not qualify for the TOUR Championship, though it was in part because he didn't play in many tournaments, only 12 all season. He did tie for 12th at the BMW but he needed better to get to Atlanta. This will be his fifth Open, having never missed a cut with a best of T21, done twice – in 2011 at Congressional and last year at Pebble Beach.

12) Tyrrell Hatton
The Englishman won Bay Hill right before the shutdown, then recorded top-5s in his first two events after the restart. He didn't keep that pace going, missing the cut at the PGA, but he recorded top-25s at the first two playoff events in advance of a solo seventh in his first TOUR Championship. This will be his fourth Open; he tied for 21st last year at Pebble Beach and for sixth the year before at Shinnecock Hills.

13) Adam Scott
He was one of the last big names to resume play after the shutdown. His first event back was the PGA, and he impressively tied for 22nd. He then notched a second top-25 at the BMW, but his season ended there. He is now 40 and this will be his 19th Open. He's had much success, including a tie for seventh last year at Pebble Beach. His best was a T4 in 2015 at Chambers Bay, and he had another top-10 and three more top-25s through the years, including a T21 at Winged Foot in 2006.

14) Patrick Reed
This will be his seventh U.S. Open start, having made six cuts with three top-15s, the best being a solo fourth at Shinnecock Hills two years ago. He also tied for 32nd last year at Pebble Beach. Reed tied for 13th at the PGA last month, but stumbled through the first two playoff events before tying for eighth at the TOUR Championship.

15) Daniel Berger
He was one of the biggest stories in golf after the restart, winning at Colonial and adding a runner-up and two thirds. And he also was among the hottest players heading into the stoppage. Berger may not be in the Masters in November, so this it for his major season. This will be his sixth Open. He's made four cuts with one top-25 that was a whole lot better -- a T6 at Shinnecock Hills two years ago.

16) Matthew Fitzpatrick
At 26, this will be his sixth Open. He's yet to miss a cut and carded twin T12s the past two years on two very different tracks, Shinnecock Hills and Pebble Beach. He cracked the top 20 in the OWGR for the first time after the restart thanks to three top-6s – at the Memorial, the WGC-FedEx and the BMW. 

17) Hideki Matsuyama
He has played really well across seven career U.S. Opens, five of them being top-25s, including the past two years. But the year before, in 2017, he tied for second at Erin Hills. Matsuyama came on strong at the end of the season, with top-25s at the WGC-FedEx and the PGA, and a T3 at the BMW to qualify for the TOUR Championship (T15).

18) Jason Day
He ripped off four straight top-10s during the restart, highlighted by a T4 at the PGA. But he ran out of gas in the playoffs and missed the TOUR Championship. This will be his 10th Open, and he has an impressive record: a pair of runners-up and three other top-10s. He missed Open cuts for the first time in 2017 and '18 before tying for 21st last year at Pebble Beach.

19) Louis Oosthuizen
The 37-year-old rides five straight U.S. Open top-25sinto Winged Foot, including T7 last year, T16 the year before and a co-runner-up at Chambers Bay in 2015. He played pretty well in the latter stages of the restart, with a T6 at the WGC-FedEx and top-25s at the first two playoff events, but that wasn't enough to get him to Atlanta.

20) Matthew Wolff
This will be the 21-year-old's second major after tying for fourth last month at the PGA. He climbed to 35th in the world after a top-20 at the BMW Championship but it wasn't quite enough to get him into the TOUR Championship. He had three other top-25s down the stretch, including a runner-up at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

21) Justin Rose
He is now 40 and, while he can still bring it from time to time – top-10 at the PGA last month – it's no longer automatic. That said, he tied for third last year at Pebble Beach and for 10th the year before at Shinnecock Hills. And of course he won in 2013 at Merion. But last month, he didn't advance past the first playoff event.

22) Gary Woodland
The defending champion! He had never so much as finished in the top-20 in eight Opens before breaking through for his first major title at Pebble Beach. Woodland was not especially sharp after the restart, with lukewarm finishes at the WGC-FedEx, the PGA and two playoff events to surprisingly fall short of the TOUR Championship.

23) Paul Casey
He is one of the 15 guys in the field to have played Winged Foot in 2006 – he tied for 15th that year, the first of his four top-25s across 16 career U.S. Opens. Two of the others came the past two years, a T21 at Pebble Beach and a T16 at Shinnecock Hills. At last month's PGA, Casey tied for second, but that was his only top-10 in a disappointing season that saw him fall short of the TOUR Championship.

24) Tiger Woods
Always one of the hardest paragraphs to write in these major rankings. He looked quite mortal in limited play after the restart and is close to slipping out of the top 20 of the OWGR. His T37 at the PGA was his best finish in four summer starts. This will be his 22nd Open. It's been 12 years since the last of his three wins. After missing the cut in 2015 and 2018 (he skipped 2016-17), Woods tied for 21st last year at one of his favorite tracks, Pebble Beach. Those two MCs are the only ones in his long U.S. Open career – other than at Winged Foot in 2006.

25) Tommy Fleetwood
The Englishman finished solo fourth in 2017 at Erin Hills and runner-up the next year at Shinnecock Hills. This will be his fifth Open, and he's yet to miss a cut. He doesn't arrive with the best form, however. He came to the States well into the restart and played five events, with his best finish a T29 at the PGA. After his season ended at the Northern Trust, he returned to Europe and played in the Portugal Masters the week before this major.

26) Brendon Todd
The beginnings of Todd's reemergence on Tour may have begun at U.S. Open qualifying a year ago, when he was the medalist at Dallas. He subsequently missed the cut at Pebble, but he's won twice since then and has soared up the world rankings. This will be his fourth U.S. Open. He tied for 17th at Pinehurst No. 2 in 2014, the same place he finished at last month's PGA Championship.

27) Shane Lowry
This will be the Irishman's eighth U.S. Open. He has a pair of top-10s, including an agonizing co-runner-up in 2016 at Oakmont after he closed with a 76. He tied for 28th last year at Pebble Beach. The (still) reigning Champion Golfer of the Year came stateside after the restart and was so-so other than a tie for sixth at the WGC-FedEx. He tied for 66th at the PGA. He was the top-ranked golfer in the field at the Safeway Open.

28) Viktor Hovland
This will be his second U.S. Open, and his first couldn't have gone much better, as he tied for 12th at Pebble Beach to win low-amateur honors. He made it to the TOUR Championship (T20) and along the way picked up his first PGA Tour title (Puerto Rico Open), but he seemed to tire as the season wound down. He notched only one top-25 in his final five events before East Lake. And the top-25 there doesn't really count.

29) Lee Westwood
This will be the 47-year-old's 19th U.S. Open but first since 2017. He's missed only three Open cuts and finished as high as third (twice), lastly in 2011 at Congressional. He bypassed the WGC-FedEx and PGA last month, instead staying in Europe to play. He got progressively better every week, from 70th to T34 to T17 to a tie for 10th two weeks ago at the Andalucia Masters. He is still ranked in the top 50 of the OWGR, and is also still looking for his first major championship. This will be his 83rd major appearance, four shy of Jay Haas' record for most majors played without a win.

30) Sungjae Im
Something happened to Im after the restart, and it wasn't great. He managed a couple of top-10s but he missed the cut at the PGA and couldn't crack the top-30 in his other nine starts leading up to the TOUR Championship. He showed flashes at East Lake but wound up 11th. This will be only his second U.S. Open after he missed the cut in 2018 at Shinnecock Hills.

MAKING THE CUT

31) Abraham Ancer
He broke through into the top 25 of the OWGR for the first time with a runner-up at the RBC Heritage, but couldn't generate a top-30 in the PGA or the first two playoff events before playing at the TOUR Championship (T18). This will be just his second Open after tying for 49th last year at Pebble Beach.

32) Phil Mickelson
This will be one of the big story lines of the week – Mickelson's return to Winged Foot, site of his biggest on-course brain lock, one that likely cost him the career grand slam. That was the fourth of six agonizing Open runners-up for Mickelson, who is now set for this 29th Open. Since his most recent T2 at Merion in 2013, he has yet to notch a top-25, though he has made four out of five cuts. After a runner-up at the WGC-FedEx last month, he won his Champions Tour debut and then played in the Safeway Open.

33) Harris English
After a terrific bounce-back season that carried him all the way to East Lake (T12), he is in his fifth U.S. Open. He has yet to miss a cut, though he's never finished in the top-35. But he's playing far better now than he was at any those times. He ended up in the top-20 last month at the PGA.

34) Henrik Stenson
The 44-year-old is set for his 14th Open, and he's finished in the top-10 the past two years – part of a resume that includes six top-25s and four top-10s, with a best of T4 at Pinehurst No. 2 in 2014. He tied for 26th at Winged Foot in 2006. He's played only twice since the restart, tying for 35th at the WGC-FedEx and missing the cut at the PGA. He's fallen to 40th in the OWGR.

35) Rickie Fowler
He really took a slide this year, now ranked 38th in the OWGR and he didn't even reach the second playoff event. He missed four out of eight cuts after the restart, including at the PGA. He's now 31 and this will be his 12th Open. He tied for 43rd last year after a T20 in 2018 and a T5 at Erin Hills in 2017.

36) Matt Kuchar
He is 44 now and didn't make it to the TOUR Championship, but his recent U.S. Open results remain impressive. He has finished top-20 in four of the past six years, including a T16 last year at Pebble Beach. This will be his 18th overall, one of which was a missed cut at Winged Foot in 2006. Kuchar won in Singapore in January and was runner-up at Riviera, but otherwise doesn't have another top-10 in 2020. He just fell out of the top 25 of the OWGR for the first time in 20 months.

37) Mackenzie Hughes
He had a huge restart, vaulting him inside the top 70 in the OWGR for the first time and to both East Lake (solo 14th) and Winged Foot. He's been in two U.S. Opens (2013 and 2018) and missed both cuts. But he's seemingly a different player now after a T3 at the Travelers, a T6 at the Memorial and top-15s in all three playoff events. He's up to 57th OWGR.

38) Kevin Kisner
He is 36 but this will be just his seventh U.S. Open. His best was a tie for 12th in 2015 at Chambers Bay and he's never come close to that in four subsequent Opens, including a tie for 49th last year at Pebble. He turned a terrible start to the 2019-20 season into a strong finish, with three top-5s and more three top-25s in his final seven events, pushing him all the way to Atlanta for the TOUR Championship (solo 23rd).

39) Cameron Champ
He has played in three majors, including a tie for 10th at the PGA last month and for 32nd at the 2017 Open at Erin Hills. His extreme length definitely helps. He tied for 24th at the TOUR Championship and then made the smart move by choosing not to defend his title at the Safeway Open.

40) Joaquin Niemann
This will be his second U.S. Open; his first was in 2017, when he was only 18. He missed the cut. Niemann is coming off his first TOUR Championship (T27), having finished tied for third at the BMW Championship to qualify at the last possible moment. It was his second-best finish of the season, and the best one came way back in September when he won the 2019-20 season-opener at the Greenbrier.

41) Kevin Na
He was up-and-down after the restart, notching a pair of top-10s but nothing else inside the top-30, including a missed cut at the PGA. Still, he made it to the TOUR Championship (T27). This will be his ninth Open, and his best were a T7 at Oakmont in 2016 and a T12 at Pinehurst No. 2 in 2014. He missed the cut last year at Pebble Beach.

42) Erik van Rooyen
The 30-year-old South African is back for his second U.S. Open, after tying for 43rd last year at Pebble Beach. Last month, he tied for 20th at the WGC-FedEx and for 51st at the PGA. He had two other top-25s earlier in the restart, then was one of the few top-50 OWGR golfers to play in the Safeway Open.

43) Sergio Garcia
Hard to believe, but this will be Garcia's 21st U.S. Open, having begun in 2000 at Pebble Beach. He's missed only three cuts through the years, one of them being Winged Foot in 2006. Since winning the Masters in 2016, he has missed eight cuts in 12 major starts, without a top-20. Again, that's hard to believe. He was making a final tuneup at the Safeway Open.

44) Jason Kokrak
He came on like gangbusters at the end of the season – T15 at the Wyndham, T13 at the Northern Trust and T6 at the BMW – but it wasn't enough to reach the TOUR Championship for the second straight year.  This will be his fourth U.S. Open. He made the cut in the 2016 and 2017 without a high finish and missed the cut in 2007. He is ranked 55th in the OWGR.

45) Byeong Hun An
He played well down the stretch of the season, tying for 12th at both the WGC-FedEx and the BMW, sandwiching a top-25 at the PGA. But his bid for East Lake came up short, again. This will be his seventh Open. He tied for 16th last year at Pebble Beach and for 23rd four years ago at Oakmont.

46) Billy Horschel
He's made the cut five times in seven U.S. Opens, three of those consecutive top-25s. But that was in 2013-15, with the first one at Merion by far his best, a tie for fourth. His first Open was at Winged Foot in 2006 and he missed the cut. Horschel had a couple of top-10s after the restart at the Workday Charity Open and the Wyndham, but was just mediocre at the PGA (T43) and the playoffs, and he finished last at the TOUR Championship.

47) Martin Kaymer
Kaymer will be in his 14th Open thanks to his runaway eight-stroke win at Pinehurst No. 2 in 2014. He came stateside over the summer but missed the cut at both the Barracuda (really?) and PGA. He was playing quite well in Europe before the stoppage and then continued after the restart. He tied for third at the UK Championship and was runner-up at the Andalucia Masters just two weeks ago, lifting him from the 120s OWGR back to 88th.

48) Cameron Smith
The Aussie won the Sony Open back in January for his maiden Tour win. He tied for third at the CJ Cup last fall. And that was basically his entire season until he put together a pair of top-20s in the first two playoffs events to reach Atlanta (T24). He enters his fifth U.S. Open ranked 49th OWGR. He's never come close to matching the T4 in his Open debut at Chambers Bay in 2015.

49) Ian Poulter
The 44-year-old fell out of the top-50 OWGR during 2020, when he managed only one worldwide top-10, a tie for fifth at the Workday Charity Open. And now he's almost into the 60s, currently ranked 59th. This will be his 15th U.S. Open, and he's never had so much as a top-10, but he came close at Winged Foot in 2006 with a tie for 12th. He had made five straight cuts with three top-25s until missing the cut last year at Pebble Beach.

50) Jordan Spieth
The days of ranking him high because he's Jordan Spieth are over. His U.S. Open win came at Chambers Bay in 2015 (thanks largely to one of Dustin Johnson's oh-no moments). In the next four Opens, he's gone, in order, T37-T35-MC-T65. Which is pretty much how his career is going the past few years. He had only three top-25s in all of 2020, two of which doubled as top-10s, and has now fallen all the way to 67th OWGR. He tried to find something at the last minute by playing at the Safeway Open.

51) Marc Leishman
He endured perhaps the worst stretch of his recent career after the restart. But he was so good beforehand, with a win at Torrey Pines and a runner-up at Bay Hill, that his place in the TOUR Championship (solo 29th) was never in doubt. He's made five cuts in eight U.S. Opens, with a T18 at Oakmont in 2016 his best. Ordinarily, his ranking here would be much higher, but something was amiss in his game the past few months.

52) Christiaan Bezuidenhout
The South African played eight times in the States before and after the shutdown, notching three top-25s, all in quality events: Bay Hill, the Memorial and the WGC-FedEx. He won the 2019 Andalucia Masters on the European Tour and earlier this year was runner-up at the Dubai Desert Classic. This will be his first U.S. Open after missing the cut at the PGA last month. He was ranked 52nd OWGR.

53) Ryan Palmer
Finishing runner-up at the Memorial not only was a springboard to the TOUR Championship (T24), but it got him into his eighth U.S. Open. The results have not been there, though, as he has missed five cuts with only one top-25, and that was a T21 way back in 2011 at Congressional. Besides the Memorial, he was T15 at the WGC-FedEx and T8 at the Northern Trust. He's ranked 35th OWGR, so this is a significant downgrade.

54) Bernd Wiesberger
The 32nd-ranked Austrian did little in four PGA Tour restart tournaments but returned to Europe to tie for fifth at the UK Championship late last month, then for 31st at the Andalucia Masters two weeks ago. This will be his fifth U.S. Open. He missed his first three cuts before tying for 16th in 2017 at Erin Hills. He was solo 76th last year at Pebble Beach.

55) Brandt Snedeker
He will turn 40 before the end of the year and this will be his 13th. U.S. Open. He's had a great run of eight top-25s and five top-10s through the years, though he's never finished better than 8th. The last two years have been T48 at Shinnecock Hills and solo 77th at Pebble Beach. He had only three top-25s in all of 2020, including a T3 at his beloved Torrey Pines, but he fell to 73rd OWGR before playing in the Safeway Open.

56) Joel Dahmen
He had a terrific finish to the season, tying for 20th at the WGC-FedEx, then 10th at the PGA, then 20th again at the BMW. It wasn't quite enough to get him to East Lake, though. Dahmen made his Open debut last year at Pebble Beach and missed the cut, then did likewise at the Open Championship at Royal Portrush. He obviously was far better at Harding Park. He was in the Safeway Open field for a final tuneup.

57) Matt Wallace
The Englishman took a step back after a breakthrough 2019 that saw him crack the top-25 OWGR. He's now 46th. He was way off his game at the start of 2020 but had some glimmers later on, including a top-5 at the Memorial. After missing the cut at the Wyndham, he returned to Europe and tied for 19th at the UK Championship. This will be his fourth U.S. Open. After missing two cuts, he's tied for 12th last year at Pebble Beach.

58) Chez Reavie
He tied for third last year at Pebble Beach and for 16th in 2017 at Erin Hills. This will be his eighth Open. Reavie put together three straight top-25s in the middle of the restart, highlighted by a T6 at the WGC-FedEx, but wasn't at his best overall down the stretch.

 59) Takumi Kanaya (a)
The top-ranked amateur in the world qualified by being among the top-7 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking on Aug. 19. He is also currently ranked 234th OWGR, having won a tournament on the Japan Tour late last year. He followed that up with a tie for third in the Australian Open. He also made the cut at the 2019 Masters and missed at the 2019 Open Championship. He did not travel from Japan for the U.S. Amateur last month. He just played last week for the first time SINCE DECEMBER and tied for fifth in the Japan Tour's Fujisankei Classic. And, he also just won the 2020 Mark H. McCormack Award as the world's top amateur, which gets him into next year's U.S. Open and Open Championship. But already 22, you'd think turning pro is right around the corner.

60) Zach Johnson
This could be his last U.S. Open. He's 44 and his five-year exemption for winning the 2015 Open Championship expires after Winged Foot. This will be his 17th Open and he's made the cut the past six years. He's missed only five cuts through the years, one of them coming at Winged Foot in 2006. He had dropped outside the top-250 OWGR, but a couple of good finishes after the restart, T11 at the Travelers and T7 at the Wyndham, lifted him inside the top-180.

61) Kevin Streelman
The 41-year-old had a great summer to climb into the top-50 OWGR and qualify for his seventh Open. He was runner-up at the Workday Charity Open and T7 at his beloved Travelers, beginning a stretch of seven straight made cuts to end the season. But he couldn't generate any high finishes at the WGC-FedEx, PGA or two playoff events. He's made four of six cuts in the Open and his best by far was his most recent, tying for 13th at Oakmont in 2016.

62) Brandon Wu
He went through qualifying last year as an amateur and impressively tied for 35th. This year he made the field by finishing first in points during the Korn Ferry playoffs – he won the season-ending Korn Ferry Tour Championship. The former Stanford All-American is ranked just outside the top-200 OWGR.

63) Sam Horsfield

Horsfield tested positive for COVID-19 and will not participate in the U.S. Open.

The 23-year-old Englishman is on the rise, having won two UK Swing events, the Hero Open and the Celtic Classic. That got him the top spot on the European Tour exemption list and he moved up to 84th in the world rankings. This will be his fourth Open and second as a pro; he has yet to make a cut. But that's only a matter of time.

64) Si Woo Kim
He has played in every major since the 2016 PGA – 14 in a row leading up to Winged Foot. His best finishes were a pair of T13s, reached last month at the PGA and in 2017 at the U.S. Open. Kim made nine straight cuts to end the season, four of them top-20s, including T3 at the Wyndham. But his season ended after the Northern Trust. He was ranked 86th OWGR.

65) Graeme McDowell
This is the final year of McDowell's 10-year exemption for winning the 2010 Open at Pebble Beach. But he would've qualified anyway for being inside the top-70 OWGR on March 15. This will be his 15th Open and he's done quite well through the years, including a tie for 16th last year at … Pebble Beach. Be he also was T18 at mighty Oakmont four years ago. And he made the cut at Winged Foot in 2006 (T48) McDowell made only two cuts in eight starts after the restart and sits 63rd OWGR.

BORDERLINE

66) Robert MacIntyre
The 24-year-old Scot will be making his U.S. Open debut. He came over for the WGC-FedEx and PGA but didn't crack the top-50 either week. He returned to Europe and had a top-25 at the Andalucia Masters two weeks ago. He made his major debut last summer at the Open Championship and tied for sixth. He's now ranked 87th OWGR after peaking in the 60s.

67) Lucas Herbert
The 24-year-old Australian is set for his second U.S. Open, having missed the cut at Shinnecock Hills two years ago. Earlier this year, he won his first European Tour event, the Dubai Desert Classic, in a playoff over Christiaan Bezuidenhout. He tied for 49th at the WGC-FedEx before missing the cut at the PGA. He is ranked 79th OWGR.

68) Will Zalatoris
The best player on the Korn Ferry Tour this past season qualified for his second U.S. Open (missed cut, 2018). In 15 Korn Ferry starts, he had nine top-10s and 13 top-25s. He had a win and five other top-5s. At 143rd in the OWGR, he's ranked higher than many familiar names on the PGA Tour.

69) Adam Hadwin
He tied for fourth at the Rocket Mortgage in July, but otherwise didn't sniff the top-30 in any of his eight other tournaments to finish the season, including the PGA (T51). This will be his fifth U.S. Open and his best was his first, a tie for 39th back in 2011 at Congressional.

70) Adam Long
He agonizingly missed out on qualifying for the TOUR Championship by less than three points in the season-long FedEx Cup points list. This will be his second U.S. Open – his first was nine years ago at Congressional (MC). He tied for 51st at the PGA last month and is ranked 76th in the OWGR.

71) Rasmus Hojgaard
The 19-year-old Dane has soared to 65th OWGR after a lights-out UK Swing during which he finished first, second, third and sixth, winning the UK Championship. A year ago he was in the 500s OWGR. This will be his first major.

72) Lanto Griffin
He parlayed a strong fall season, including his maiden win at the Houston Open, all the way to the TOUR Championship (T18). But he delivered over the summer as well, with a top-20 at the PGA and a top-10 at the BMW. He was ranked at a personal-best 71st OWGR. This will be his second Open, having missed the cut at Shinnecock two years ago.

73) Danny Willett
Outside of a top-5 at the Rocket Mortgage, Willett played poorly after the restart, missing the cut at the PGA and the Wyndham and failing to qualify for the playoffs. He then returned to Europe and missed another cut there in the UK Championship. He's made three cuts in six prior Opens, with a best of T12 last year. He's ranked 43rd OWGR but not for long at this pace.

74) Bubba Watson
This will be Watson's 14th U.S. Open. He's missed eight cuts, including the past three and five of the past six. His best and only top-15 was a tie for fifth at Oakmont way back in 2007. He closed the season playing decently, with top-25s at the WGC-FedEx and the two playoff events. He's ranked 64th in the OWGR.

75) Sebastian Munoz
He is set to play his fourth career major, having missed the cut at the 2018 U.S. Open and the PGA last month. He rode a great fall season, which included his maiden Tour win at the Sanderson Farms Open, all the way to a terrific TOUR Championship. After the win he had only one more top-10 all season until going back-to-back with twin T8s at the BMW and East Lake. That moved him to a career-best 75th in the OWGR.

76) Thomas Pieters
The Belgian skipped the PGA Championship last month while his wife was pregnant, but he got back in action with two good finishes in Europe on the UK Swing – a tie for third at the Celtic Classic and for 15th at the Wales Open. This will be his third U.S. Open, having missed the cut in 2017 and 2019. He's ranked 77th in the OWGR.

77) Charles Howell III
He is one of the 15 guys in the field who played in the 2006 Open at Winged Foot. He tied for 37th. This will be his 12th Open and third in a row after a six-year absence. He made the cut the past two years, including a tie for 25th at Shinnecock Hills in 2018. He had only one top-40 in eight starts after the restart, a tie for third at the 3M Open. He was ranked 83rd OWGR.

78) Corey Conners
He is one of the best on Tour with a wood or iron in his hands – wedge or putter, not so much. He had four top-25s after the restart, but his lack of a short game usually limits much higher finishes. This will be his second U.S. Open, having missed the cut at Erin Hills in 2017. He also missed the cut last month at the PGA. He was ranked 70th OWGR, off his best of 55th.

79) Alex Noren
He has had little success in seven prior U.S. Opens but arrives having played well of late, with top-10s in three of his past five PGA Tour starts, including the Northern Trust. He's missed five cuts in the seven Opens, with a top-25 two years ago at Shinnecock Hills by far his best showing. He was ranked 90th OWGR.

80) Brian Harman
He began the season and ended it on strong notes, but he was nothing great in the middle. He finished with a pair of top-12s in the two playoff events, once again bringing him near the top-100 OWGR (109th). This will be his fifth U.S. Open, and he came close with a co-runner-up in 2017 at Erin Hills. Otherwise, he's missed two of three cuts.

81) Mike Lorenzo-Vera
The 35-year-old Frenchman has made the cut in three of his five career majors, including the past three PGAs, but this will be his first U.S. Open. This will be his first start since tying for 43rd at Harding Park. He was ranked 81st OWGR.

82) Kurt Kitayama 
Back on March 15, Kitayama was inside the top-70 OWGR to qualify for Winged Foot. He's now around 98th. He played a few times in the States after the restart without any success, then shifted to Europe for similar results. He tied for 51st at the PGA. This will be his first U.S. Open.

83) Matthias Schwab
The Austrian came stateside for the PGA Tour's restart but, other than a tie for third in the opposite-field Barracuda, he did little, including a missed cut at the PGA. He returned to Europe for one tournament (T46, UK Championship) but now is back for his U.S. Open debut, arriving ranked 85th OWGR.

84) Steve Stricker
The oldest player in the field at 53 qualified by winning the 2019 U.S. Senior Open. This will be Stricker's 75th major (non-Champions Tour). His most recent U.S. Opens were in 2017-18 and he finished in the top-20 both times. He tied for sixth at Winged Foot in 2006. He missed the cut at last month's PGA. He still has a world ranking and it's 535th.

85) Rafa Cabrera Bello
This will be the Spaniard's seventh U.S. Open. He's made five cuts but has never finished inside the top-30. He has had a terrible 2020 to date, falling from the low-40s OWGR to 69th and missing the playoffs. He hasn't had a top-10 all year and his last top-25 was three months ago at Colonial.

86) Tom Lewis
The Englishman struggled mightily in trying to make a go of it on the PGA Tour this past season. He had brief success after the restart, including an impressive runner-up at the WGC-FedEx. But he missed the cut at the PGA and the Northern Trust, sandwiching a T51 at the Wyndham. This will be his third U.S. Open, having missed the cut in 2014 and 2018. He was ranked 54th OWGR.

87) Thomas Detry
The 27-year-old Belgian was runner-up in two of the UK Swing events to climb to 80th OWGR, a little off his best of 75th. This will be his first major.

88) Sung Kang
In nine events after the restart, Kang missed five cuts and didn't crack the top-40. Ouch. This will be his third U.S. Open. He tied for 18th four years ago at Oakmont and for 39th in 2011 at Congressional. He was ranked 68th OWGR.

89) Renato Paratore
The 23-year-old Italian won the first event on the UK Swing, the British Masters, to qualify for his second U.S. Open. He missed the cut last year at Pebble Beach. He was ranked 168th OWGR, off his best of 115th. He won his first Euro event, the Nordea Masters, three years ago at age 20.

90) Victor Perez
The Frenchman was trying to make a go of it on the PGA Tour after the restart but with no success – until a top-25 at the PGA. That was his first career major. He then returned to Europe and missed the cut at the UK Championship before a T31 at the Andalucia Masters two weeks ago. He was ranked 53rd OWGR, having been as high as 38th.

LONG SHOTS

91) Danny Lee
He struggled at the beginning of the restart but finished decently with a top-20 at the Northern Trust and a tie for 33rd at the BMW. This will be his third U.S. Open and first since 2016, when he tied for 57th at Oakmont. He was ranked 105th OWGR.

92) Justin Harding
The South African was inside the top-50 OWGR about a year ago but now sits 118th – and that's only after tying for third at the Andalucia Masters two weeks ago. He qualified for the Open via the UK Swing. This will be his second Open, having missed the cut last year at Pebble Beach. But he made the cut in the other three majors in 2019, notably tying for 12th at the Masters.

93) Richy Werenski
He broke through with his maiden PGA Tour win over the summer at the opposite-field Barracuda Championship. His season ended with a tie for 20th at the BMW Championship. This will be his second Open, having missed the cut at Shinnecock Hills two years ago. He was ranked 129th OWGR.

94) Mark Hubbard
He had his best season on Tour, finishing 44th in the point standings. He had a pair of top-20s after the restart, and he didn't miss a cut in 10 tries, though he did WD from one event. He tied for 51st at the PGA in his first career major. He was ranked 130th OWGR heading into the Safeway Open.

95) Ryan Fox
The big-hitting New Zealander will be back for his third straight U.S. Open after qualifying as the 2019 Order of Merit winner on the Australasia Tour. He tied for 41st two years ago at Shinnecock Hills and missed the cut last year at Pebble Beach. This will be his 10th career major; he tied for 19th last year at the Open Championship. He is ranked 164th OWGR and is one of three golfers in the Open field who played in the Portugal Masters the week before Winged Foot.

96) Sami Valimaki
The 22-year-old Finn cracked the top-10 of the UK Swing by finishing sixth and runner-up in two events, lifting him close to the top-100 OWGR. He was ranked 107th. He also won the Oman Open on the European Tour last year. This will be his first major.

97) Keegan Bradley
This will be Bradley's ninth U.S. Open, having made just four of his eight cuts so far. Only one was a top-25, a tie for fourth at Pinehurst No. 2 in 2014. Since winning the 2018 BMW Championship in the playoffs, he has only three worldwide top-10s, none this past season. He doesn't even have a top-25 since January and has fallen to 89th OWGR. He missed the cut at the PGA.

98) J.T. Poston
He missed the cut in 2017 at Erin Hills and tied for 75th at the PGA Championship last month. After opening the restart with consecutive top-10s, Poston tumbled badly, with no top-25s in his next eight events, four of them missed cuts. He was ranked 72nd OWGR.

99) Andy Sullivan
The veteran Englishman moved back inside the top-100 after a very successful UK Swing in which he won the English Championship to go along with a top-5 and a top-10. He's since dropped to 101st. This will be his third U.S. Open. He missed the cut at Chambers Bay in 2015 and tied for 23rd at Oakmont the next year.

100) Ricky Castillo (a)
He qualified via the World Amateur Golf Ranking, being in the top-7 on Aug. 19 (he was second). The Florida All-American, 19, was to be the top-ranked player in last month's U.S. Amateur but withdrew because of COVID concerns. He had severe fatigue but tested negative. Still, he told Golf Channel, he wanted to protect the field. Admirable. He has no OWGR ranking.

101) Jim Herman
The surprise Wyndham winner has played in four previous opens: 2010, 2012-13 and 2016, with two missed cuts and a best of T47 in that first one at Pebble Beach. After the Wyndham, he missed the cut at the Northern Trust and tied for 40th at the BMW. He was ranked 93rd OWGR.

102) Lucas Glover
This is pretty remarkable. The 40-year-old has perhaps the most eye-popping U.S. Open track record in the field. He's made 14 starts and missed 11 cuts – but also has that win in 2009 at Bethpage Black. He hasn't made an Open cut since 2011. He was in the field at Winged Foot in 2006 and, naturally, missed the cut. Glover began the restart with four straight top-25s but suddenly fell apart, missing his final four cuts to tumble to 100th OWGR.

103) Stephan Jaeger
He won the first of the three Korn Ferry playoff events and finished in the top-five in playoff points to qualify for his third U.S. Open. That was his fifth career KF win. He missed the cut in 2015 at Chambers Bay and tied for 60th in 2017 at Erin Hills. He was ranked 285th OWGR.

104) Max Homa
He is set for his fourth career major and second U.S. Open, his first as a pro after playing in 2013 at Merion (MC). He missed the cut last month at the PGA Championship, part of a terrible 10-tournament sequence after the restart other than a tie for third at the 3M Open. He missed six of those 10 cuts and was ranked 78th OWGR.

105) Romain Langasque
The Frenchman is set for his U.S. Open debut after winning one of the events on the UK Swing, the Wales Open. This will be his second major, having tied for 63rd last summer at the Open Championship. He cracked the top-100 OWGR after his win but has now fallen back to 106th.

106) Shugo Imahira
The Japanese star had played only three times all year, none after February, until two weeks ago, when he tied for fifth at the Fujisankei Classic on the Japan Tour. He has fallen from 31st OWGR at the start of 2020 to 62nd now. He skipped the WGC-FedEx and PGA over COVID concerns, but he has decided to come to New York for the Open. He played the Open in 2017 and 2019 and missed both cuts. Among his early-season events, he missed the cut at the Sony Open and tied for 61st at the WGC-Mexico.

107) Eddie Pepperell
He was inside the top-70 OWGR at the March cutoff point to qualify for his third U.S. Open, but now he's plummeted to 124th. He's played only eight tournaments all year (four since the restart) with three missed cuts, a WD and even a DQ. Pepperell tied for 16th in 2017 at Erin Hills, his most recent Open.

108) Connor Syme
The 25-year-old Scotsman finished ninth in points on the UK Swing to qualify for his first U.S. Open and third major. He actually comes in on a roll, with top-10s in his past three European Tour starts, including a tie for eighth two weeks ago at the Andalucia Masters. He was ranked 205th OWGR.

109) Davis Riley
He won twice on the Korn Ferry Tour this season to finish second in regular-season points, thus qualifying for his second U.S. Open. He missed the cut as an amateur in 2015. As a point of reference, he lost to Scottie Scheffler in the finals of the 2013 U.S. Junior Amateur. He was ranked 166th OWGR.

110) Dan McCarthy
The 35-year-old had two podium finishes during the three-event Korn Ferry playoffs and finished fifth in points to qualify for his second U.S. Open. He won a KF event last year and is ranked 343rd OWGR. He played in the Open 10 years ago at Pebble Beach and missed the cut.

111) Shaun Norris
The South African was ranked 60th OWGR on March 15 to qualify for his first U.S. Open but now has fallen to 82nd. He came stateside for the WGC-FedEx (T75) and the PGA (MC). Those are his only two starts since the restart.

112) Ryo Ishikawa
Still only 28, this will be Ishikawa's 22nd major and fifth U.S. Open, first since 2015. He qualified by finishing in the top two on the Japan Tour in 2019. He's made only eight of 21 cuts in majors and missed last month at the PGA. His best U.S. Open was a tie for 30th in 2011. He was ranked 116th OWGR.

113) Scott Hend
The 47-year-old Aussie won the 2019 Order of Merit on the Asian Tour to qualify. This will be his fourth U.S. Open and his best happened to be in 2006 at Winged Foot, where he tied for 32nd. He is ranked 332nd OWGR.

114) Michael Thompson
This will be his fourth U.S. Open and how many people remember he once finished as a runner-up? It was to Webb Simpson at the Olympic Club in 2012. He also was T29 at Torrey Pines in 2008 but hasn't been back since a missed cut at Merion in 2013. He won the 3M Open over the summer before missing the cut at the PGA. He was ranked 112th OWGR.

115) Jazz Janewattananond
The 24-year-old Thai is no stranger to majors but this will be his first U.S. Open. He just missed the cut at the PGA, a year after tying for 14th. He played five events stateside after the restart and made only one cut – in the no-cut WGC-FedEx (T59). He was ranked 61st OWGR.

116) Andrew Putnam
He began 2020 inside the top-50 OWGR but is now 117th, having missed the cut in nine of his 12 starts on the year. But he was in the top-70 on March 15, so here he is. This will be his third Open; he tied for 43rd last year at Pebble Beach.

117) Chan Kim
The American playing mostly in Japan qualified by being in the top-70 OWGR on March 15 but has now fallen to 92nd. His only start after the restart was a missed cut at the PGA. This will be his third U.S. Open, having missed the cut in 2017 and 2019. He tied for 11th at the 2017 Open Championship.

118) Tyler Duncan
He is set for his third U.S. Open, getting in among the final wave to fill out the 144-man field. He's made one of his two cuts, and also MCed at the PGA last month. He was the surprise RSM Classic winner last fall. Since then, he had only two top-25s, though one of them was at the Wyndham before advancing to two playoff events. He was ranked 150th OWGR.

119) Matt Jones
In four previous U.S. Opens, the 40-year-old Aussie has three missed cuts, including 2018-19, and also has a WD. He played a full schedule after the restart with a best of T14 at the Workday Charity Open before concluding his season with a T69 at the Northern Trust. He was ranked 94th OWGR.

120) Troy Merritt
This will be the 34-year-old's second Open after missing the cut at Erin Hills in 2017. He missed the cut at the PGA last month but otherwise had two top-10s during the restart, including runner-up at the opposite-field Barracuda Championship. He was ranked 128th OWGR.

121) JC Ritchie
He won the 2019 Order of Merit on the Sunshine Tour (South Africa) to qualify. This will be the 26-year-old's first major and he's ranked 157th OWGR after missing four cuts in four starts on the UK Swing.

122) Adrian Otaegui
The Spaniard finished eighth in points on the UK Swing, thanks to a runner-up at the English Championship. He has two European Tour wins, lastly in 2018. This will be his fourth major and first U.S. Open. He was ranked 223rd OWGR.

123) Curtis Luck
He won the Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship to finish in the top-five during the three-event Korn Ferry playoffs to qualify for his first U.S. Open. He had qualified as an amateur in 2017 but gave up his spot to turn pro after finishing 46th in the Masters. He is ranked 372nd OWGR.

124) Jimmy Walker
Walker is still living off his out-of-nowhere win at the 2016 PGA Championship. He's now ranked 339th OWGR. He made only one of his six cuts after the restart, and it wasn't in the PGA. This will be the 41-year-old's ninth U.S, Open. He's missed the cut three of the past four years. His best is a T9 in 2014 at Pinehurst No. 2.

125) Paul Barjon
The Frenchman finished fifth on the Korn Ferry regular-season points list to qualify for his first U.S. Open. He's a three-time winner in Canada and was ranked 175th OWGR.

126) Chesson Hadley
Hadley qualified via a top-10 in last year's Open, and it's a good thing he did. That was his last top-10 anywhere, and he's fallen not only outside the top-100 but the top-200 OWGR (227th) before playing in the Safeway Open. He didn't qualify for last month's PGA. His only other Open was a missed cut at Shinnecock Hills in 2018.

127) Paul Waring
He was the very lucky last man in when Brooks Koepka withdrew, based on his world ranking of 91st. The Englishman is 35 years old yet has played in only five career majors, four of them Open Championships, including a T63 last year at Royal Portrush. He also missed the cut in the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills. He played two times since the restart, one of them a top-20, before honoring his commitment to the Portugal Masters. Incredibly, it took Waring 200 events for his first and only European Tour win, at the 2018 Nordea Masters, and it took him more than 12 years to crack the top-100 OWGR for the first time, in 2019. 

128) Greyson Sigg
He qualified by finishing in the top-five overall during the three-event Korn Ferry playoffs. He was runner-up to Brandon Wu in the season-ending Korn Ferry Tour Championship. This will be his U.S. Open debut and he was ranked 249th OWGR.

129) Lee Hodges
He won a Korn Ferry Tour event last month to jump to third on the regular-season points list and qualify for his first U.S. Open. He was ranked 244th OWGR. 

130) Taylor Pendrith
He finished fourth on the Korn Ferry regular-season points list to qualify for his first U.S. Open. He's won twice in Canada and was ranked 160th OWGR.

REMAINING AMATEURS

Listed alphabetically

131) John Augenstein (a)
He qualified as the 2019 U.S. Amateur runner-up. The All-American at Vanderbilt will return to school, granted another year of eligibility because of the pandemic.

132) Cole Hammer (a)
He was the youngest U.S. Open competitor ever when he played Chambers Bay in 2015 at 15 years and 9 months (MC). He qualified this time by winning the 2019 Mark H. McCormack Medal as the top amateur in the world. He is now 21 and attends Texas.

133) Lukas Michel (a)
The Australian won the 2019 U.S. Mid-Amateur to qualify. He is 26 years old.

134) Andy Ogletree (a)
The Georgia Tech grad won the 2019 U.S. Amateur to qualify. He was on the 2019 Walker Cup team.

135) John Pak (a)
He plays at Florida State and was on the 2019 Walker Cup team. He qualified via the World Amateur Golf Ranking, being in the top-7 on Aug. 19 (he was seventh).

136) Eduard Rousaud (a)
He qualified via the World Amateur Golf Ranking, being in the top-7 on Aug. 19 (he was fifth). The Spaniard was a 2019 Junior Ryder Cupper.

137) Sandy Scott (a)
He qualified via the World Amateur Golf Ranking, being in the top-7 on Aug. 19 (he was sixth). The Scotsman was on the 2019 Walker Cup team and is an All-American at Texas Tech.

138) Preston Summerhays (a)
The 18-year-old was the 2019 U.S. Junior Amateur champion. He has committed to Arizona State. He is part of the Summerhays golf family (his uncle is Daniel Summerhays).

139) James Sugrue (a)
The Irishman won The Amateur Championship in 2019 to qualify. It also got him into the Open Championship last year (MC).

140) Davis Thompson (a)
He qualified via the World Amateur Golf Ranking, being in the top-7 on Aug. 19 (he was fourth). He is a Georgia All-American. He has played in two PGA Tour events. He tied for 23rd (!) at last year's RSM Classic and missed the cut at the Puerto Rico Open earlier this year.

141) Chun An Yu (a)
He qualified via the World Amateur Golf Ranking, being in the top-7 on Aug. 19 (he was third). But this will be the Arizona State Sun Devil's third U.S. Open, having missed both cuts. He tied for fifth at the Australian Open last year and missed the cut at Bay Hill earlier this year on a sponsor invite.

CLUB PROS

Listed alphabetically

142) Danny Balin (c)
Balin has played seven PGA Championships (seven MCs), but this will be his first U.S. Open, near his home club of Fresh Meadow in Lake Success, N.Y. He qualified by being among the top three in the 2019 PGA Professional Player of the Year standings.

143) Marty Jertson (c)
Jertson has played in four PGA Championships, and made the cut in 2019 at nearby Bethpage Black. This will be his first U.S. Open. He qualified by being among the top three in the 2019 PGA Professional Player of the Year standings. He is the director of product development for Ping.

144) Ryan Vermeer (c)
Vermeer, who plays out of Happy Hollow Club in Nebraska, missed the cut last month at the PGA. This will be his first U.S. Open. He qualified by being among the top three in the 2019 PGA Professional Player of the Year standings.