It was July 2022, a month after the first LIV Golf event in London. The upstart circuit, backed by the Public Investment Fund, had applied for OWGR points. Fast forward to October 2023, and the system denied them the same, citing an inability to accurately judge the league. This, in turn, led to Greg Norman withdrawing the application for backing. Meanwhile, as all of this was happening, the LIV golfers were slowly falling down the rankings, which led to difficulties in qualifying for majors. But it’s not as if all hope is lost, especially for the senior players. Enter the 2025 U.S. Senior Open.
The USGA has decided to bring about a change in the qualifiers for the senior major championship starting from 2025. As per the new rules set by the association, the event will “move to a two-stage qualifying model and adopt modified exemption categories.” This spells as nothing short of good news for the LIV Golf Pros who are aged 50 & above, including the likes of Phil Mickelson (54), Lee Westwood (51), and Richard Bland (51).
USA Today via Reuters
Mar 6, 2021; Orlando, Florida, USA; Lee Westwood hits his tee shot on the first hole during the third round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational golf tournament at Bay Hill Club & Lodge. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports|
The modified framework boasts a similar system to that of the U.S. Open. It will feature 32 local sites and 12 final sites, as opposed to the 2024 model, which had just one stage of qualifying with 33 sites. This year, the USGA accepted a total of 3,019 entries, marking the third-highest total of players in the history of the major.
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The senior championship’s new qualifying system will also reduce the full exemptions that are given to golfers. The winners of the PGA Tour Champions, consequently, will be awarded a one-year exemption instead of 2-3 years. Moreover, it will also align the exemptions awarded as a result of major championship wins. This would include giving 5-year exemptions to the winners of the Senior PGA Championship, The Senior Players Championship, and the Tradition.
That’s not all. Local exemptions have also been established to recognize accolades at the senior, amateur, and professional levels. They will be awarded to “past PGA Tour Champions winners, top finishers in the Charles Schwab Cup standings, top finishers in senior major championships, winners of state senior opens and state senior amateur championships,” not to mention golfers belonging to a certain World Amateur Golf Ranking senior age-filtered category. Such a piece of news would especially be wonderful for someone like Bland, who just won his first KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship.
Richard Bland’s first major win and the U.S. Senior Open exemption
The professional got into the field at the 2024 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship owing to his 2021 British Masters victory. His debut at the major led to a scintillating victory that came from a score of 17-under over four days of play. He carded a total of 21 birdies, 2 eagles, and 9 bogeys to register figures of 64-66-74-63 to win his first major.
The victory earned him an exemption into the 2024 U.S. Senior Open, which will tee off at Newport Country Club on June 27. Now, with the new rules that have been set by the USGA, the LIV Golf Pro will be able to play in the upcoming major through 2029 till his 5-year exemption runs out. It appears the golfer will once again need to celebrate his major win, just like he did back in May!