Let the challenge begin.
The U.S. Open returns to Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, New York, starting Thursday, and the third major of the season figures to once again be the toughest test in golf.
In five previous U.S. Opens at Shinnecock Hills dating back to 1896, only three golfers have finished with scores under par. Raymond Floyd finished 1 under when he became the oldest U.S. Open champion in 1986. Corey Pavin shot even par when he won his first major in 1995, and Retief Goosen (4 under) and Phil Mickelson (2 under) were the only golfers under par in 2004.
In the last U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, Brooks Koepka became the first back-to-back winner since Curtis Strange in 1988-89 with a winning score of 1 over.
While Scottie Scheffler’s quest for the career Grand Slam will be the biggest story this week, the United States Golf Association’s setup and ability to control the conditions will be under scrutiny.
In 2003, 28 golfers couldn’t break 80 on Sunday, and the average score was 78.7.
In 2018, Mickelson purposely swatted his moving ball out of frustration on the 13th green and was docked a two-stroke penalty.
“[It’s a] second-shot golf course,” former U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick said. “The fairways are a little bit wider this time. Obviously, [the] U.S. Open tests all aspects of your game, I feel like. But Shinnecock, in particular, with how severe the greens are, you’ve got to do a good job of managing that.”
Here’s a look at the field in the 126th U.S. Open, from the favorites to the sleepers to the guys hoping to make the cut:
The clear favorites
World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler hasn’t won in his past 11 starts, the third-longest drought of his career. He isn’t playing poor golf. He was a runner-up three times and is second on the PGA Tour with seven top-10s. If Scheffler’s iron play improves this week, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him win again.
Rory McIlroy
McIlroy isn’t competing as much on tour as he did in the past, but it doesn’t seem to be hurting him so far. After picking up his second straight win in the Masters, he has three straight top 20s. He isn’t happy with consistency off the tee, which shouldn’t be much of a problem this week because of Shinnecock’s wide fairways. It has been 15 years since his lone U.S. Open win at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland.
Scottie Scheffler
He can become the seventh man to complete the career Grand Slam by winning at Shinnecock Hills on Sunday. His game has been up and down, from his iron play to his putting, but he’s still more than good enough to get it done. He has four top-10s in his past five U.S. Open starts.
Xander Schauffele
Schauffele can get three-fourths of the way to a career Grand Slam by adding a U.S. Open trophy to his PGA Championship and Open Championship victories in 2024. He has seven top-10s in nine starts in the U.S. Open and hasn’t finished worse than a tie for 14th.
Jon Rahm
The 2021 U.S. Open champion has won twice in the LIV Golf League this season and nearly chased down Tyrrell Hatton in the final round in Spain two weeks ago. He tied for second in the PGA Championship on a difficult course, a sign he might contend this week.
Cameron Young
Young was Captain America during last year’s Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, and the New York native will be playing in front of a home crowd again this week. He has two wins and six top-10s in 2026.
Matt Fitzpatrick
He’s the only golfer on tour with three victories this season and was playing better than anyone before a recent so-so stretch. The 2022 U.S. Open winner is coming off back-to-back mediocre finishes in the event but is playing much better this season.
The guys who can win
Here are the other legitimate contenders to win the U.S. Open. They have the game, guts and nerves to handle four pressure-packed rounds on a setup that is traditionally the most difficult among the majors.
Russell Henley
He picked up his sixth PGA Tour victory in the Charles Schwab Challenge on May 31. Henley finished in the top 14 in four of the past five U.S. Opens. He leads the tour in driving accuracy (71.9%), which will only help at Shinnecock.
Ludvig Åberg
The 26-year-old from Sweden is more than talented enough to win his first major. He had a three-month stretch of good golf until finishing 39th in the Memorial. He was in the hunt in the final round of the PGA Championship and tied for fourth. Åberg switched to a mallet-style Scotty Cameron Phantom 3 putter in the Charles Schwab Challenge and had good results.
Collin Morikawa
Morikawa, 29, is a new dad and returned to the tour in the Canadian Open. He has been bothered by a bad back since The Players, but the extra time off might have helped. He also can claim three-fourths of the career Grand Slam after capturing the 2020 PGA Championship and 2021 Open Championship.
Tommy Fleetwood
The reigning FedEx Cup champion picked up steam with top-five finishes in the Truist Championship and the Memorial Tournament (with a missed cut in the PGA Championship in between). He carded a 7-under 63 at Shinnecock Hills on Sunday in 2018, nearly chasing down Brooks Koepka.
Chris Gotterup
A Jersey guy winning his first major on Long Island? It sounds like a Bruce Springsteen song. Gotterup has cooled off since winning two of his first three starts of the season, but he has all the tools to pick up his first major win.
Patrick Reed
Remember me? The former Masters champion has made only two starts since early March while he waits to return to the PGA Tour on Aug. 25. He tied for 12th in the Masters and for 10th in the PGA Championship. He finished solo fourth in the 2018 U.S. Open and can contend again.
Robert MacIntyre
The Scottish golfer won the Scottish Open and Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in the past three seasons, so he should feel right at home at Shinnecock Hills. His form hasn’t been great since the Masters, but he was runner-up in last year’s U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club.
Bryson DeChambeau
Hey, Google Gemini, what are Bryson’s chances to win this week? “He is an absolute tier-one contender. If you are betting on or pulling for Bryson, you are banking on his historic U.S. Open magic overriding his shaky performance in the year’s first two majors. … If he manages his accuracy off the tee during the first two rounds, he is a clear favorite to play late into Sunday afternoon. If the driver gets erratic early, Shinnecock’s brutal fescue rough will make it a very short week.” There you have it from the technology that purportedly fixed Bryson’s swing in Spain. The two-time U.S. Open winner’s game was a mess in the first two majors.
Brooks Koepka
He lifted a U.S. Open trophy on the 18th green the last time the tournament was played at Shinnecock Hills, defeating Fleetwood by a stroke to win the major for the second time. He was fourth on tour in approach (.754) heading into the RBC Canadian Open. If his putter heats up, he might be a factor. However, Koepka’s status is in question after he withdrew from the RBC Canadian Open before the final round because of a hand injury.
Wyndham Clark
Clark’s game is heating up after he won the CJ Cup Byron Nelson on May 24. The 2023 U.S. Open champion at Los Angeles Country Club tied for third in the Memorial in his next start. Shinnecock Hills’ lockers seem to be safe.
Tyrrell Hatton
The English golfer just picked up his second LIV Golf victory in Spain. He’s a three-time winner of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on the DP World Tour and tied for sixth in the 2018 U.S. Open. He was in the hunt in last year’s U.S. Open and tied for fourth.
Sam Burns
Burns tied for seventh at the Masters and for fourth at the Memorial and has been one of the best putters on tour this season. He has three top-10s in his past eight majors after struggling in the Big Four early in his career. Burns was right there at last year’s U.S. Open until he struggled over the final eight holes.
Justin Thomas
JT’s form has been good since late April; he posted a Sunday 65 to get into contention at the PGA Championship. Thomas missed the cut in his past three starts in the U.S. Open, but he has all the shots — especially around the greens — to make noise this week.
Si Woo Kim
Kim has climbed to 18th in the world rankings with eight top-10s in his first 16 starts on tour this year. He hasn’t finished in the top 25 of a U.S. Open since tying for 13th in his debut in 2017.
Kristoffer Reitan
He claimed his first PGA Tour win at the Truist Championship and tied for sixth at the Memorial. He’s 106th in driving accuracy (56.9%), which might be a concern this week.
Justin Rose
Rose, 45, has played some of the best golf of his career over the past couple of seasons. The 2013 U.S. Open winner missed the cut in five of his past six starts in the event.
Joaquín Niemann
Niemann keeps winning in the LIV Golf League, picking up his eighth victory in South Korea in May. His best finish at the U.S. Open was a tie for 23rd in 2020.
Harris English
Another former Georgia Bulldog with good success at the U.S. Open, English finished eighth or better in three of his past six starts in the event. He has struggled with his irons this year, but his putting has been lights-out.
Hideki Matsuyama
The former Masters champion has two top-10 finishes in his past four U.S. Open starts. He tied for second at the 2017 U.S. Open at Erin Hills in Wisconsin, another links-style course.
Patrick Cantlay
Cantlay had a nice stretch of golf just before the Masters, finishing in the top 12 in four straight events. He missed the cut at Oakmont last year, the first time he didn’t play on the weekend in the U.S. Open.
Aaron Rai
Rai was a stunning winner in the PGA Championship. He won the 2020 Scottish Open on a links-style course, and he’s second on tour in driving accuracy (69.9%). Can he catch a red-hot putter in back-to-back majors?
Jordan Spieth
Spieth is coming off a missed cut at the Memorial and doesn’t have a top-10 in 15 starts, but his game doesn’t appear far off from contending. He was once regarded as one of the best links-style golfers in the world because he hit greens and scrambled well. He’s still one of the best scramblers on tour. He’ll have to hit irons better and find fairways off the tee.
Cameron Smith
The LIV Golf League captain ended a tough stretch in the majors when he tied for seventh in the PGA Championship.
J.J. Spaun
After a slow start to the season, the defending U.S. Open has found his form again. He finished in the top 14 in four of his past five starts.
If everything goes right …
Here are the sleeper candidates to lift the U.S. Open trophy Sunday. The list includes former major championship winners, rising stars and other players whose games have been works in progress this season. Will it all come together at Shinnecock Hills?
Gary Woodland
Woodland, who won the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links, is still crushing the ball off the tee at age 42.
Alex Smalley
Smalley had at least a share of the lead in each of the first three rounds at the PGA Championship and tied for runner-up. He followed that with a tie for third at the Charles Schwab Challenge and a missed cut at the Memorial.
Ben Griffin
After a rough start to the season, Griffin had turned things around until a missed cut at the Memorial. He tied for 10th at last year’s U.S. Open.
Akshay Bhatia
He missed the cut in two of his past three starts on tour and has been wildly inconsistent off the tee, ranking 123rd in driving accuracy (55.5%).
Shane Lowry
Lowry’s game had been in a rut since his late collapse at the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches in late April. He showed some life the past couple of weeks and should be more than comfortable at Shinnecock Hills.
Maverick McNealy
McNealy tied for 18th at the Masters and the PGA Championship and tied for 10th at the Memorial.
Viktor Hovland
The ultratalented Hovland has slipped to 33rd in the Official World Golf Ranking and had just one top-10 finish in his first 11 starts this season. He hits fairways but has struggled to find greens.
Jacob Bridgeman
After a sizzling start to 2026, Bridgeman’s game has cooled off since the Masters. He’s third on tour in strokes gained: putting (.722).
Alex Fitzpatrick
Matt Fitzpatrick’s younger brother finished in the top 10 four times since joining the PGA Tour in late April. He tied for 75th at the PGA Championship.
Rickie Fowler
Fowler had a nice stretch of golf in April and early May but missed the cut in back-to-back starts at the Charles Schwab Challenge and the Memorial.
Jason Day
He was a two-time U.S. Open runner-up early in his career, but his last top-10 was a tie for eighth in 2016.
Brian Harman
Harman’s results haven’t been great in 2026, but he lifted a Claret Jug in the 2023 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in England.
Sepp Straka
Straka, a four-time winner on tour, is trying to regain his form in the majors. He missed the cut in four of the past six.
Adam Scott
Scott, 45, will be playing in his 100th consecutive major, dating back 17 years. Jack Nicklaus is the only other golfer who had 100 or more, starting in 146 in a row.
Min Woo Lee
Lee’s game was trending until he missed the cut in the Memorial. He won the 2021 Scottish Open and is among the better scramblers on tour.
Bud Cauley
Cauley earned a spot in the field Sunday when he won the RBC Canadian Open, his first PGA Tour victory in his 239th tour start. He endured a long road back from injuries in a car wreck in 2018-he sustained six broken ribs, a broken leg and collapsed lung. Bravo, sir.
Kurt Kitayama
Kitayama has been on a bit of a heater with five straight top-25s, including a tie for 10th at the PGA Championship. He didn’t make the cut in his first four U.S. Open starts.
Daniel Berger
Berger has been mired in a so-so stretch since losing in a playoff in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Jake Knapp
Knapp’s season has been derailed because of a lingering left thumb injury. His last start came in the RBC Heritage in mid-April.
Nicolai Højgaard
Højgaard was runner-up at the Truist Championship and won three times on the DP World Tour.
Keegan Bradley
The former U.S. Ryder Cup team captain has played better lately with three top-20s in his past six starts.
J.T. Poston
Poston was a surprising winner at the Memorial, which was his fourth PGA Tour victory.
Nick Taylor
The Canadian golfer tied for 23rd in last year’s U.S. Open after missing the cut in the previous three.
David Puig
Puig, a rising star in the LIV Golf League, has won in Europe and Asia. He tied for 18th at the PGA Championship.
Dustin Johnson
DJ won the 2016 U.S. Open, but he had one top-10 in his past 14 starts in majors.
Ryan Gerard
Gerard fell in a playoff to Poston at the Memorial two weeks ago and missed picking up his second PGA Tour victory.
Corey Conners
Conners made the cut in only two of his first seven starts in the U.S. Open. He was forced to withdraw before the final round last year because of a wrist injury.
Max Greyserman
Greyserman tied for 14th at the PGA Championship, but he had to earn his way to the U.S. Open through open qualifying.
Sungjae Im
Im’s results have been unpredictable this season. He has four missed cuts and three top-10s.
Jackson Suber
The former Ole Miss star was a surprising contender at the RBC Canadian Open on Sunday. This will be his second start in the U.S. Open.
Ben James
James was a four-time All-American at Virginia and turned pro after qualifying for the U.S. Open for the third straight year. He made noise in his pro debut in the RBC Canadian Open, posting 67-63 in the first two rounds before fading Saturday.
Matt McCarty
McCarty finished in the top 25 in his first two starts at the Masters. He missed the cut in his other four starts in majors the past two seasons.
Alex Noren
The 43-year-old was solo ninth in the Memorial and has a good history on links courses in Europe.
Andrew Novak
Novak seemed to be turning things around with a tie for 26th in the PGA Championship.
Sahith Theegala
Theegala’s game is showing signs of life after a tough 2025 season.
Hey, miracles happen
These are the long shots. This tier includes a pair of older former major champions and PGA Tour regulars.
Michael Brennan
Laurie Canter
Pierceson Coody
Nico Echavarria
Ryan Fox
Emiliano Grillo
Harry Hall
Padraig Harrington
Billy Horschel
Matthew Jordan
Johnny Keefer
Michael Kim
Tom Kim
Chris Kirk
Graeme McDowell
Keith Mitchell
Carlos Ortiz
Andrew Putnam
Patrick Rodgers
Jayden Schaper
Matti Schmid
Jimmy Stanger
Sam Stevens
Peter Uihlein
Brandon Wu
Sudarshan Yellamaraju
Mitchell has fallen to 100th in the world rankings, but he seems to be close to turning things around. He was solo fifth at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson and then had two great early rounds at the RBC Canadian Open.
Schaper, from South Africa, has more than just a golf-centric last name. He is third in the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai rankings, behind only Reed and McIlroy. Schaper won the Alfred Dunhill Championship and AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open in consecutive weeks in December.
Stanger, a former University of Virginia star, entered the RBC Canadian Open ranked 706th in the world. But he was inside the top 10 heading into Sunday’s final round after posting scores of 65-67-68.
Happy to make the cut
These players aren’t expected to be among the contenders unless something wild happens.
Filippo Celli
Ugo Coussaud
Cooper Dossey
Adrien Dumont de Chassart
Hennie du Plessis
Lucas Herbert
Angel Hidalgo
Ryo Hisatsune
Zac Blair
Cole Hammer
Nick Hardy
Robbie Higgins
Harry Higgs
J.B. Holmes
T.K. Kim
Nathan Kimsey
Ben Kohles
Chase Kyes
Greyson Leach
William Mouw
James Nicholas
Jake Peacock
Chandler Phillips
Kevin Roy
Marcelo Rozo
Neal Shipley
Jake Sollon
Jackson Van Paris
Max McGreevy
Taylor Montgomery
Niklas Nørgaard
Ryuichi Oiwa
Kaito Onishi
John Parry
Rocco Repetto Taylor
Adrien Saddier
Taihei Sato
Manav Shah
Ben Silverman
Caleb Surratt
Davis Thompson
Spencer Tibbits
Alejandro Tosti
Dylan Wu
Carl Yuan
Oiwa posted a bogey-free 61 in the second round of the U.S. Open qualifying in Japan in May. His 36-hole total of 12-under 128 left him one stroke ahead of Onishi.
Oiwa, 28, is ranked 386th in the world and competes on the Japan Tour. He will be making his first career start in a major.
Sveinsson, a rising junior at LSU, became the first man from Iceland to qualify for the U.S. Open by posting 9-under 135 at the Lakes Golf & Country Club in Westerville, Ohio, on “Golf’s Longest Day” on June 8. He’ll compete for the International team in the Palmer Cup in Ireland later this summer.
Holmes survived a four-man playoff for three spots. Holmes, 44, is competing in his first U.S. Open since he missed the cut in 2019.
The amateurs
Here are the amateur players who will attempt to do what stars such as Cantlay, Mickelson, Rahm, Spieth and so many others did at the U.S. Open before turning pro: win a medal as a low amateur.
Hamilton Coleman
Ryder Cowan
Ethan Fang
Marek Fleming
Vaughn Harber
Jackson Herrington
Brandon Holtz
Mason Howell
Jackson Koivun
Eric Lee
Jackson Ormond
Giuseppe Puebla
Mateo Pulcini
Logan Reilly
Matthew Robles
Miles Russell
Preston Stout
Arni Sveinsson
Koivun, an Auburn junior, is making his second straight start in the U.S. Open after winning the McCormack Medal as the top male golfer in the World Amateur Golf Ranking after last year’s U.S. Amateur. In 2024, he became the first freshman to win the Haskins Award as the country’s top collegiate golfer since Alabama’s Justin Thomas in 2012.
Reilly, one of Koivun’s teammates, went 3-0 in match play in the NCAA Championship and holed the clinching putt against UCLA to lead Auburn to a national title at Omni La Costa Resort in Carlsbad, California.
Puebla, 17, tied PGA Tour veteran Ben Silverman for first place in qualifying at BallenIsles Country Club’s East Course in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. The high school senior has committed to play at Florida in 2027.
Russell, who is the youngest golfer in the field at 17, came through a playoff for the final spots at BallenIsles Country Club. He had his close friend Charlie Woods working as his caddie during qualifying. Russell’s swing coach, Ramon Bescansa, will carry his bag during the U.S. Open.
Sveinsson, a rising junior at LSU, became the first man from Iceland to qualify for the U.S. Open by posting 9-under-par 135 at the Lakes Golf & Country Club in Westerville, Ohio on Golf’s Longest Day on June 8. He’ll compete for the International team in the Palmer Cup in Ireland later this summer.
