Below is a listing of independent events that provide exemptions into respective USGA Championships under the State/AGA/Regional/National Amateur Exemption Category. Please note that this is not a complete list of championship exemptions, which are published in the Informational PDF on the USGA’s Apply to Play page at champ-admin.usga.org.
For more information on the criteria used for determining exemptions, please click here.
For more information on Local Exemptions for the 2026 U.S. Senior Open, please click here.
For information on 2025 champions who earned exemptions into 2026 championships due to timing, please click here.
Dates
Championship
Location
Website
June 22 - 27
California Amateur Championship
The 2026 Champion will be fully exempt into the 2026 U.S. Amateur The Top 5 Finishers (plus ties) or Quarterfinalists will be locally exempt into the 2027 U.S. Amateur
June 22 - 27 California Amateur Championship Hacienda Golf Club - La Habra Heights, California Event Website
The 2026 Champion will be fully exempt into the 2026 U.S. Amateur The Top 5 Finishers (plus ties) or Quarterfinalists will be locally exempt into the 2027 U.S. Amateur
July 6 - 9
SCGA Amateur Championship
The 2026 Champion will be fully exempt into the 2026 U.S. Amateur The Top 5 Finishers (plus ties) or Quarterfinalists will be locally exempt into the 2027 U.S. Amateur
July 6 - 9 SCGA Amateur Championship Valencia Country Club - Valencia, California Event Website
The 2026 Champion will be fully exempt into the 2026 U.S. Amateur The Top 5 Finishers (plus ties) or Quarterfinalists will be locally exempt into the 2027 U.S. Amateur
August 9 - 13
NCGA Amateur Championship
The 2026 Champion will be fully exempt into the 2027 U.S. Amateur The Top 3 Finishers (plus ties) or Semifinalists will be locally exempt into the 2027 U.S. Amateur
August 9 - 13 NCGA Amateur Championship Spyglass Hill Golf Club - Pebble Beach, California Event Website
The 2026 Champion will be fully exempt into the 2027 U.S. Amateur The Top 3 Finishers (plus ties) or Semifinalists will be locally exempt into the 2027 U.S. Amateur
Exemption Information
Click the individual championship below for specific information on the established exemption criteria. Exemptions will be determined based on the below criteria using WAGR event Power data from 2023-25, compiled as of September, 2025. Exemptions for subsequent years will be evaluated each fall using the previous three years of WAGR® (World Amateur Golf Ranking®) event Power data (i.e. 2027 exemptions will utilize data from 2024-26).
Defined by the geographic boundaries of the United States (50 states)
Must be a WAGR-ranked event in the previous year
Must have eligibility requirement that limits participation to residents or association members of that state.
Only one championship per state may qualify for exemption under this category.
AGA Amateur Championships not defined by specific state boundaries
Must be a WAGR-ranked event with an average WAGR event Power of 50 or greater (3-year rolling average)
Only applies to those AGA’s who are not defined by specific state boundaries. Only one championship per AGA may qualify for exemption.
Regional Amateur Championships with affiliation to an AGA
Must be a WAGR-ranked event with an average WAGR event Power of 100 or greater (3-year rolling average)
Must be affiliated with or conducted by an AGA (i.e. Pacific Northwest Amateur, New England Amateur, etc…)
National Amateur Championships conducted within the United States
A full exemption will be granted to any National Amateur Championship conducted within the United States that has an average event Power of 600 or greater (3-year rolling average)
Local Exemption Criteria
State/AGA Amateur Championships
All State/AGA Amateur champions who received a full exemption to the Championship in previous year will be locally exempt for the following year’s championship.
A 2025 state amateur champion is fully exempt to the 2025 U.S. Amateur and will receive a local exemption in 2026 (1 year full exemption, 1 year locally exempt)
A 2025 state amateur champion who is fully exempt in 2026 (due to the date of the championship) would be locally exempt in 2027.
For State/AGA amateur championships with a 3-year average event Power of 100 or greater, the top 5 or quarterfinalists will receive an exemption from local qualifying for the following year.
For State/AGA amateur championships with a 3-year average event Power of 50 or greater, the top 3 or semifinalists will receive an exemption from local qualifying for the following year.
For State/AGA amateur championships with a 3-year average event Power below 50, the runner-up will receive an exemption from local qualifying for the following year.
For State/AGA amateur championships that do not meet the WAGR threshold or are not ranked in WAGR, the champion will receive an exemption from local qualifying for the following year.
Defined by the geographic boundaries of the United States (50 states) plus Puerto Rico
Must be a WAGR-ranked event with an average event Power of 40 or higher (3-year rolling average)
For events not currently ranked in WAGR or who do not have a 3-year history of being ranked in WAGR:
Average event Power of 50 or greater in the two most recent years, or;
Event Power of 50 or greater in the most recent year
Only one championship per state may qualify for exemption under this category.
AGA Amateur Championships not defined by specific state boundaries
Must be a WAGR-ranked event with an average WAGR event Power of 50 or greater (3-year rolling average)
For events not currently ranked in WAGR or who do not have a 3-year history of being ranked in WAGR:
Average event Power of 60 or greater in the two most recent years, or;
Event Power of 60 or greater in the most recent year
Only applies to those AGA’s who are not defined by specific state boundaries. Only one championship per AGA may qualify for exemption.
Regional Amateur Championships with affiliation to an AGA
Must be a WAGR-ranked event with an average WAGR event Power of 100 or greater (3-year rolling average)
National Amateur Championships conducted within the United States
A full exemption will be granted to any National Amateur Championship conducted within the United States that has an average event Power of 600 or greater (3-year rolling average)
Age or eligibility-restricted events are excluded (i.e. junior, collegiate etc..)
Defined by the geographic boundaries of the United States (50 states) plus Puerto Rico
Must be a WAGR-ranked event with an average event Power of 20 or higher (3-year rolling average)
For events not currently ranked in WAGR or who do not have a 3-year history of being ranked in WAGR:
Average event Power of 25 or greater in the two most recent years, or;
Event Power of 25 or greater in the most recent year
Only one championship per state may qualify for exemption under this category.
AGA Junior Amateur Championships not defined by specific state boundaries
Must be a WAGR-ranked event with an average WAGR event Power of 25 or greater (3-year rolling average)
For events not currently ranked in WAGR or who do not have a 3-year history of being ranked in WAGR:
Average event Power of 27.5 or greater in the two most recent years, or;
Event Power of 27.5 or greater in the most recent year
Only applies to those AGA’s who are not defined by specific state boundaries. Only one championship per AGA may qualify for exemption.
Regional Junior Amateur Championships with affiliation to an AGA
Must be a WAGR-ranked event with an average WAGR event Power of 35 or greater (3-year rolling average)
National Junior Amateur Championships conducted within the United States
A full exemption will be granted to any National Amateur Championship conducted within the United States that has an average event Power of 300 or greater (3-year rolling average)
Defined by the geographic boundaries of the United States (50 states) plus Puerto Rico
Must be a WAGR-ranked event with an average event Power of 25 or higher (3-year rolling average)
For events not currently ranked in WAGR or who do not have a 3-year history of being ranked in WAGR:
Average event Power of 30 or greater in the two most recent years, or;
Event Power of 30 or greater in the most recent year
Only one championship per state may qualify for exemption under this category.
AGA Junior Amateur Championships not defined by specific state boundaries
Must be a WAGR-ranked event with an average WAGR event Power of 30 or greater (3-year rolling average)
For events not currently ranked in WAGR or who do not have a 3-year history of being ranked in WAGR:
Average event Power of 30 or greater in the two most recent years, or;
Event Power of 30 or greater in the most recent year
Only applies to those AGA’s who are not defined by specific state boundaries. Only one championship per AGA may qualify for exemption.
Regional Junior Amateur Championships with affiliation to an AGA
Must be a WAGR-ranked event with an average WAGR event Power of 40 or greater (3-year rolling average)
National Junior Amateur Championships conducted within the United States
A full exemption will be granted to any National Junior Amateur Championship conducted within the United States that has an average event Power of 400 or greater (3-year rolling average)
Must be a minimum of 36-holes stroke play or a stroke play to match play format where the champion plays at least 3 rounds.
Must have a minimum of 15 players begin the competition.
The average score of the winner must be equal to or less than Par plus 6 (six) strokes.
Entire event must have eligibility that limits participation to 50+ or 55+ years of age. A senior division within a State/AGA Amateur or other event is not eligible.
Only the champion will receive the local exemption. If the champion declines the spot or is already locally exempt, the exemption will not transfer to the next highest finisher.
State Senior Amateur Championships
Defined by the geographic boundaries of the United States (50 states)
Must have eligibility requirement that limits participation to residents or association members of that state.
Only one championship per state may qualify for exemption under this category.
AGA Senior Amateur Championships not defined by specific state boundaries
Must have eligibility requirement that limits participation to residents or association members of that state.
Only applies to those AGA’s who are not defined by specific state boundaries. Only one championship per AGA may qualify for exemption.
Regional Senior Amateur Championships with affiliation to an AGA
Must be a WAGR-ranked event with an average WAGR event Power of 30 or greater (3-year rolling average)
Must be affiliated with or conducted by an AGA
National Senior Amateur Championships conducted within the United States
A local exemption will be granted to any National Senior Amateur Championship conducted within the United States that has an average event Power of 60 or greater (3-year rolling average)
State/AGA Senior Open Championships
State/AGA Senior Open Championships
Must be a minimum of 36-holes stroke play or a stroke play to match play format where the champion plays at least 3 rounds.
Must have a minimum of 15 players begin the competition
The average score of the winner must be equal to or less than Par plus 6 (six) strokes
Must have eligibility that limits participation to 50+ or 55+ years of age. A senior division within a State Open or other event is not eligible.
Only the champion will receive the local exemption. If the champion declines the spot or is already locally exempt, the exemption will not transfer to the next highest finisher.
Must be conducted by an Allied Golf Association or PGA Section
Due to timing of the U.S. Senior Open qualifying window (early spring), all local exemptions will be for the following year’s championship. For example, the 2026 champion for a respective State/AGA Senior Amateur will be locally exempt in 2027.
Additional Information
The exemption cutoff date for all USGA Championships will be eight (8) days prior to the first day of the Championship proper. Eight days is the Sunday before advance week for these four Championships, which all start on a Monday.
Ex) The 2026 U.S. Amateur Championship will begin on August 10. The cutoff date for state amateur exemptions to be claimed in 2026 will be August 2. All state amateurs where the intended conclusion is on August 2nd or earlier will receive an exemption to the 2026 Championship. All state amateurs with an intended finish of August 3rd or later will have their champions receive their exemption into the 2027 Championship.
Clarification on how WAGR ranking thresholds were determined
In order to determine the WAGR event Power thresholds for each championship, a considerable amount of research was conducted to assess the correlation between State/AGA amateur championships and qualifying. Ultimately, the quality and strength of players receiving an exemption through the new qualifying model needed to reflect the quality and strength of players that previously earned a spot through qualifying. In looking at the historical event Power data across all events and the quality of champions produced at these events, a corresponding event Power threshold was determined that will provide a large number of State/AGA championships with an exemption while also ensuring that each respective USGA championship has the strongest field possible within their respective demographic.
