The following players are exempt from qualifying for the
U.S. Senior Open, provided they are 50 years old as of the opening day of the tournament. Amateur categories require that the player is still an amateur on the opening day of the tournament, except for the one-time exemption for former champions of the U.S. Amateur or The Amateur Championship. • Any past winner of the U.S. Senior Open • Winners of any of the
major championships in the last 10 years • Winners of any of the
U.S. Amateur in the last 10 years and runner-up in previous year • Winners of the
Senior PGA Championship in the last 10 years • Winner of the
Senior Open Championship in the last five years • Top 15 finishers from the previous year's U.S. Senior Open • Any amateur completing 72 holes in last U.S. Open • Low amateur in last U.S. Senior Open • Winner and runner-up of the
U.S. Senior Amateur in the previous year • Members of the
Walker Cup and
Eisenhower Trophy teams for the last two competitions • Members of both
Ryder Cup and
Presidents Cup teams for the last five competitions • Top 30 from the previous year's
PGA Tour Champions money list, top 20 from current list • Top 50 leaders from the PGA Tour Champions career money list • Winners of PGA Tour Champions events in the previous three years • Top six from previous year's
European Senior Tour money list • Top two from previous year's
Japan Seniors Tour money list • Winners of
PGA Tour events in the previous five years • Winners of the U.S. Open in first ten years of age eligibility • One-time exemption for any winner of a major championship, U.S. Amateur, or
British Amateur. • Winners of amateur championships who have since turned professional are able to use this exemption. Special exemptions are given occasionally, and like other USGA events, many qualify through the local and sectional ranks. ==Winners==