Shinnecock Hills Golf Club hosts the US Open for a sixth time this week, joining Oakmont CC (10, most recently in 2025), Baltusrol GC (7, most recently in 1993), 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) as the championship’s most frequently used venues. Previous US Opens at Shinnecock came in 1896, 1986, 1995, 2004 and 2018.

Across the last four US Opens at Shinnecock, only three players out of 624 finished the week under par: Raymond Floyd (1-under in 1986), Retief Goosen (4-under in 2004) and Phil Mickelson (2-under in 2004).

The 2018 field scoring average of 74.65, or +4.65 relative to par, was the highest for any US Open in the last 18 years. In every US Open round played at Shinnecock dating to the final round in 1986, a run of 13 consecutive rounds, the field has averaged at least two strokes over par.

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

The field scoring average in 2018 was 74.65 (or +4.65 in relation to par), which is the highest scoring average relative to par for any US 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 US 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.

Slow starts, late moves

Shinnecock’s difficulty compresses the field, and the first-round leaderboard has been a poor guide to the eventual winner. Each of the last four US Open champions was 20th or worse after round one: Floyd (T24 in 1986), Corey Pavin (T46 in 1995), Goosen (T20 in 2004) and Brooks Koepka (T46 in 2018). Koepka opened with a 75 (+5) in 2018 and still lifted the trophy.

The first-round scoring averages at the 1986 and 2018 US Opens at Shinnecock Hills were 77.877 and 76.474, respectively

Scheffler’s grand slam bid

Scottie Scheffler arrives as the world No. 1 for a fifth consecutive US Open, a streak exceeded only by Tiger Woods, who entered as top-ranked player 11 years running from 2000 through 2010. Scheffler has held the No. 1 position for 161 straight weeks, the third-longest run behind Woods’ 281-week (2005–2010) and 264-week streaks.

The only player to win the US Open while holding the mantle of No. is Woods in 2000 (Pebble Beach), 2002 (Bethpage) and 2008 (Torrey Pines).

He turns 30 on Sunday and needs a US Open title to become the seventh player to complete the career Grand Slam. His recent US Open record is less convincing. He has shot even par or worse in nine straight US Open rounds, going 12-over across that stretch. He finished T2 in 2022 (The Country Club), 3rd in 2023 (Los Angeles CC), T41 in 2024 (Pinehurst) and T7 last year at Oakmont CC.

His 2026 form splits are striking: tied for 51st on the PGA Tour in first-round scoring average but first in final-round scoring. At Shinnecock, where patience off the tee matters, that profile could fit.

Each of the last four US 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).

McIlroy, Schauffele and the defending champion

Rory McIlroy, the 2026 Masters champion, can become the seventh player to win the Masters and US Open in the same calendar year. He won his only US Open 14 years ago at Congressional CC and has been among the top five on the leaderboard at the end of a US Open round 13 times since 2020, more than any other player.

Xander Schauffele has finished inside the top 15 at each of his last nine US Opens, a consistency streak matched since 1920 only by Jack Nicklaus (12), Ben Hogan (12), Bobby Jones (11) and Sam Snead (nine).

Defending champion J.J. Spaun, who won at Oakmont last year with a 64-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole, can become the eighth player to win the US Open in consecutive years. The last to do so was Koepka in 2017 and 2018.

Spaun 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.

He played an incredible final nine holes over which he was 3-under par (32). It was the lowest final nine holes by a US Open champion since Tiger Woods shot 4-under par over his last nine holes at Pebble Beach in 2000.

Each of the last four US Opens was won by a player ranked outside the world top 10 at the time, the longest such streak since the OWGR began in 1986. Whether that trend holds will be settled over four rounds on Long Island.

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.

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 US Open in the same year. Jack Nicklaus (1980), Tiger Woods (2000) and Brooks Koepka (2018) make up that short list.

McIlroy has an opportunity to become the 7th different player to win the Masters and the US 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). ).

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 US Open, followed by consecutive wins by Rory McIlroy at the Open Championship and the PGA Championship.

Final notes & stats

• Most rounds in the 60s at the US 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 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 US 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 US Open since Martin Kaymer at Pinehurst in 2014.

• Since 2020, the average final score in relation to par for 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).

•  The last player to win back-to-back majors was Jordan Spieth in 2015 (Masters and US 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 US 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 US Open (since 2019), here is how the reigning PGA Championship winner has fared:

Brooks Koepka, 2nd in 2019 at Pebble Beach
Collin Morikawa, missed cut in 2020 at Winged Foot
Phil Mickelson, T62 in 2021 at Torrey Pines
Justin Thomas, T37 in 2022 at The Country Club
Brooks Koepka, T17 in 2023 at Los Angeles CC
Xander Schauffele, T7 in 2024 at Pinehurst Resort
Scottie Scheffler, T7 in 2025 at Oakmont CC

• Xander Schauffele, who finished T12 last year at Oakmont CC, has placed in the top 15 in each of his last nine US Open appearances: T5 at Erin Hills in 2017, T6 at Shinnecock Hills in 2018, T3 at Pebble Beach in 2019, fifth at Winged Foot in 2020, T7 at Torrey Pines in 2021, T14 at The Country Club in 2022, T10 at Los Angeles CC in 2023, and T7 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 (T55) was the only amateur to make the cut last year. Since 2008, at least one amateur has made the cut at this championship every year except for 2021. Notable amateurs to make the cut 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 T12 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.

• Scoring averages and ranks for each hole during the 2018 US 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 US Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club. The only US Open over the last 20 years in which the par-3s played to a higher stroke average was in 2007 at Oakmont CC (3.30).

Notes compiled by Elias Sports Bureau

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