Since the U.S. Open will not be “open” for the first time since 1942 when Ben Hogan won, trying to get a field in place without qualifying was no easy task. And for the most part they appeared to a superb job bringing a diverse group of players to Winged Foot this September.

Brentley Romine has the full list of exemptions, including six time runner-up Phil Mickelson thanks to a World Golf Ranking cutoff date of March 15 when Mickelson was ranked 61st.

There were a couple of surprises near the end, pleasant in the case of the Order of Merit winners and top seven ranked amateurs. Surprising but not shockingly so: the top three from the 2020 PGA Professional Chanmpionship scheduled for late July, and of course, that old standby, Special Exemptions.

-Order of Merit winners from the Asian Tour, Sunshine Tour and PGA Tour Australasia as of July 15.

-Top three finishers in the 2020 PGA Professional Championship.

-Top seven ranked players, not otherwise exempt, in the World Amateur Golf Ranking as of Aug. 19, following the U.S. Amateur.

-Special exemptions.