Ticket to Shinnecock: LIV Golf’s U.S. Open spot at stake in Virginia

STERLING, Va. – One last tournament stands between a LIV Golf player and a tee time at next month's U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills.

The league’s U.S. Open exemption is available for the top player not otherwise exempt and inside the top three of the LIV Golf individual standings as of May 18. It’s the second of two U.S. Open exemptions set for LIV Golf players for 2026; Joaquin Niemann claimed the first one with his runner-up finish in last year’s final standings.

When the USGA created the exemption ahead of last season, it became the first major championship to provide a direct pathway through LIV Golf performance. Last year at Oakmont, the three players at the top of the 2025 standings were already in the field through other criteria.

This year is different.

Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau – currently 1 and 2 in the standings – are already exempt, but the third spot is there for the taking, and this week's Maaden LIV Golf Virginia is the last event before the deadline.

Thomas Detry, Elvis Smylie and Anthony Kim currently hold the best positions to claim the second available exemption — though a winner from further down the standings could reshuffle everything. In fact, Thomas Pieters, David Puig and Richard T. Lee are guaranteed the U.S. Open spot with a win in Virginia, just like the three players ahead of them in points. All the other hopefuls lower in the current standings would need at least some help on the final leaderboard Sunday.

Detry enters the week sitting in third, ahead of Smylie and Kim. The Belgian has been one of the most consistent performers on the league this season, finishing 7th in Riyadh, 2nd in Hong Kong, T15 in Singapore, T3 in South Africa and T5 in Mexico City — a run of results that has put him in control of his own destiny in Virginia. That form speaks to a game that has long been capable of competing on the biggest stages, as evidenced by his T4 finish at the 2024 PGA Championship. Heading into Virginia, he just needs to hold his position.

Interestingly, Detry isn't losing much sleep over the standings. "Not at all, to be honest," he said when asked how much the U.S. Open spot is weighing on him entering the week. "This is a bonus if I qualify for it. I've got many different ways for myself to qualify as well — I'm playing the week after, the Open Qualifying Series in Wales, I can play the U.S. Open qualifier after the PGA. So, there's plenty of ways for me to qualify, so it's really not that much on my mind."

His process-driven approach may be exactly what has fueled his strong start to the season. Detry credits the structure of LIV Golf as key ingredients to his consistency. "The last three years, I've always gone off to a really good start to the season," he said. "My goal was really to keep that consistency and that level of play. I knew I could deliver the good game, but the key was really to keep it going on a consistent level throughout the whole season. I feel like I'm doing a really good job with that."

He also noted the role his support system has played. "One of the reasons is seeing my coach more regularly, having my team around me, a slightly lighter schedule — being able to have some rest breaks,” he said. “On the PGA Tour, it's sort of week after week after week."

As for the LIV Golf format itself, Detry has become a genuine believer. "I really love it here,” he said. “The shotgun format is pretty fair — everybody tees off at the same time. When I teed off in Saudi [in his LIV Golf debut in February], I didn't really know what to expect, I was a little bit scared."

He's figured it out quickly.

Smylie entered the 2026 season ready to prove himself as one of the best young players in the world and did so immediately by winning LIV Golf Riyadh in his league debut. In doing so, the 23-year-old leaped from 133rd to 77th in the Official World Golf Ranking — the first time he had ever cracked the top 100. A U.S. Open appearance would represent a big leap in Smylie’s career.

And then there is Kim, who is something else entirely.

Kim won LIV Golf Adelaide in February for his first victory in 16 years, closing with a 9-under 63 and a three-shot margin over LIV Golf superstars Rahm and DeChambeau. Kim's journey back to the winner's circle was anything but easy.

He overcame addiction, major injuries and mental health struggles before settling into a sober life surrounded by a supportive family and a return to the professional game with LIV Golf. He was relegated at the end of 2025 but showed resilience by earning his way back through the LIV Golf Promotions event.

Kim reached as high as No. 6 in the world in 2008, the year he played on a winning U.S. Ryder Cup team. A U.S. Open exemption would give Kim his first major championship start since 2011, and he admits the magnitude of that prospect is not lost on him.

"It would be amazing to play in a major, especially the U.S. Open," he said. "If I look back at where I was four months ago, having to grind just to get a spot to play anywhere — I'm proud of myself for sticking with it and grinding, even though the odds were probably against me. To even have a chance at getting into a major is an amazing blessing, and I'm going to do everything I can to play as well as I can."

That opportunity, he said, feels closer than ever after a strong stretch of practice heading into Virginia.

"About four days ago I felt like I found the purpose to get after it again," Kim said. "I feel really good about the last four days of practice and I think I'll have a really good opportunity to play well — not just [in Virginia] but the rest of the season."

As for whether he still has something to prove after everything he has been through, Kim's answer was characteristically direct: "I don't have anything to prove to other people. I definitely feel like I have something to prove to myself."

Next week at Maaden LIV Golf Virginia, Detry, Smylie or Kim has a chance to earn their spot on one of golf’s biggest stages. For the first time, a LIV Golf player will head to Shinnecock Hills on the strength of what they accomplished on LIV Golf, all season long. The exemption was created for moments exactly like this one.