US Open Golf 2026: Shinnecock Hills, Scheffler's Grand Slam Quest

The 2026 US Open Championship runs from Thursday, June 18 to Sunday, June 21, 2026, at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, New York. Round 1 teed off on June 18, the third major championship of the 2026 season.

Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, New York (Long Island). One of the oldest and most prestigious courses in America, Shinnecock Hills is a founding member club of the USGA (1894) and is hosting its sixth US Open. The course is renowned for its brutal rough and unpredictable seaside conditions.

Wyndham Clark leads the 2026 US Open at 7-under par after 54 holes (rounds of 64-69-70) at Shinnecock Hills, building a commanding 6-shot advantage entering the final round. Scottie Scheffler shot a 1-under 69 on Saturday, one of only two players to finish in the red on a windy Moving Day, to climb into a tie for second at 1-under par total, alongside Sahith Theegala, Tom Kim, and Sam Stevens. Clark and Scheffler play together in Sunday's final group. Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka both missed the cut, a significant story given Koepka's two wins at this venue in 2018.

Wyndham Clark, who won the US Open at Los Angeles Country Club in 2023, holds a commanding 4-shot lead after Round 2 at Shinnecock Hills. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, seeking the career Grand Slam, is 7 shots back at even par after two rounds. Rory McIlroy, who famously completed the career Grand Slam himself at the 2025 Masters, is also 7 shots back after struggling in Round 2 with three consecutive bogeys at holes 10, 11 and 12.

Scheffler is chasing the career Grand Slam, winning all four major championships at least once. He has won the Masters twice (2022 and 2024), the PGA Championship (2025), and The Open Championship (2025). The US Open is the only major he has never won. Winning at Shinnecock Hills would make him the 7th player in history to complete the career Grand Slam.

Only six men have ever completed the career Grand Slam (winning all four majors): Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, and Rory McIlroy (most recently, completing it at the 2025 Masters). Scottie Scheffler is chasing his place in that group at the 2026 US Open.

The final round of the 2026 US Open falls on Sunday, June 21, which is Scottie Scheffler's 30th birthday. If he wins, he would complete the career Grand Slam on his milestone birthday, one of the most remarkable storylines in major championship history. He joins Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, and Tiger Woods as the only men to win the Masters, PGA Championship, and The Open before turning 30.

Shinnecock Hills has hosted five previous US Opens. Past winners: James Foulis (1896), Raymond Floyd (1986), Corey Pavin (1995), Retief Goosen (2004, in a playoff), and Brooks Koepka (2018). Notably, when Koepka won in 2018, no player finished under par for the entire week, a testament to the course's difficulty.

The total prize fund for the 2026 US Open is $22.5 million, a record purse for the championship and $1 million more than the 2025 edition. The winner's share is approximately $4 million.

Players qualify via multiple pathways: world rankings (top 60 in combination with other criteria), winners of designated PGA Tour and international events, former US Open champions, Masters champions, and players who survive sectional qualifying, a grueling 36-hole qualifier open to any professional or amateur meeting the handicap standard.

The USGA deliberately sets up courses to test precision over power: tight fairways, ankle-deep rough just inches off the fairway, and fast greens that punish anything short of perfect approach shots. The target winning score is around even par, while other majors regularly see winners double digits under. Shinnecock Hills in particular is notorious for wind, firm conditions, and fast-running fairways.

The final round (Round 4) of the 2026 US Open is Sunday, June 21, 2026. Coverage begins mid-morning on NBC and Peacock in the USA.