Tiger Woods one of eight major golfers who have failed to earn place at U.S. Open

The U.S. Open is just days away with the action kickstarting at Oakmont Country Club on Thursday, but Tiger Woods is one of eight leading names who are set to not be competing in Pennsylvania

Tiger Woods will not be competing at this year’s U.S. Open(Image: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

The U.S. Open is set to take place this week with Tiger Woods one of several star names who will not be part of the field at Oakmont Country Club.

Bryson DeChambeau will aim to defend his U.S. Open title and become a three-time major winner after his dramatic victory at Pinehurst last year. He is joined by PGA Championship winner Scottie Scheffler and Masters champion Rory McIlroy as one of the three leading contenders in Pennsylvania.

Eight recent U.S. Open champions, dating back to 2015, will compete at Oakmont. However, golf legend Woods will not be part of the field and will miss his third consecutive major.

Tiger Woods

The 15-time major winner boasts three U.S. Open victories. Woods, 49, most recently won the tournament back in 2008, defeating Rocco Mediate in a playoff after finishing tied on one-under-par.

Unfortunately he will miss his fourth U.S. Open in five years as he recovers from Achilles surgery. In March, Woods announced that he had undergone the operation after feeling a sharp pain in his Achilles tendon while training at home.

His last PGA start came at The Open last summer. Woods had back surgery last September and played at the PNC Championship with his son Charlie in December. He was scheduled to return at the turn of the year but took some time out following the death of his mother, before suffering the Achilles injury that could keep him out of action for the rest of 2025.

Sergio Garcia failed to qualify for the U.S. Open(Image: Alex Slitz/Getty Images)

Sergio Garcia

Sergio Garcia is also set to not compete at the U.S. Open for the first time since 2000. The 45-year-old came agonizingly close to securing his spot as a qualifier.

In a U.S. Open qualifying event last month, Garcia three-putted at the final hole of the 36-hole competition at Bent Tree Golf Club in Dallas to make bogey. That put him one stroke shy of a playoff and meant his U.S. Open streak relied on an exemption from the USGA.

Garcia won the 2017 Masters, while his best U.S. Open performance was his T3 finish in 2005. The Spaniard recently finished T67 at the PGA Championship.

Max Homa

Max Homa’s poor run of form continued as he failed to earn his place at this year’s U.S. Open. Remarkably, Homa was ranked 10th in the world when he teed off at Pinehurst last year.

The top 60 players in the official golf world rankings are guaranteed a place at the U.S. Open. However, Homa has slipped to 90th in the rankings. He three-putted the final hole at a qualifying event at Kinsale Golf Club in Ohio and then lost in a playoff to Cameron Young.

Max Homa lost out in a playoff at a U.S. Open qualifying event(Image: Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)

Billy Horschel

Billy Horschel is another golf star who will miss the U.S. Open due to injury. The 38-year-old is scheduled to return from hip surgery in late summer or the fall.

Horschel is a former FedEx Cup winner and recorded his best U.S. Open finish on debut in 2013. He was also absent from the PGA Championship.

Will Zalatoris

Will Zalatoris finished runner-up to Matt Fitzpatrick at the U.S. Open three years ago. However, the American is sidelined after having back surgery.

The 28-year-old has finished second in three of the four major championships during his career. However, he has missed the cut in his last four major appearances and will be absent from The Open too as he recovers from his back injury.

Rickie Fowler

Former world No. 4 Fowler joined Homa in losing the playoff at Ohio. It’s set to be the third time Fowler will miss the U.S. Open in the last five years.

The 36-year-old finished T2 on his U.S. Open debut in 2014 and has amassed 10 professional wins during his career. He has, however, qualified for the Open Championship in July.

Fowler is set to miss his third U.S. Open in five years(Image: Ian Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Alex Noren

Alex Noren has previously played at 11 U.S. Opens but the Swedish golfer did not qualify for this year’s tournament at Oakmont. It’ll be only the second time that Noren will miss the event since 2014.

He competed in qualifying at Kinsale but finished short of the playoff spots.

Luke Clanton

Luke Clanton earned an automatic spot at the U.S. Open after winning the Mark H. McCormack Medal last year, presented to the world’s leading amateur golfer. However, Clanton forfeited his place by turning professional and subsequently failed to qualify.

He finished eight shots below the cut line after 36 holes at the York, Canada, qualifying event. The Florida State University star turned pro earlier this year, debuting at the RBC Canadian Open just last week but missing the cut.