The US Open Is Getting Away From Its Roots With A Shrinking Number Of Qualifiers

Two players going into their senior year of high school are playing in the U.S. Open next week, along with another teenager who is headed off to college. The field for Shinnecock Hills includes T.K. Kim, a 35-year-old who was born in South Korea, raised on Maui, played college golf at Boise State and will get ready for his first U.S. Open by playing two Oklahoma mini-tour events in Muskogee and Duncan. Billy Horschel has 10 worldwide wins and more than $42.5 million in career PGA Tour earnings, not including his $10 million bonus from winning the FedEx Cup. His path to Shinnecock Hills was no different from 17-year-old Miles Russell or Arni Sveinsson, who will make history as the first player from Iceland in the U.S. Open. This is what makes the U.S. Open stand out from the other four majors. It gets called the toughest test in golf — sometimes too tough — but it prides itself on being the most “open” of any Open. David Fay, who spent 21 years as the USGA executive director, once said, “It’s not the best field in golf. It never pretended to be. It’s the most democratic championship.” Fay might raise his
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