2017 U.S. Open field: Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy lead qualifiers at Erin Hills

The U.S. Open is a biggest field in golf and a democratic mix of long-shot qualifiers, amateurs, and the biggest stars in the game.

The U.S. Open field is arguably the most democratic in golf. It is truly open, with almost half the field reserved for those working their way through the qualifying process. This year, the qualifiers are exactly half the field, with 78 earning a spot through sectional qualifying and the other 78 getting in via the USGA’s usual 14 exemptions. There may be a late withdrawal on Thursday that alters that balance but more on that in a minute.

The 156-man field is the biggest in golf. The Open Championship and PGA Championship match that size, but none is bigger. It’s a logistical challenge for the USGA, but one they’ve learned to master over the years. The course is jammed with threesomes using split tees for sun-up to sundown golf over the first two rounds. Even when we get a major wash-out, like last year at Oakmont, where Thursday featured minimal golf, the USGA can still hustle to get this massive field back on track for a Sunday night finish.

Here’s the group that did not have to go through the qualifying process. The last addition was Chris Wood, who moved into the Top 60 in the world this week and rounded out the exemptions at 78. Each player is listed under the first exemption they fulfill — for example, Jordan Spieth is exempt four different ways, but listed under the first one as a U.S. Open Champion from the past 10 years. The USGA is the least forgiving to its past champs — the other three grant lifetime exemptions (British Open winners are exempt to age 60, which is close to a golf lifetime). Next year will be Tiger Woods’ final exempt year triggered by his 2008 U.S. Open win at Torrey Pines, but the UGSA is almost certain to give him something they call a "special exemption" due to his history of success and status at the national championship.

In order to qualify for the U.S. Open, all you need is a small entry fee ($175 last year) and a USGA handicap index not exceeding 1.4. The entries usually approach 10,000 for local qualifying, and that’s whittled down to 12 sectional qualifying sites -- 10 in the United States, one in Japan, and one in Great Britain. The spots open at each sectional vary from site to site. The Columbus sectional always opens up the biggest swath of spots because of all the PGA Tour talent coming over from the nearby Memorial the day prior. Some sectionals have as few as three spots.

The alternate list is always a bit of mystery, too, with players just missing the cutoff at sectionals getting an alternate status to fill out the field the week of the championship. No one ever really knows how they sort the alternates or pick and choose which ones get in from which sectional. This year, six alternates got in and one more, Roberto Diaz, may join the field on Thursday. Diaz is the next man up if Phil Mickelson cannot make his Thursday afternoon tee time, which is likely. Mickelson will need a four-hour delay, at least, in order to get from his daughter’s graduation in Southern California to Wisconsin for his tee time. Here are your sectional qualifiers, a strong mix of PGA Tour regulars, amateur superstars, and longshot pros.