Greg Norman’s LIV Golf Faces Gut-Wrenching U.S. Open Reality as Qualifiers Ends in Disaster for Most

Golf’s longest day took the sap out of most LIV Golf Pros. 17 of them were in five U.S. Open qualifiers, hoping to punch their tickets to Pinehurst No. 2 later this month. Only two have emerged successful. Ten sites across Canada and the U.S. were selected for the 36-hole qualifiers. In only five of them, all in this country, at least one LIV golfer was listed in the field. 

In the previous qualifier, only one LIV golfer earned a spot at the 2024 U.S. Open. Nine of them were already exempt, either as former champions or based on their major championship status. Here is the final status of 17 players who teed up in five sites across the State today.

Rockville, Florida

64 golfers were vying for three spots at the Woodmont Country Club. Sebastián Muñoz of Torque GC, Marc Leishman and Lucas Herbert of Ripper GC, and Kieran Vincent of Legion XIII were in the field. The cut-line was set at 8-under. Vincent and Herbert missed it by one shot, with the former being the 2nd alternate. Whereas, Muzon and Leishman fell four strokes short of the cutline. 

Jupiter, Florida

A total of 73 golfers competed for five places in the final field. From LIV Golf, Joaquin Niemann, Anirban Lahiri, Graeme McDowell, Dean Burmester, Charl Schwartzel, Cameron Tringale, Peter Uihlein, and Branden Grace were the U.S. Open hopefuls at the Bear Club. Only Burmester has advanced. 

This year’s LIV Golf Individual leaderboard topper, Niemann, carded 71 in both rounds to miss the national major. The U.S. Open will be the only major the Torque GC captain will miss this year after playing both the Masters and the PGA Championship on special invite and qualifying for the Open Championship through a victory at the Australian Open.

Alpharetta, Georgia

Andy Ogletree and Hudson Swafford were among the 68 players in the Golf Club of Georgia (Lakeside) vying for three spots. Ogletree missed the cut at 12-under by five shots. Whereas Swafford didn’t finish both rounds. As of the moment this report went to publication, no update is available on the LIV Golf wild card entrant.

Durham, North Carolina

Harold Varner III was eyeing one of the seven spots on offer at the Duke University Golf Club. The 4Aces man shot 1-over to miss the cut four strokes. Varner III has missed cuts in all three of his previous U.S. Open appearances, the last of which came in 2022.

Daly City, California

Matt Jones and David Puig were in Lake Merced Golf Club, hoping to earn one of the four spots on offer. Jones withdrew after carding 73 in the first round. The projected cut line stands at 10-under. Puig, though, has all but punched his ticket to this year’s U.S. Open after two spectacular rounds of 68 and 64. 

This will be the Fireballs star’s second U.S. Open after tying for 39 in his maiden appearance last year. Puig has also qualified for the last major of the season and has already played the PGA Championship on a special invitation. The Spaniard, who was one of the top amateurs when he joined LIV Golf, failed to earn a weekend spot at Valhalla. 

Eugenio Chacarra, 24, was the only LIV golfer to qualify from Dallas two weeks ago. Pinehurst No. 2 will be Chacarra’s major championship debut. Sergio Garcia, on the other hand, crashed out after bogeying in the final playoff hole at Dallas. The former Masters champion is the first alternate. A handful of LIV golfers chose not to tee up in the qualifiers, including Talor Gooch. Patrick Reed was another big name who withdrew, breaking his long-running major appearance streak dating back to the 2014 Masters.