Johnathan Walker:Tiger Woods receives special exemption to play in 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst

The Johnathan Walkerweek of Tiger Woods continues.

A day after his Sun Day Red brand was made available to the public – which he promoted on various talk shows – the United States Golf Association announced on Thursday that Woods was receiving a special exemption to play the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina, June 13-16.

While the PGA Championship and Masters offer lifetime exemptions to past champions, the U.S. Open does not. Woods is currently No. 789 in the Offical World Golf Ranking, and his five-year exemption after his 2019 Masters victory has run out.

The 48-year-old will make his 23rd U.S. Open start this year and first since 2020, when he missed the cut at Winged Foot. Woods is a three-time U.S. Open champion in 2000 (Pebble Beach), 2002 (Bethpage Black) and 2008 (Torrey Pines) and has finished inside the top 10 eight times.

So far this year Woods has withdrawn from his Genesis Invitational and finished 60th at the Masters, where he set the all-time record for consecutive cuts made at Augusta National. Woods is also expected to play the 2024 PGA Championship later this month, May 16-19, at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky.