2026 US Open at Shinnecock Hills: Championship Notes

Shinnecock Hills Golf Club is hosting the U.S. Open for the sixth time, having previously hosted in 1896, 1986, 1995, 2004, and 2018. In addition, it has hosted a U.S. Amateur (1896), U.S. Women’s Amateur (1900), a U.S. Senior Amateur (1967) and a Walker Cup (1977).

Most U.S. Opens hosted: Oakmont CC (10, most recently in 2025), Baltusrol GC (7, most recently in 1993), Shinnecock Hills GC (6, including this year), Oakland Hills CC (6, most recently in 1996), Pebble Beach GL (6, most recently in 2019) and Winged Foot GC (6, most recently in 2020).

Over the last four U.S. Opens held at Shinnecock Hills GC (1986, 1995, 2004 and 2018), only three players (out of 624) finished under par for the week: Raymond Floyd (1-under in 1986), Retief Goosen (4-under in 2004) and Phil Mickelson (2-under in 2004).

Here are the previous five U.S. Open winners at Shinnecock Hills GC:

 

Of the 446 official rounds recorded at the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills GC, none were bogey free. The last bogey-free rounds recorded at Shinnecock during a U.S. Open occurred in the second round in 2004 (Phil Mickelson, Fred Funk and Daniel Chopra). Since then, there have been 578 scorecards submitted here and every one of them included at least one bogey or worse.

Brooks Koepka won the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills GC, despite an inauspicious start to the week.  He shot 75 (+5) in the first round, which put him in a tie for 46th place on the leaderboard (similar to Nelly Korda, who was T-56 after the first round of the 2026 U.S. Women’s Open).  Coincidentally, Corey Pavin was also T-46 after the first round of the 1995 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills GC. The only other U.S. Open champion to be 46th or worse at the end of the first round was Steve Jones, who was T-84 after the first round in 1996 at Oakland Hills CC.

The field scoring average at the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills GC was 74.65 (or +4.65 in relation to par), which is the highest scoring average relative to par for any U.S. Open over the last 18 years. You have to go back to 2007 at Oakmont CC to find the last time the field scoring average was at least 4.65 strokes over par at a U.S. Open. Consider that, as challenging as the conditions were last year at Oakmont CC, the field scoring average was 74.18, or +4.18 in relation to par.

The field scoring average has been at least two strokes over par in every U.S. Open round played at Shinnecock Hills GC, dating back to the final round in 1986 (13 consecutive rounds). 

The first-round scoring averages at the 1986 and 2018 U.S. Opens at Shinnecock Hills GC were 77.877 and 76.474, respectively. Here are the highest first round scoring averages over the last 50 U.S. Opens (1976 to 2025): 

 

From 2004 to 2014, international players won eight of 11 U.S. Opens. Since then, Americans have won nine of 11 U.S. Opens. The recent exceptions are Jon Rahm (2021 at Torrey Pines) and Matt Fitzpatrick (2022 at The Country Club). From 1928 to 1964, Americans won 33 consecutive U.S. Opens.

The only player to win the U.S. Open while holding the mantle of #1 player in the Official World Golf Rankings is Tiger Woods, who did that in 2000 (Pebble Beach), 2002 (Bethpage) and 2008 (Torrey Pines). This will be fifth year in a row the Scottie Scheffler enters the U.S. Open as the world’s top player. He finished T-2 in 2022 (The Country Club), 3rd in 2023 (Los Angeles C.C.), T-41 in 2024 (Pinehurst) and T-7 last year at Oakmont CC.

The only other player to enter the U.S. Open as #1 in the OWGR more than two years in a row was Tiger Woods, who did it 11 years in a row from 2000 through 2010.

Scheffler enters this week as the No. 1 golfer in the world for the 161st week in a row. The only other player to spend as long as 100 consecutive weeks as the top player in the world was Tiger Woods, who had separate streaks of 281 (2005-2010) and 264 weeks (1999-2004).

This will be the 13th consecutive major championship in which Scheffler will appear as the No. 1 golfer in the world. That is the third-longest streak in the OWGR era (since 1986). Tiger Woods played 21 consecutive majors as the #1 golfer, from 2005-2010; and played 20 consecutive majors as the #1 golfer from 2000-2004. No other golf has appeared in as many as 10 consecutive major championships as the No. 1 golf in the world.

Each of the last four U.S. Opens was won by a player ranked outside the Top 10 in the OWGR at the time: Matt Fitzpatrick (#18 in 2022), Wyndham Clark (#32 in 2023), Bryson DeChambeau (#38 in 2024) and J.J. Spaun (#25 in 2025).  It is the longest such streak since the inception of the Official World Golf Rankings in 1986. 

Only one of the last 57 major championships (since and including the 2012 Masters) was won by a player ranked outside the top 50 on the OWGR at the time. That was Phil Mickelson at the 2021 PGA Championship at Kiawah Island (ranked #115).

Scottie Scheffler won the American Express in January but has not won since.  Of the 11 official starts he has made since then, he has been inside the Top 15 at the end of the first round only twice (he was T-1 after the first round of the PGA Championship, ultimately finishing T-14; and he was T-6 after the first round of the Masters, ultimately finishing T-2). His stroke average per round in 2026: Round 1 = 69.92, Round 2 = 68.42, Round 3 = 67.42 and Round 4 = 67.5.  He ranks tied for 51st on TOUR this year in first-round scoring average and first in final-round scoring average.

Scottie Scheffler, who turns 30 years old on Sunday, needs a U.S. Open victory to become just the seventh player in history to complete the career Grand Slam. Here are the six players with the career grand slam along with the calendar year and age at which they attained it:

  

No player has ever won a major championship on his birthday.  However, a couple of players came close recently:  Russell Henley finished T-3 on his 37th birthday at this year’s Masters; and Chris Gotterup finished third on his 26th birthday at last year’s Open Championship.  Phil Mickelson finished runner-up on his birthday at the U.S. Open twice (2002 and 2013).

Scottie Scheffler has shot even par or higher in each of his last nine U.S. Open rounds dating back to the final round of the 2023 championship at Los Angeles CC. He is 12-over-par during this stretch.

Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy and England’s Aaron Rai won the first two major championships of 2026, respectively.  It is the first time in the four-majors era (since 1934) that Europeans won the first two majors of one calendar year.

Prior to the start of 2026, Americans had won 10 out of the last 11 major championships. Now Europe is in position to win three in a row – something that has not occurred since 2014, when Germany’s Martin Kaymer won the U.S. Open, followed by consecutive wins by Rory McIlroy at the Open Championship and the PGA Championship.

J.J. Spaun won last year’s U.S. Open at Oakmont CC largely due to his superb putting.  He led the field in total feet of putts made (401.6), including his 64 foot, 5-inch putt to seal the victory on the 72nd hole. That putt was the longest by any player all week. 

J.J. Spaun surged to victory at last year’s U.S. Open with an incredible final nine holes over which he was 3-under par (32).  It was the lowest final nine holes by a U.S. Open champion since Tiger Woods shot 4-under par over his last nine holes at Pebble Beach in 2000. 

J.J. Spaun has an opportunity to become the eighth player to win the U.S Open in consecutive years, joining Willie Anderson (1903,1904,1905), John McDermott (1911,1912), Bobby Jones (1929,1930), Ralph Guldahl (1937,1938), Ben Hogan (1950,1951), Curtis Strange (1988, 1989) and Brooks Koepka (2017, 2018). 

Dating back to 1990, the only U.S. Open champions to finish among the top 10 in his title defense the following year are Koepka (winning in 2017 and 2018; and finishing second to Gary Woodland at Pebble Beach in 2019) and Tiger Woods (finished T-6 at Bethpage in 2009).

Last year at Oakmont CC, Bryson DeChambeau was the first defending champion to miss the cut since Gary Woodland in 2020. 

Rory McIlroy has an opportunity to become the 7th different player to win the Masters and the U.S. Open in the same calendar year, joining Craig Wood (1941), Ben Hogan (1951 and 1953), Arnold Palmer (1960), Jack Nicklaus (1972), Tiger Woods (2000) and Jordan Spieth (2015). ). Here is how the reigning Masters Champion has fared at the U.S. Open in recent years:

Hideki Matsuyama, T-26 in 2021 at Torrey Pines

Scottie Scheffler, T-2 in 2022 at The Country Club

Jon Rahm, T-10 in 2023 at Los Angeles C.C.

Scottie Scheffler, T-41 in 2024 at Pinehurst Resort

Rory McIlroy, T-19 in 2025 at Oakmont CC

Rory McIlroy won his sole U.S. Open 14 years ago at Congressional CC. Only three players went 10 or more years in between two consecutive U.S. Open victories: Julius Boros (11 years, 1952-1963), Hale Irwin (11 years, 1979-1990) and Gene Sarazen (10 years, 1922-1932).

Most rounds in the 60s at the U.S. Open, all-time:  Jack Nicklaus (29), Phil Mickelson (23), Rory McIlroy (22), Tiger Woods (21), Tom Watson (19) and Brooks Koepka (19).

Most times being among the top five on the leaderboard at the end of a U.S. Open round, including the final round, since 2020: Rory McIlroy (13), Bryson DeChambeau (8), Louis Oosthuizen (7), Harris English (6), Xander Schauffele (5) and Jon Rahm (5).

Ten of the last 12 U.S. Open champions were among the top 10 on the leaderboard at the end of the first round, including J.J. Spaun who held the outright lead after Round 1 last year. However, Spaun was the first opening round leader to go on to win the U.S. Open since Martin Kaymer at Pinehurst in 2014.

Each of the last four U.S. Open champions at Shinnecock Hills GC were in 20th place or lower on the leaderboard at the conclusion of the first round: Raymond Floyd (T-24 in 1986), Corey Pavin (T-46 in 1995), Retief Goosen (T-20 in 2004) and Brooks Koepka (T-46 in 2018). 

Since 2020, the average final score in relation to par for U.S. Open winners is 5.8 under par, which is the highest for any of the four majors over that time, ahead of the PGA Championship (10.6 under par), the Masters (12.3 under par) and the Open Championship (14.8 under par).

In reference to Aaron Rai, the last player to win back-to-back majors is Jordan Spieth in 2015 (Masters and U.S. Open). Forty-three majors have been competed for since then and no player has managed to win consecutive major titles. 

It is the longest drought without a back-to-back major winner since a void that started after Tom Watson won the 1982 U.S. Open and Open Championship and ended when Nick Price won the 1994 Open Championship and PGA Championship (47 championships between those two streaks). 

In the recent years in which the PGA Championship has been played before the U.S. Open (since 2019), here is how the reigning PGA Championship winner has fared at the U.S. Open:  

Brooks Koepka, 2nd in 2019 at Pebble Beach

Collin Morikawa, missed cut in 2020 at Winged Foot

Phil Mickelson, T-62 in 2021 at Torrey Pines

Justin Thomas, T-37 in 2022 at The Country Club

Brooks Koepka, T-17 in 2023 at Los Angeles C.C.

Xander Schauffele, T-7 in 2024 at Pinehurst Resort

Scottie Scheffler, T-7 in 2025 at Oakmont CC

Aaron Rai will have an opportunity to become the fourth player during the PGA Championship’s stroke play era (since 1958) to win a PGA Championship and the U.S. Open in the same year. Jack Nicklaus (1980), Tiger Woods (2000) and Brooks Koepka (2018) make up that short list.

Rai was the first player representing England to win a PGA Championship since Jim Barnes in 1916 and 1919.

From our ‘fun fact’ department:  Aaron Rai tied the record for the player with the shortest last name to win a major championship, joining Ted Ray, Ernie Els and Jason Day.

Aaron Rai won the 2026 PGA Championship by shooting 6-under-par over his final 10 holes of the championship. Prior to Rai, the last two players to win a major championship in such fashion were Cameron Smith (6-under over his final 10 holes of the 2022 Open Championship) and Jack Nicklaus (7-under over his final 10 holes of the 1986 Masters).

Xander Schauffele, who finished T-12 at last year’s U.S. Open at Oakmont CC, has placed in the top 15 in each of his last nine U.S. Open appearances: T-5 at Erin Hills in 2017, T-6 at Shinnecock Hills in 2018, T-3 at Pebble Beach in 2019, fifth at Winged Foot in 2020, T-7 at Torrey Pines in 2021, T-14 at The Country Club in 2022, T-10 at Los Angeles C.C. in 2023, and T-7 at Pinehurst in 2024. Since 1920, the only players with streaks at least as long are Jack Nicklaus (12, 1971-1982), Ben Hogan (12, 1940-1956), Bobby Jones (11, 1920-1930) and Sam Snead (nine, 1947-1955).

Justin Hastings (T-55) was the only amateur to make the cut at last year’s U.S. Open at Oakmont CC. Since 2008, at least one amateur has made the cut at this championship every year except for 2021. Notable amateurs to make the cut at the U.S. Open since 1990 include David Duval (1990), Phil Mickelson (1990, 1991), Tiger Woods (1996), Rickie Fowler (2008), Russell Henley (2010, 2011), Patrick Cantlay (2011, 2012), Jordan Spieth (2012),  Jon Rahm (2016), Scottie Scheffler (2017) and Viktor Hovland, whose T-12 finish in 2019 is the best by an amateur over the last 50 years.

Adam Scott will be competing in his 100th consecutive major championship this week.  His streak started at the 2001 Open Championship which began three days after his 21st birthday. He will turn 46 next month. His streak pre-dates the profession debuts of LeBron James and Sidney Crosby; and the births of Tom Kim, Akshay Bhatia and Michael Thorbjornsen.

Here are the scoring averages and ranks for each hole during the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club :

 

• First Nine:  37.08

• Second Nine: 37.57

• Overall: 74.65

• Round 1 (76.47),  Round 2 (73.60), Round 3 (75.33), Round 4 (72.18)

• Easiest hole: No. 5 (par-5, 4.78)

• Hardest hole: No. 14 (par-4, 4.57)

• Par 3s: 3.28

• Par 4s: 4.31

• Par 5s: 4.89

The par-3s played to an average of 3.28 strokes during the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club. The only U.S. Open over the last 20 years in which the par-3s played to a higher stroke average was in 2007 at Oakmont C.C. (3.30).

Champion Brooks Koepka played the par-3s at 2-under-par for the week in 2018.  He played the par-5s at 3-under-par and the par-4s at 6-over-par.

The most difficult stretch of the golf course at the 2018 U.S. Open was from hole Nos. 10 through 14 (the 4th, 8th, 6th, 9th and 1st-most difficult holes). The only players to play this stretch of holes under par for the week were Tony Finau (-2, finished 5th) and Russell Knox (-2, finished T-12 ).

Champion Brooks Koepka played those holes at 6-over-par for the week while shooting 5-under-par on the rest of the holes.

With Nelly Korda winning the U.S. Women’s Open two weekends ago at the Riviera Country Club, a Scottie Scheffler win this week would make them the first men’s and women’s No. 1 ranked golfers to both win the U.S. Open in the same year.