Tiger Woods joins list of prominent past champions to get U.S. Open special exemption
The first special exemption went to four-time Open champ Ben Hogan in 1966 (his diehards insist he won five Opens, but that’s another story for another day). It was 11 years before the USGA granted another, and in ’77 they actually handed out three — to Sam Snead, Tommy Bolt and Julius Boros.