USGA Announces Final 3 Exemptions and Completion
of Field for 119th U.S. Open Championship

June 13-16, 2019, Pebble Beach (Calif.) Golf Links
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PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (June 10, 2019) – The United States Golf Association (USGA) today announced that three additional players have earned full exemptions into the 119th U.S. Open Championship, to be contested June 13-16 at Pebble Beach (Calif.) Golf Links, bringing the number of fully exempt players to 78. Additionally, three alternates from sectional qualifying were added to complete the 156-player field.

Andrew Putnam earned an exemption based on the current Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR). Putnam, of University Place, Wash., who is No. 50 in the OWGR, is playing in his second U.S. Open. The 30-year-old has five top-25 finishes on the PGA Tour this season, including a second-place showing in the Sony Open in Hawaii. Putnam, who competed in the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, has one PGA Tour victory and is playing in his third professional major championship.

Emiliano Grillo, who is No. 53 in the OWGR, is making his fourth U.S. Open start. The 26-year-old from Argentina posted his best finish in 2016 when he tied for 54th at Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club. He has seven top-25 finishes on the PGA Tour this season, including a tie for second in the CIMB Classic. Grillo has one win apiece on the PGA Tour, Web.com Tour and PGA Tour Latinoamerica.

Scott Piercy, who is No. 59 in the OWGR, is competing in his eighth U.S. Open. He tied for second with Shane Lowry and Jim Furyk behind champion Dustin Johnson in 2016 at Oakmont. Piercy, 40, of Las Vegas, Nev., owns six top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour this season. He tied for second at the AT&T Byron Nelson and tied for third at the RBC Heritage. Piercy has won four PGA Tour events, including the 2012 RBC Canadian Open and the 2018 Zurich Classic of New Orleans with partner Billy Horschel.

The USGA held six spots in the field for those players who could potentially qualify by moving into the top 60 of the OWGR, as of June 10. Since Putnam, Grillo and Piercy were the only players to earn an exemption, three alternates from sectional qualifying were added to the field. They are Joel Dahmen, Bernd Wiesberger and Harris English.

Dahmen, 31, of Scottsdale, Ariz., was the first alternate from the Columbus, Ohio, sectional. He is playing in his first U.S. Open. Dahmen has recorded seven top-25 finishes on the PGA Tour in 2018-19. He finished second to Max Homa in the Wells Fargo Championship on May 5.

Bernd Wiesberger, 33, of Austria, was the first alternate from the England sectional. He is competing in his fifth U.S. Open. His best finish was a tie for 16th in 2017 at Erin Hills. Wiesberger has won five events on the PGA European Tour, including the Made in Denmark event on May 26.

Harris English is playing in his fourth U.S. Open. The 29-year-old from Sea Island, Ga., was the first alternate from the Canada sectional qualifier. He has played in three U.S. Opens, with his best finish a tie for 37th in 2016. English, who has won twice on the PGA Tour, has competed in eight USGA championships, including three U.S. Amateurs. He was a member of the 2011 USA Walker Cup Team.

Pebble Beach Golf Links, which is celebrating its centennial in 2019, has hosted the U.S. Open Championship in five consecutive decades. The 119th edition is the 13th USGA championship to be conducted at the resort. Past U.S. Open champions at Pebble Beach are: Jack Nicklaus (1972), Tom Watson (1982), Tom Kite (1992), Tiger Woods (2000) and Graeme McDowell (2010).

There were 110 U.S. Open local qualifying sites that led to 12 sectional qualifiers, including international sites in Japan, England and Canada. Sectional qualifying in the United States took place at nine sites in the states of California, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, New York, Ohio, Texas and Washington. The USGA accepted 9,125 entries by the deadline of April 24, the sixth-highest total in championship history.

The list of the 78 golfers who are fully exempt into the 2019 U.S. Open (as of June 10):

Bold – U.S. Open champion      a-amateur

Key to Player Exemptions:

1. Winners of the U.S. Open Championship the last 10 years (2009-18)
2. Winner of the 2018 U.S. Amateur, U.S. Junior Amateur & U.S. Mid-Amateur Championships and 2018 U.S. Amateur Championship runner-up (must be an amateur)
3. Winner of the 2018 Amateur Championship, conducted by The R&A (must be an amateur)
4. Winner of the 2018 Mark H. McCormack Medal (top-ranked in WAGR & must be an amateur)
5. Winners of the Masters Tournament the last five years (2015-19)
6. Winners of The Open Championship, conducted by The R&A, the last five years (2014-18)
7. Winners of the PGA of America Championship the last five years (2014-19)
8. Winners of The Players Championship the last three years (2017-19)
9. Multiple winners of PGA Tour events that award a full-point allocation (2018-19)
10. Winner of the 2018 U.S. Senior Open Championship
11. From the 2018 U.S. Open Championship, the 10 lowest scorers and anyone tying for 10th place
12. Those players who qualified for the season-ending 2018 Tour Championship
13. Top 60 point leaders and ties from the current World Ranking as of May 20, 2019
14. Top 60 point leaders and ties from the current World Ranking as of June 10, 2019
15. Special exemptions selected by the USGA

About the USGA
The USGA celebrates, serves and advances the game of golf. Founded in 1894, we conduct many of golf’s premier professional and amateur championships, including the U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open. With The R&A, we govern the sport via a global set of playing, equipment and amateur status rules. Our operating jurisdiction for these governance functions is the United States, its territories and Mexico. The USGA Handicap System is utilized in more than 40 countries and our Course Rating System covers 95 percent of the world’s golf courses, enabling all golfers to play on an equitable basis. The USGA campus in Liberty Corner, New Jersey, is home to the Association’s Research and Test Center, where science and innovation are fueling a healthy and sustainable game for the future. The campus is also home to the USGA Golf Museum, where we honor the game by curating the world’s most comprehensive archive of golf artifacts. To learn more, visit usga.org.

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