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Time for the USGA Penalize No-Shows and WD's

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Alex Miceli | Last updated Jun 3, 2025 11:15 PM ET

On Monday, the USGA conducted its U.S. Open final qualifiers in 10 different venues across the continental United States.

With 47 spots available, almost one-third of the field that will compete at Oakmont has been determined.

According to the USGA, over 10,000 golfers with minuscule handicaps of 0.4 tried to be among the 156 players who will tee it up next Thursday in the first round of the 125^th U.S. Open.

In reviewing the final qualifying results, more than 100 players either did not show up, withdrew during the round, or did not finish their rounds on Monday.

That is over 100 spots that others who were committed to trying to qualify could have used, but instead, the spots went either unused or ignored with WDs or DNFs.

Circumstances can always force situations to change; illness, family issues, or injury are legitimate reasons for missing a tee time, dropping out, or withdrawing during the round.

But over 100 legitimate excuses?

Extremely doubtful.

So, how does the USGA address the issue of unexcused no-shows and withdrawals?

The easiest way would be to impose a penalty on the offenders.

Since the most egregious is a no-show, it should be treated as such, with a suspension from qualifying for at least two years.

For unexcused withdrawals, the suspension should be for at least one year from qualifying.

The USGA prides itself on the openness of its competition.

It lauds the number of golfers who attempt to qualify for the U.S. Open.

It takes the qualifying process seriously, and to express that seriousness, it needs to address the irresponsibility of some to improve the qualifying process for everyone.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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