The U.S. Women’s Open’s new exemption categories, designed to fit the challenges the COVID-19 pandemic presents the 75th annual championship, were announced Wednesday by the USGA.
With qualifying eliminated this year, the event will feature an entirely all-exempt field when it is scheduled to be staged Dec. 10-13 at Champions Golf Club in Houston, Texas.
“After carefully examining previous years, these exemption categories allow us to closely mirror a traditional field,” USGA senior managing director John Bodenhamer said.
Plans to host 25 qualifiers, four of them internationally, were canceled amid the pandemic. The championship was also moved from its originally planned staging in June.