The 2011 U.S. Open Championship will take place at Congressional Country Club, and we know how many players will be competing to make it to the tournament. The U.S. Golf Association has announced that it has accepted 8,300 applicants to the tournament, 65 of which are exempt from qualifying. One hundred and fifty six players will ultimately make up the field.
All of those applicants came through an online process. The 65 players exempted include nine past champions. The following will eventually be added:
The number of fully exempt golfers will increase with the inclusion of the top 50 players from the Official World Golf Ranking, the top 10 money leaders on the 2011 PGA Tour and the top five money leaders on the 2011 European PGA Tour, all as of May 23. The winner of The Players Championship (May 12-15) also receives an exemption, as does any multiple winner of official PGA Tour co-sponsored events between June 20, 2010, and June 12, 2011. For 2011, the top 50 players from the World Golf Ranking as of June 13, 2011, will also receive exemptions.
Local qualifying will be from May 16-19, with 18 holes over 111 sites. Sectional qualifying will take place on June 6, with 36 holes in locations in Japan, England and the United States. There are two international locations and 11 U.S. locations. The actual U.S. Open Golf Championship is from June 16-19.