When J.J. Spaun was defeated in a playoff by Rory McIlroy at THE PLAYERS Championship, he missed out on so much more than the victory in the PGA TOUR’s flagship event.

This is no longer an issue. Take that, Oakmont!

In one of the most memorable conclusions of a major in history, Spaun emerged with victory at the 125th U.S. Open. He buried a birdie at the last hole from outside 64 feet to win by two. Not insignificantly, at 1-under 279 for the tournament, he was the only to finish in red numbers at Oakmont Country Club, thus proving the theory that anyone who beats par on arguably the toughest test to host the tournament likely will prevail.

This is Spaun’s second career PGA TOUR win to go with the 2022 Valero Texas Open, and he’s the first to break through in a major since Xander Schauffele took the first of his two titles in the series last year at the PGA Championship.

Spaun is now exempt into the U.S. Open through his age-44 season of 2035. He’s also exempt into The Open Championship through 2029 and both the Masters and the PGA Championship through 2030. Beginning immediately, he’ll rise into Category 1 of the PGA TOUR Priority Ranking, where he will reside through at least 2030.

For the record, the win also guarantees entry into all remaining Signature Events this season, but only this week’s Travelers Championship is left to be contested and he’s exempt via the Aon Next 10, anyway.

The bevy of consolation prizes for the five others who finished inside the top four at Oakmont includes a Masters exemption in 2026. Therefore, Robert MacIntyre (second), Viktor Hovland (third), Tyrrell Hatton (T4), Carlos Ortiz (T4) and Cameron Young (T4) are now exempt into the first major next year.

Additionally, all inside the top 10 are exempt for the 2026 U.S. open at Shinnecock Hills. Among the additional five inside this bubble who aren’t already eligible are Sam Burns (T7), Ben Griffin (T10) and Russell Henley (T10).

With only The Open Championship still on the docket this year, all of the focus on this page concerns it until its field of 156 is set. The next exemption is reserved for the winner of this week’s The Amateur Championship held at Royal St. George’s and Royal Cinque Ports in England, as long as he retains amateur eligibility. It’s scheduled to conclude on Saturday, June 21.

NOTE: Until all methods of entry are released by the governing bodies, traditional criteria are used to determine qualifiers. Refer to remaining qualifying criteria at the bottom of the page for details.

SE = All Signature Events
OPEN = The Open Championship

Recent additions

SE -- J.J. Spaun
OPEN -- none

NOTE: Golfers are omitted if they recently haven’t competed in majors for which they are eligible (e.g., The Open Championship = David Duval, Paul Lawrie).

Remaining qualifying criteria

Criteria are listed in chronological order where possible. Best estimates are given but all are subject to change.

Signature Events

• Travelers Championship (June 19-22)

The Open Championship (OPEN) at Royal Portrush: July 17-20

• Winner of The Amateur Championship, if still an amateur (June 21).
• Top five, not otherwise exempt, inside the top 20 in the FedExCup at the conclusion of the Travelers Championship (June 22).
• Winner of the European Amateur Championship, if still an amateur (June 28).
• Leader in World Amateur Golf Ranking points accumulated at the St. Andrews Links Trophy (June 8), British Amateur (June 21) and European Amateur Championship, if still an amateur (June 28).
• Top two, not otherwise exempt, who make the cut at the Italian Open (June 29).
• Leader, not otherwise exempt, in the Top 5 of the LIV Golf Individual Season Standings (June 30).
• Final Qualifying. Top four at each of four sites: Burnham & Berrow, Dundonald Links, Royal Cinque Ports, West Lancashire (July 1).
• Top five, not otherwise exempt, inside the top 20 in the Race to Dubai at the conclusion of the BMW International Open (July 6).
• Top three, not otherwise exempt, who make the cut at the Genesis Scottish Open (July 13).