The national championship is returning to Southampton. The 126th US Open heads to Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on June 18-21. This is the sixth time Shinnecock has hosted the US Open, making it the only course in history to host it across three different centuries.
2026 US Open Preview – Shinnecock Hills
Shinnecock Hills sits on the eastern end of Long Island in Southampton, New York, and it plays like nothing else the tour visits all year. It’s a par 70 at 7,434 yards, and those yardage numbers are slightly misleading. The land does more work than the scorecard. Designed by William Flynn in the early 1930s, the course was restored by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw in 2012, with modifications made ahead of the 2018 championship. What they left behind is one of the most honest tests in golf. No gimmicks. No tricks. Just exposed fescue, rolling terrain, and wind that has no business being as punishing as it is.
The fairways can look generous from the tee box. They are not. The angles matter. Land in the wrong half of the fairway and you’re negotiating with your approach instead of attacking it. The greens are fast, contoured, and brutal when the USGA tucks pins on slopes. The par-3 11th demands nerve into the wind. The uphill 14th can turn a smart tee ball into a defensive second shot in a blink. And when the wind picks up on the back nine, the entire golf course shifts from difficult to diabolical. The winners here are those who manage the course, not those who try to overpower it.
The History
Previous US Open winners at Shinnecock: James Foulis in 1896, Ray Floyd in 1986, Corey Pavin in 1995, Retief Goosen in 2004, and Brooks Koepka in 2018. Those winning scores — 1-under in 1986, even par in 1995, 4-under in 2004, which is telling.
The 2004 edition was legendary in its own way. No player broke par in the final round. The average score on Sunday was 79 (+9). The greens became unplayable, and the USGA has spent the last two decades trying to make sure it never happens again. Expect them to be obsessive about setup in 2026.
Then there’s 2018, which was a different kind of chaos. Brooks Koepka defended his US Open title at +1, becoming only the third player to win back-to-back US Opens since World War II. Tommy Fleetwood shot a final-round 63, a Shinnecock course record and one of the great Sunday rounds in major championship history, but it wasn’t enough to chase down Koepka. Phil Mickelson famously hit a moving ball on a green in the third round and walked away with a two-shot penalty. It was a week that reminded everyone exactly why this course and this championship operate differently.
Qualifying
The USGA accepted 10,201 entries for the 2026 championship, one shy of the all-time record set last year at Oakmont. Since 2004, an average of 77.9 players per year have reached the US Open through one or both stages of qualifying. Last year at Oakmont, 15 qualifiers made the cut, and four finished in the top 20.
The Field
Brooks Koepka is the only player in this field who has actually won at Shinnecock Hills. That matters. He knows what it takes to survive this golf course when the USGA turns it into a war of attrition, and he’s done it before. His 2026 ball-striking numbers will come in handy, but the putter needs to wake up.
Tommy Fleetwood has unfinished business here that no other player in the field can claim. This was the closest he’s come to winning a major championship, and his 2026 has been a bit uninspiring after his 2025 season ended on a high note at the TOUR Championship.
Rory McIlroy comes in as the reigning Masters champion, but his Shinnecock history is not kind. He opened with an 80 in 2018 and missed the cut. The redemption arc at a course that humiliated him is one of the week’s better storylines. His game right now is good enough to win anywhere. He had a chance on Sunday to close the deal at Aronimink, but couldn’t get it done.
Scottie Scheffler has the career Grand Slam on the line, and Sunday’s final round falls on Father’s Day and his 30th birthday. He’s the world No. 1. He’s the best player on the planet. He’s also a player who has been grinding through a season where winning has been harder than it should be.
And then there’s Cameron Young. The New York native. Son of a Westchester club pro. Raised in the MGA circuit, two wins already in 2026, playing the best golf of anyone in the field right now. The US Open comes home to his home state, at a course that rewards exactly the kind of disciplined, windy, fescue-adjacent golf he grew up playing.
More picks and analysis to come as we get closer to June 18. Stay tuned.
