REPORT :Sergio Garcia, Patrick Reed and 5 LIV Golf stars battle for US Open lifeline on Monday

June 1, 2024

Sergio Garcia, Patrick Reed and 5 LIV Golf stars battle for US Open lifeline on Monday

Seven LIV Golf stars are in action at Dallas Athletic Club on Monday, battling it out for a place at the US Open at Pinehurst No. 2 next month including Sergio Garcia and Patrick Reed

Sergio Garcia and Patrick Reed are battling to earn spots at the US Open on Monday(Getty)

The dust has barely settled on Xander Schauffele’s record-breaking victory at the PGA Championship but attention has already turned to next month’s US Open, with seven LIV Golf stars bidding for a place at Pinehurst No. 2 in Monday field.

Many LIV players have found themselves locked out of the majors since the breakaway league formed in 2022 due to the Saudi Arabia-funded circuit not being sanctioned by the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR). The majority of the tour’s players have plummeted down the rankings as a result, losing their right to play in the biggest tournaments without an exemption or by earning a place through a qualifying event.

Former Masters champions Sergio Garcia and Patrick Reed are in the field for the US Open Final Qualifying event at Dallas Athletic Club in Texas on Monday, where 138 players are battling it out over 36 holes to earn one of 11 spots to tee it up at Pinehurst.

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The names of Garcia and Reed – who finished tied for 53rd at the PGA Championship on Sunday – jump off the starters list for the qualifier, but they are joined by several of their LIV Golf colleagues. Brendan Steele, who won LIV Golf Adelaide last month is in the mix, as is five-time PGA Tour winner Kevin Na.

Mexico’s Abraham Ancer, who lifted the LIV Golf Hong Kong title in March and peaked at 11th in the OWGR before quitting the PGA Tour to join LIV, is fighting for a spot in the third major of the year. New Zealand’s Danny Lee, winner of LIV Golf Tuscon in 2023, and Caleb Surratt – the 20-year-old American prospect who plays on Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII team – are also representing LIV in Dallas.

Recognisable names from the PGA Tour are also in action on Monday to earn a place at Pinehurst. Eight-time PGA Tour winner and 2006 US Open champion Geoff Ogilvy is in the field, as is Joel Dahmen – star of the Netflix series Full Swing.

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