Shinnecock set to present a typically tough US Open challenge
THE third major championship on the 2026 calendar, the 126th US Open tees off in upstate New York at the Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on June 18.
Five Australians were confirmed in the 156-strong field, with a handful of others contesting final qualifying at various venues around the country.
An historic venue, one of the five founding clubs of the USGA, Shinnecock Hills last hosted the championship in 2018 and with its notoriously difficult setup, high fescue rough, coupled with the potential of strong winds off Peconic Bay, will present a typical US Open challenge.
Shinnecock has hosted the US Open on five previous occasions, the last in 2018, with Brooks Koepka the winner with a score of one-over par. Prior to that Retief Goosen shot four-under par to win in 2004 and Corey Pavin level-par in 1995, which was two strokes clear of runner-up Greg Norman.
Raymond Floyd was the champion in 1986 and again Norman had a chance, leading into the final round before a five-over par round of 75 on Sunday saw him finish 12th.
And way back in 1896, James Foulis, a Scottish-America, won at just the second-ever staging of the event, after finishing in a tie for third a year earlier in the inaugural US Open.
Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, the host venue for the 2026 US Open.
Aussies at the US Open
David Graham (1981) and Geoff Ogilvy (2006) are the only two Australian male golfers to win the US Open, while (as of May 18) there were five confirmed starters for the 2026 event.
Final qualifying may well deliver more Australians into the US Open field, however they will need to successfully navigate an extremely competitive process.
With qualifying open to any professional or amateur whose Handicap Index® does not exceed 0.4, there were 10,201 entrants, one shy of record set in 2025.
Local qualifying, played over 18 holes, took place at 108 sites through April and May, with Final qualifying, contested over 36 holes, scheduled at 13 sites from May 18-June 8.
Cameron Smith, Min Woo Lee, Jason Day, Lucas Herbert and Adam Scott, in his milestone 100th consecutive major championship appearance, have been confirmed as certain starters following the PGA Championship, which represented the cut-off date for a number of the exemption categories.
Of the five, Herbert had a win on the LIV Tour in early May in giving the Victorian a shot of confidence, while Scott played his way into the US Open with an impressive fourth-placing at the recent Cadillac Championship, one of the PGA Tour’s signature events.
What the Champion receives
In addition to the honour, the glory and the reputational boost that comes from a victory at the US Open, are a number of other bonuses and benefits.
The winner is presented the Jack Nicklaus Medal, which he obviously gets to keep, along with custody of the US Open trophy for one year.
Interestingly, the trophy doesn’t boast a fancy name, in the style of the PGA’s Wannamaker or Claret Jug presented to the Open Championship winner, just engraving on one side the words ‘United States Golf Association Open Championship’.
The champion also receives exemptions into the next 10 US Open Championships, along with exemptions into the next five Masters Tournaments, Open Championships and PGA Championships.
As for remuneration, the winner collects the lion’s share of the total prize purse, which in 2025 was US$4.3 million, from the US$21.5 total prizemoney on offer. The USGA doesn’t reveal the total amount of the prize purse until the week of the tournament, however the expectation will be for the amount to trend up, not the other way around.
Geoff Ogilvy, the 2006 champion, one of just two Australians to have won the US Open.
Planning ahead
The USGA, custodians and organisers of the US Open, have certainly planned ahead, with venues for future US Open’s already scheduled from the 2027 event at Pebble Beach in California, through to the 2051 championship, with Oakland Hills in Michigan already locked in.
Going forward, the US Open will return to this year’s host course Shinnecock Hills in 2036 and to Oakmont Country Club, the scene of JJ Spaun’s win last year, in 2033, then again in 2042 and for a third time in 2048.
In addition to the 2027 tournament, Pebble Beach is also on the rotation on three more occasions – in 2032, 2037 and 2044.
In all, 11 different courses will host the US Open between now and the 2051 championship at Oakland Hills.
The post 2026 US Open Shinnecock Hills – June 18-21 first appeared on Inside Golf. Australia's Most-Read Golf Magazine as named by Australian Golfers - FREE.
Article Link: https://www.insidegolf.com.au/news/2026-us-open-shinnecock-hills-june-18-21/