Tiger Woods has accepted a special exemption for this year’s U.S. Open, the first time the three-time champion has needed one to compete in the United States Golf Association’s biggest tournament.
Woods, 48, has been exempt for every U.S. Open since he first played in 1995 as the reigning U.S. Amateur champion. His five-year exemption into the event from winning the 2019 Masters expired last year.
The exemption was expected and likely to be the first of many for the 15-time major champion. The USGA is particular about who is exempt from qualifying, last making an exception in 2021 to Phil Mickelson — who is a six-time major champion but has never won the U.S. Open, finishing as a runner-up in the tournament six times.
Jack Nicklaus, with four U.S. Open titles among his record 18 major championships, received a record eight special exemptions, including five in a row until he stopped playing the U.S. Open after the 2000 edition at Pebble Beach Golf Links in California.
Arnold Palmer received five U.S. Open exemptions, the last one in 1994, when the seven-time major winner returned to Oakmont Country Club — near his hometown of Latrobe, Pennsylvania — for a tearful farewell.
Woods won the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach by 15 shots, a record margin of victory for any major champion. He added another title in 2002 at Bethpage Black on New York’s Long Island, and he famously won his third U.S. Open title at San Diego’s Torrey Pines in 2008 — via the first hole of sudden after an 18-hole playoff on a Monday — just a week before he had reconstructive surgery on his left knee.
“The U.S. Open, our national championship, is a truly special event for our game and one that has helped define my career,” Woods said in a news release issued Thursday. “I’m honored to receive this exemption and could not be more excited for the opportunity to compete in this year’s U.S. Open, especially at Pinehurst, a venue that means so much to the game.”
The U.S. Open is June 13-16 at North Carolina’s Pinehurst No. 2, which is hosting the event for the fourth time. Woods tied for third in the 1999 U.S. Open at the course and was the runner-up at Pinehurst in 2005. He missed the most recent U.S. Open at Pinehurst in 2014 while recovering from the first of what would be four back surgeries.
Woods has a long history with the USGA as the only player to win the U.S. Junior Amateur three straight times, followed by the U.S. Amateur three straight times. His nine USGA national championships are matched only by amateur great Bobby Jones.
Woods earlier this year was selected to receive the Bob Jones Award, the highest honor from the USGA.
“The story of the U.S. Open could not be written without Tiger Woods,” John Bodenhamer, the USGA’s chief championships officer, said in the release. “From his 15-stroke victory at Pebble Beach in 2000 to his inspiring win on a broken leg at Torrey Pines in 2008, this championship is simply better when Tiger is in the field, and his accomplishments in the game undoubtedly made this an easy decision for our special exemption committee.”
It will be the first time Woods competes in the U.S. Open since 2020, when it was held at Winged Foot near New York City in September with no fans attending because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He badly injured his right leg and ankle when he crashed the car he was driving in Los Angeles in February 2021, causing him to miss the U.S. Open’s return to Torrey Pines. While he returned to golf a year later, the 2022 U.S. Open at The Country Club near Boston was the only major he didn’t play. A year ago, Woods had surgery to fuse his right ankle after the Masters and did not play the rest of the year, missing the U.S. Open’s first visit to Los Angeles Country Club.
Woods last contended at the U.S. Open in 2010 at Pebble Beach, where he shot a 66 in the third round but then closed with a 75 and tied for fourth.
He played in the Masters last month, setting a record for consecutive cuts made at Augusta National Golf Club but fading fast on the weekend as he finished last among the 60 players who made it that far while shooting his worst 72-hole score as a professional.
He is expected to play in the PGA Championship in two weeks at Valhalla in Louisville, Kentucky, where he won in 2000 on his way to capturing all four majors consecutively, which was dubbed the Tiger Slam because it did not constitute the Grand Slam title reserved for winning all four majors in the same calendar year.
Woods said during a round of appearances on NBC shows earlier this week to promote his clothing line that his plan was to play the remaining three majors this year.