The record is back on! Sergio Garcia and Adam Scott handed last-gasp US Open boost

Stay calm, everyone. Sergio Garcia and Adam Scott WILL play in this week’s US Open.

The pair, who have 46 US Open appearances between them, both missed out in their respective qualifying attempts – but the USGA have come to the rescue.

It looked like, for the first time since 1999, America’s national championship would take place without Garcia.

The Spaniard, who now plies his trade in the LIV Golf League, headed to Dallas Athletic Club for Final Qualifying last month and opened with a 66 to put himself in with a chance of playing in a 25th straight US Open. But a double-bogey late on in the second round saw him slump to a 73 and into a play-off.

Still, there were six places up for grabs and only seven participants, so he would have fancied his chances. But unfortunately – for Garcia, at least – he made bogey at the first extra hole and was immediately eliminated. He would, however, be a first alternate from that qualifier for a spot at Pinehurst.

And that is exactly what has happened.

On Monday, Garcia was added to the list of players in the field on the tournament’s official website, meaning he will have now competed in every US Open this century.

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Scott, meanwhile, hasn’t missed a US Open since his 2002 debut – or, indeed, any major since the 2001 Open Championship, meaning his streak of teeing up in golf’s big four will now stretch to 92 in a row.

The Australian had also missed out on a spot at Pinehurst in a play-off, after losing to Cam Davis in Ohio, and couldn’t rely on his world ranking after slipping to 61st. But after the USGA removed the late Grayson Murray, who is ranked 59th, Scott was handed a late call.

It means Scott remains on course to become just the second golfer ever to play in 100 consecutive major championships, along with – you guessed it – Jack Nicklaus.

The 124th US Open gets underway on Pinehurst’s No.2 course on Thursday.

Alex Perry is the Associate Editor of bunkered. A journalist for more than 20 years, he has been a golf industry stalwart for the majority of his career and, in a five-year spell at ESPN, covered every sporting event you can think of. He completed his own Grand Slam at the 2023 Masters, having fallen in love with the sport at his hometown club of Okehampton and on the links of nearby Bude & North Cornwall.

Associate Editor