This year’s U.S. Open has plenty of storylines, but only a few of them have anything to do with who will win the PGA Tour’s third major in 2021-22.
Instead, the golfing world will be watching with bated breath those golfers who have defected from the PGA Tour and registered with the LIV Tour, which just completed its inaugural tournament in London (won by Charl Schwartzel for his first victory since the 2016 Valspar Championship).
In recent weeks, the upstart golf circuit has become a source of heated debate in the sport. Rory McIlroy, who won the RBC Canadian Open last week, took a jab at LIV CEO Greg Norman while expressing disappointment in Mickelson.
It’s also unclear whether the 17 golfers who left the PGA Tour for LIV will be able to qualify for this event in the future. Despite the PGA Tour’s suspension of the golfers, each of the four majors — the Masters, PGA Championship, and British Open — has complete control over who qualifies for their events.
It’s unclear whether those golfers will be able to qualify without access to PGA Tour events in the future. (However, some golfers, notably 2016 U.S. Open champion Dustin Johnson, have received special permission to compete in future events.)
For much of the early rounds, and possibly longer if any defectors remain in contention late in the tournament, those tales will take precedence. Jon Rahm, who won this event last year, Justin Thomas, who won the PGA Championship, and Scottie Scheffler, who won the Masters, are the other major winners this year.
