The 126th US Open will take place from June 18 to June 21 at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, New York.  Two majors are in the books for the 2026 PGA Tour, and now the best golfers in the world are heading to one of the most punishing venues in the sport.  But this season has already delivered plenty of drama.

In April, Rory McIlroy made history at Augusta by winning his second consecutive Masters, holding off Scottie Scheffler by just one stroke in an intense final round.  Then, in May, Aaron Rai pulled off one of the more surprising results in recent major championship history.  The 31-year-old Englishman shot a final-round 65 at Aronimink and drained a 68-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole to claim the PGA Championship.  

Now, the tour arrives on Long Island, and Shinnecock Hills presents a completely different challenge.  The course stretches over 7,400 yards and sits fully exposed on the eastern end of Long Island, with nothing to block the wind coming from the Atlantic Ocean.  With this wind, controlling ball flight becomes nearly impossible.  The United States Golf Association makes the golfers’ jobs even more difficult, growing the rough so thick that a shot missing the fairway by just a couple feet is essentially unplayable, and baking down the greens until they are fast and rock hard.  In 2018, the setup was so extreme that well-struck approach shots were rolling straight off the greens into bunkers, and players were openly frustrated all week.

“It feels like I would shoot a 200 there in those types of conditions, because I always hit a slice,” said sophomore Jake Leber.

On a course this demanding, consistency matters far more than highlight reel shots.  Scottie Scheffler embodies this well, finishing one stroke back at Augusta and tying for seventh at Aronimink.  And, despite those near-misses, he still enters Southampton as the clear favorite.  On June 21, he will have a chance at the career Grand Slam on his 30th birthday, which is a remarkable amount of pressure to carry.  Scheffler handles adversity well though, as he is known for being able to reset and move forward, and on a course where bogeys are unavoidable, that kind of mental composure is a significant advantage.

“I think Scottie is due for a massive week.  He’s been right there in the mix all season, even though I am a Shane Lowry superfan.  On a course like Shinnecock where everyone is going to make bogeys, his steady style is exactly what wins trophies, but Shane Lowry is always my pick,” said sophomore Spencer Gordon.

McIlroy also arrives with strong momentum, coming off back-to-back wins at Augusta, and a seventh major title would be a significant milestone in his career.  Rai demonstrated at the PGA Championship that he can perform under pressure when it counts the most, so he can’t be overlooked either.  Brooks Koepka is always a threat when course conditions get brutal, as his career has been built on thriving in exactly these setups.

Xander Schauffele and Ludvig Aberg round out an extremely competitive field, with Aberg climbing the world rankings quickly enough that a strong performance would not be surprising at all.  More than 150,000 fans are expected to travel to Southampton, which should make for a remarkable atmosphere.  That said, by June 21, the leaderboard will likely reflect the course’s unique difficulty, with scores running much higher than players are used to posting. 

“I believe that an underdog or someone who just gets pars will win this year instead of a super flashy player.  A lot of guys are going to post really high scores, so whoever wins is just going to be the person who survives the tough course,” said sophomore Luke Garfin.