By Don Donohue
Full Field List of Players
The USGA today announced that three additional players have earned full exemptions into the 125th U.S. Open Championship, to be contested June 12-15 at Oakmont Country Club, bringing the number of fully exempt players to 87. Additionally, five alternates from final qualifying were added to complete the 156-player field.
There were 110 U.S. Open local qualifying sites that led to 13 final qualifiers, including international sites in Canada, England and Japan. Final qualifying in the United States took place at 10 sites, in the states of California, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio (Columbus & Springfield), Washington and Texas. The USGA accepted 10,202 entries by the deadline of April 9, the highest total in championship history.
Ryan Fox, of New Zealand, earned an exemption based on the current Official World Golf Ranking®/OWGR®. He moved up 43 spots to No. 32 after winning yesterday’s RBC Canadian Open in a playoff with Sam Burns. Fox, who will play in his seventh U.S. Open, also won the ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic on May 11 with a birdie on the first playoff hole. The 38-year-old has received the top player award on the European Tour (now DP World Tour) and PGA Tour Australasia. He won the DP World Tour’s flagship event, the BMW Championship, in 2023.
Cameron Young and Bud Cauley, who are Nos. 56 and 58 in the OWGR, respectively, also became exempt. Each player advanced through the Columbus, Ohio, final qualifier on June 2, but their OWGR exemption takes precedence. Young, 28, of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., will compete in his sixth U.S. Open. He has posted three top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour this season, including a tie for fourth in the RBC Canadian Open. Cauley is playing in his third U.S. Open. The 35-year-old from West Palm Beach, Fla., has recorded four PGA Tour top-10s in 2025, including a tie for sixth in The Players Championship. His best finish was third in the Charles Schwab Challenge.
The USGA held six spots in the field for those players who could potentially become exempt. Since Fox, Young and Cauley are now exempt, five alternates from final qualifying were added to the field. They are Takumi Kanaya, Doug Ghim, Chase Johnson, Eric Cole and Riki Kawamoto.
Kanaya will compete in his third U.S. Open. He was the first alternate from the Canada qualifying site. The 27-year-old from Japan owns two top-20 finishes on the PGA Tour this season. He has claimed seven Japan Golf Tour events, including the 2023 BMW Tour Championship Mori Building Cup. In 2020, he was exempt after receiving the Mark H. McCormack Medal as the world’s leading male in the WAGR®. Last year, he advanced from the Dallas, Texas, final qualifier.
Ghim, of Arlington Heights, Ill., is playing in his second U.S. Open. The 29-year-old was the first alternate from the Dallas, Texas, qualifier. He fired a second-round 66 and was involved in a 7-for-1 playoff to gain his spot. Ghim has three top-25 finishes on the PGA Tour this season. A 2018 Ben Hogan Award winner while playing at the University of Texas, Ghim was the runner-up in the 2017 U.S. Amateur and 2014 U.S. Amateur Public Links, and helped the 2017 USA Walker Cup Team to victory.
With two Columbus, Ohio, qualifiers in Young and Cauley obtaining exempt status, Johnson and Cole earned berths in the field as the first and second alternates, respectively, from that site. Johnson, who will make his first U.S. Open start, advanced through both local and final qualifying. The 29-year-old from Boynton Beach, Fla., has played in six PGA Tour Americas events this season. In 2024, the Kent State graduate competed in four tournaments on both the PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour. Cole, 37, of Tequesta, Fla., will play in his fourth U.S. Open, with his best finish a tie for 39th in 2023 at The Los Angeles Country Club. He has two top-10 results on the PGA Tour this season. His father, Bobby, played in seven U.S. Opens, and his mother, Laura Baugh, won the 1971 U.S. Women’s Amateur.
Kawamoto is playing in his second consecutive U.S. Open. He was the first alternate from the Japan qualifier. He carded a 36-hole score of 135 (9-under) and was involved in a 4-for-1 playoff. He claimed the first of his two Japan Golf Tour victories in 2022 when he won the Sansan KBC Augusta. His sister, Yui, tied for 36th in this year’s U.S. Women’s Open Presented by Ally at Erin Hills.
Additionally, Michael La Sasso, 21, of Raleigh, N.C., gained a full exemption on May 26 when he won the NCAA Division I Championship. Matthew Jordan, 29, of England, replaced exempt player Sahith Theegala when he withdrew due to injury on June 6. Jordan, a member of the 2017 Great Britain & Ireland Walker Cup Team, was the first alternate from the England final qualifier.
The U.S. Open was previously contested at Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club in 1927, 1935, 1953, 1962, 1973, 1983, 1994, 2007 and 2016. World Golf Hall of Famers Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, Johnny Miller, Ernie Els, Tommy Armour and Larry Nelson are among the champions. As an anchor site, Oakmont will also host the U.S. Open in 2033, 2042 and 2049.
COURTESY USGA COMMUNICATIONS
