Breaking Down the 2026 U.S. Open Field

Major season continues as Shinnecock Hills Golf Club plays host to the 2026 U.S. Open. A current field of 149 players will tee it up on Long Island, and the Fried Egg Golf staff decided to split up some notable names into buckets. From current form and past major results to straight-up vibes, here’s our breakdown of this week’s field, from the favorites all the way to those who are just with is in spirit.

Rory McIlroy

Age: 37 | OWGR: 2
Major History: Wins (6), Top 10s (35), Starts (69)

The last time the U.S. Open came to Shinnecock, Rory McIlroy got punched in the face, firing an 80 in the first round, his worst score ever in relation to par in a major. He would go on to miss his third straight cut at the U.S. Open, but that nadir became the origin story for a remarkable turnaround. McIlroy decided he needed to raise the floor of his game, become a stronger player mentally, and he went on to finish in the top 10 in the next six U.S. Opens. –Kevin Van Valkenburg

Scottie Scheffler

Age: 29 | OWGR: 1
Major History: Wins (4), Top 10s (17), Starts (27)

The most interesting player in the field with the most on the line is Scottie Scheffler. Ever since he put his hands on the Claret Jug last July, we’ve looked to Shinnecock as the place where Scheffler could quickly join Rory McIlroy as recent career slam winners. A decade wait for Rory to achieve that was inconceivable back in 2015, and it’s similarly so with Scheffler now. His game, ability to hit different shapes and trajectories, strategic approach, and established record at this major and others suggest he will win this championship. But! He’s not entering in ship shape, by Scottie standards. And we could caveat everything we say with that. His irons have been average, by Scottie standards. He’s not really been in the fight at the end recently, by Scottie standards. He’s looked and sounded frustrated more frequently, by Scottie standards. His putting at the PGA was poor in windy conditions and sloping greens, which will be prevalent at Shinnecock. The standard is incredibly high. He’s made the cut and finished in the top 25 in every single start this year, including some hard runners-up to elite players. Not everything has come together so fittingly as in recent years, so far, and that could change quickly. Watching Scheffler work around perhaps America's best championship course will be a treat. The scrutiny is somewhat heightened and the career consequences for a win have never been higher. –Brendan Porath

Ludvig Aberg

Age: 26 | OWGR: 14
Major History: Top 10s (3), Best Finish (2), Starts (10)

In 10 major starts so far in his young career, Ludvig Aberg has either finished in the top 25 or missed the cut. A lot of eyes turned to the rising Swedish star when he started his Masters career with finishes of second and seventh, but skepticism started to seep in with missed cuts last year at the PGA and U.S. Open. In nine events since the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Aberg has five top-five finishes, including a T-4 at the PGA Championship. I like Ludvig at Shinnecock. –Adam Woodard

Bryson DeChambeau

Age: 32 | OWGR: 30
Major History: Wins (2), Top 10s (10), Starts (38)

Has Bryson found the stability and companionship in his life with Gemini? Does he want to be a pro golfer or a content creator? Does he have a Tour to play on next year? Is he unconcerned he might “miss all four cuts at majors this year”? It’s a strange time, even by BrysonWorld standards. He had a nice finish at Portrush last year, but as far as majors go, he has not been the same player since Rory took his lunch in the final round of the Masters. This comes after a stretch where he was almost a lock to at least contend at the game’s biggest events. It’s hard to see him being off the stage at the majors for much longer given his immense talent and track record, but these are strange times. –Brendan Porath

Matt Fitzpatrick

Age: 31 | OWGR: 4
Major History: Wins (1), Top 10s (6), Starts (44)

Is Matt Fitzpatrick the fourth-best golfer in the world? Seventh? Wherever you slot him, he’s indisputably a top-10 player in the world right now, preparing to play another East Coast U.S. Open, where he has had success before. The 2022 U.S. Open champion has won twice on the PGA Tour this season — three times if you include a partner win at the Zurich Classic — and nearly won the Players Championship, as well. He’s about as well-rounded as any golfer in the field and should have high expectations at Shinnecock. –Joseph LaMagna

Jon Rahm

Age: 31 | OWGR: 8
Major History: Wins (2), Top 10s (16), Starts (38)

In Jon Rahm’s first go-around at Shinnecock Hills, he shot 78-77 to miss the cut by seven shots. But Rahm is a better golfer now than he was in 2018, even if he hasn’t shown up in major championships as often as he should since joining LIV Golf at the end of 2023. At this year’s PGA Championship at Aronimink, he had a chance to win for nearly the entirety of Sunday until Aaron Rai pulled away. Rahm ultimately finished T-2, his best major finish since the 2023 Open. Given the strength of his current form and the fact that Scottie Scheffler hasn’t looked as dominant in 2026 as the previous two seasons, this year’s U.S. Open offers a prime opportunity for Rahm to make a statement and add to his two-major tally, a win total that understates the greatness of his game. –Joseph LaMagna

Xander Schauffele

Age: 32 | OWGR: 12
Major History: Wins (2), Top 10s (19), Starts (36)

Is Xander Schauffele back to being the player he was in 2024? Not quite, but he’s getting close. Injuries turned him into a bit of a house cat in 2025, but a jungle cat is emerging once again, particularly his iron play and his putter. How’s this for a crazy stat: Schauffele has never finished outside the top 15 in nine appearances in the U.S. Open. –Kevin Van Valkenburg

Cameron Young

Age: 29 | OWGR: 3
Major History: Top 10s (7), Best Finish (2), Starts (20)

You’d be hard pressed to find more than two — or maybe even just one! — better players than Cameron Young over the last 365 days. After barely getting through in a playoff at last year’s U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying, he notched six top 10 finishes (including his first PGA Tour win) before a true breakout performance as the best American at the 2025 Ryder Cup. The calendar’s flip to 2026 has just been more of the same for Young, with two wins and a spot in the final pairing at the Masters to date. Winning his first major championship would be putting a big bow on a True Breakout Year™️ for the ages. –PJ Clark

Tommy Fleetwood

Age: 35 | OWGR: 7
Major History: Top 10s (8), Best Finish (2), Starts (43)

You might remember Tommy Fleetwood’s Sunday charge from the last spin around Shinnecock: a final round 63 that notched him a solo second in just a one-shot loss to Brooks Koepka. He even *just missed* a putt for 62 on 18! Sure, he went out early in the day and finished well before the leaders, thanks to starting the day six back, but that’s semantics. You also probably know the Fleetwood deal at this point: after a few more disastrous Sundays in contention, he finally won his first PGA Tour event at last year’s Tour Championship. He hasn’t played to the level of his 2025 heater yet, but yes, Tommy Fleetwood CAN win this U.S. Open. It’s up to you to decide if you think he will. –PJ Clark

Christopher Gotterup

Age: 26 | OWGR: 11
Major History: Top 10s (2), Best Finish (3), Starts (6)

Success in major championships early in one’s career tends to be a harbinger of future success in golf’s most important events. Through six career major championship starts, 26-year-old Chris Gotterup already has two top-10 finishes, including a solo third last summer at the Open Championship, where he contended until Scottie Scheffler pulled away late on Sunday. Gotterup has three wins in the last 12 months and a unique ability to change trajectories off the tee, which should pay dividends on a windy, firm Shinnecock Hills. He is a legitimate contender at this year’s U.S. Open. –Joseph LaMagna

Russell Henley

Age: 37 | OWGR: 5
Major History: Top 10s (6), Best Finish (T-3), Starts (46)

I’m surprised that Joseph didn’t politic his way into getting Russell Henley into the Legit Contenders portion of this article! Yes, he’s right, Henley deserves more appreciation from the masses for his continual improvement into one of the 10 best players in the world. As we saw at Colonial, he’s able to get hot in a hurry and his iron play routinely makes up for any speed demon deficiencies off the tee. He’s gotta make his putts to win, but so does everybody! He’ll keep the train on the tracks — or the Russ Bus in the right lane, if you will — and I do expect him to end up on the first page of the leaderboard come Sunday morning. –PJ Clark

Brooks Koepka

Age: 36 | OWGR: 109
Major History: Wins (5), Top 10s (18), Starts (48)

If you think Brooks Koepka is washed, you haven’t been paying close attention this year. His iron play has been as good as anyone outside of Scheffler and McIlroy. He just can’t find a feel with the putter. Putting certainly matters in majors, but not as much as ball-striking and course management. A third U.S. Open win would give Koepka as many as Tiger Woods and Hale Irwin, very rare company. –Kevin Van Valkenburg

Hideki Matsuyama

Age: 34 | OWGR: 25
Major History: Wins (1), Top 10s (10), Starts (53)

The U.S. Open is the only major where Hideki has done much of anything since winning the Masters in 2021, with a fourth-place finish at Brookline and a top 10 at Pinehurst. Still, an underwhelming run of results for one of the elite tee-to-green players of his era. His putting has been pretty decent this season, which is full of meh — he makes every cut, but has not placed inside the top 10 in 11 straight starts. Shinnecock sets up well for his strengths, but how often do we not say that at a major? His career might be worthy of a second major, we just haven’t seen him truly contend in a good while. –Brendan Porath

Collin Morikawa

Age: 29 | OWGR: 10
Major History: Wins (2), Top 10s (10), Starts (26)

Can I copy and paste what I wrote for the PGA Championship here? He has not played since the PGA and skipped the Memorial — a place where his strengths shine and where he has won — due to the birth of his first child. It feels like we were robbed of a potentially great Morikawa season with that injury at the Players. What to expect since then has been a shrug emoji, including an all-time gritty Masters showing that he should be given flowers for the rest of his career. His putting remains the biggest weakness, with his distance less of an issue for Shinnecock. He’s won an Open in those conditions and remains one of the very best iron players in the world. It’s just hard to boost him given the rollercoaster since that injury, and now the more important recent life events of becoming a dad. –Brendan Porath

Patrick Reed

Age: 24 | OWGR: 26
Major History: Wins (1), Top 10s (9), Starts (47)

Shinnecock Hills is one of Patrick Reed’s favorite golf courses in the world. Last year, I asked him which golf courses he would draw inspiration from if he was designing his own major championship venue. Augusta National and Shinnecock Hills, he answered. Reed finished solo fourth at the 2018 U.S. Open despite a shaky stretch through the middle of his Sunday round. His form is there — he is one of just four players to finish in the top 12 of both of the season’s first two majors — and his comfort with the golf course is there. Don’t be surprised if the 2018 Masters champion finds himself in contention on Long Island. –Joseph LaMagna

Justin Rose

Age: 45 | OWGR: 6
Major History: Wins (1), Top 10s (24), Starts (86)

One year removed from losing in a playoff at Augusta National, Justin Rose once again found himself in contention at this year’s Masters with nine to play. He bogeyed three holes on his second nine against one birdie to come up two shots shy of the winning score in a tie for third. Weeks after the tournament, Rose admitted it took a couple of weeks to get over the loss. On the bright side for Rose, he is playing some of the best golf of his career at the ripe age of 45, winning earlier this year at Torrey Pines by seven shots. If he were to get this one across the finish line, 13 years after winning his first U.S. Open at Merion, it would be one of the greatest stories this field can offer.  –Joseph LaMagna

Justin Thomas

Age: 33 | OWGR: 16
Major History: Wins (2), Top 10s (9), Starts (42)

His early Sunday charge at the PGA Championship was the first time Justin Thomas has been truly relevant in the final round of a major since he won at Southern Hills in 2022. He has one PGA Tour win since Southern Hills and one moment of major contention. While JT has never really cratered or tumbled out of the top 30 in the OWGR, expectations were higher after the first five years of his career, which also saw a flash at No. 1 in the world. Is this just his level? A very good, not elite player whose game is simply not as complete as the best in the world. Those areas that struggle to match the elites of his profession would be his putting and driving. JT has been one of the great shotmakers of this era and you can envision him riding some confidence from Aronimink to shape and flight different shots at Shinny (think about the Players in the wind). If his driver stays relatively safe, that’s the way he pushes onto the leaderboard again at a major. But his U.S. Open resume is quite meh. –Brendan Porath

Akshay Bhatia

‍Age: 24 | OWGR: 28
Major History: Top 10s (0), Best Finish (T-16), Starts (11)

Akshay Bhatia had a run of T3-T6-T16-1-T13 from the WM Phoenix Open through the Players Championship. Good stuff! A win at Bay Hill is nothing to scoff at for a young player continuing to develop as a star. The bad news? He has just one top-20 finish since, including two missed cuts at this year’s major championships. Can’t say I see it happening this week for Akshay, but a solid result would be a strong push towards Medinah. –PJ Clark

Sam Burns

Age: 29 | OWGR: 29
Major History: Top 10s (3), Best Finish (T-7), Starts (24)

With all due respect to members of this esteemed “Could Win” tier, such as *checks notes* “Jordan Spieth,” “Joaquin Niemann,” and “Maverick McNealy…” Sam Burns belongs in a better group. No, he has not won in over three years. That is bad and I’ll concede that point immediately. Since his last win in 2023 though, Burns has continued to improve in major championships. He held the 54-hole lead at Oakmont last year, he was just one back of the lead going into Sunday at Royal Troon in 2024, and he did not melt away at the 2026 Masters as many might’ve expected. Burns has figured out how to be around the lead at these big-time events. That’s basically half the battle. Now he just has to have the trusty putter finish the job on a back nine on Sunday. I believe Sam Burns will be a major champion. I even think it might be this week. –PJ Clark

Patrick Cantlay 

Age: 34 | OWGR: 34
Major History: Top 10s (5), Best Finish (T-3), Starts (37)

Do you have a restaurant you default to when you’re out of ideas but need a meal? It’s completely fine, useful, and above average, but wholly uninspiring. It’s been four years since Cantlay has won any tournament, let alone a major. His major performance continues to be uninspiring, with last year’s run of MCs being particularly disastrous. There’s not really been any speck of contention since Pinehurst, his best career chance and a legit impressive showing. If you’re looking for a made cut, and then a middling presence on the weekend, he has been your guy! –Brendan Porath

Wyndham Clark

Age: 32 | OWGR: 37
Major History: Wins (1), Top 10s (2), Starts (18)

However you feel about the tantrum-throwing, locker-destroying Wyndham Clark, he’s playing good golf again and is a serious threat to win the U.S. Open for a second time. His iron play at Memorial was exceptional. At the C.J. Cup, his putter was on fire. Can he marry the two at Shinny? –Kevin Van Valkenburg

Harris English

Age: 36 | OWGR: 22
Major History: Top 10s (5), Best Finish (2), Starts (37)

Harris English could conceivably win a major championship. Back when we did our Pro Golf Survey at the beginning of the year, he received a considerable share of the votes for the most underrated golfer in the world. English is a great driver of the ball and a solid long-iron player, important pieces of the puzzle at Shinnecock. The two-time Ryder Cupper and one-time Envelope Man finished runner-up in two majors in 2025. He has the game to compete at golf’s biggest ballparks. As for his form? Eh. He has one top-10 finish this season but is consistently finishing T-15 to T-25. He could win; it just isn’t super likely. –Joseph LaMagna

Rickie Fowler

Age: 37 | OWGR: 41
Major History: Top 10s (13), Best Finish (2), Starts (56)

Saying Rickie Fowler could win is appropriate, but “could” is doing a lot of lifting. He is largely considered to be one of the best golfers of the 21st century to not win a major championship, but his best playing days are likely behind him. On the bright side, Fowler has shown signs of life in 2026, racking up three consecutive top-10 finishes in strong fields just over a month ago. His two most recent appearances, however, have not been encouraging. He missed the cut in both starts, including a dead-last finish at the Memorial Tournament. Still, one of golf’s most recognizable names has flashed enough form to warrant the “Could Win” label, and it’s hard to imagine a more popular winner, should magic come to fruition at Shinnecock. To win, he’ll need to fare a little better this time around than in 2018, when he shot 84 in the third round on one of the most notorious days in modern major championship history. –Joseph LaMagna

Ben Griffin 

Age: 30 | OWGR: 15
Major History: Top 10s (2), Best Finish (T-8), Starts (9)

Are we doing the New York caricature thing again and calling him Benny Booms like we did at the Ryder Cup? Want to hear something wild? Griffin has more PGA Tour wins than he does U.S. Open starts. This will be just his second national championship after a top 10 last year at Oakmont. After a dicey start to the season, Griffin has come on again in the last six weeks, similar to this time frame last year. He has been a poor tee-to-green player this season but has improved. This feels like a tall task to really get in the hunt given his uneven season and scant major experience, but we could have said the same about Aaron Rai a month ago. –Brendan Porath

Nicolai Hojgaard

Age: 25 | OWGR: 32
Major History: Best Finish (T-14), Starts (14)

I wrote about Nicolai Hojgaard ahead of the PGA Championship and the blurb won’t change much leading into the U.S. Open. A member of the European Ryder Cup team and a three-time winner on the DP World Tour, Hojgaard has yet to win on the PGA Tour but has a pair of runner-up finishes this season at the Houston Open and Truist Championship. It’s still early in his major career, but Hojgaard is too talented a player to stay out of contention for long. A win at Shinnecock would still be surprising, but a top-10 wouldn’t be. –Adam Woodard

Viktor Hovland

Age: 28 | OWGR: 33
Major History: Top 10s (5), Best Finish (T-2), Starts (26)

Could Viktor Hovland win this golf tournament? Sure. He has been one of the best iron players on Tour since turning professional in 2019 and earned a spot in the penultimate pairing at last year’s U.S. Open. But he’ll need to be a heck of a lot better off the tee than he’s been for much of the last two years. In Hovland’s first five years on Tour, he was a fixture of the top 15 in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee. This year, he is ranked outside the top 100, a continuation of struggles that plagued him throughout 2025. The driver has cooperated more in recent weeks than at the beginning of the year, but you’d like to see a little more form before feeling confident in Hovland’s chances at one of the most demanding ball-striking venues in golf. –Joseph LaMagna

Si Woo Kim

Age: 30 | OWGR: 18
Major History: Top 10s (1), Best Finish (T-8), Starts (36)

Si Woo is having one of the better bridesmaid seasons on the PGA Tour, again. A tee-to-green ace (seriously, very few are better in the entire game) that the data boys love continues to play in late tee times on Sundays. Those skills should suit him for Shinnecock. But his major championship resume is an absolute war zone, with just one top 10 in 36 career starts. –Brendan Porath

Min Woo Lee

Age: 27 | OWGR: 36
Major History: Top 10s (1), Best Finish (T-5), Starts (19)

Earlier this year, Dr. Chipinski made some enlightening comments about the state of his game, admitting that in past years, he got to a point where he’d “rather play not the signature events and play well on courses that weren't maybe as tough.” He decided to rein in the swing speed a bit with the driver and saw immediate dividends at signature events at Pebble Beach and Bay Hill. Lee had an extended run near or at the top of the leaderboard at Aronimink, but missed the cut at the Memorial. –PJ Clark

Robert MacIntyre

Age: 29 | OWGR: 17
Major History: Top 10s (5), Best Finish (2), Starts (21)

Against seemingly all odds and any belief from the Sunday television broadcast, Robert MacIntyre finished in solo second at the 2025 U.S. Open! Many — perhaps primarily myself — believed that MacIntyre’s strong end to last year would serve as a trampoline into the top tier of the game in 2026. That… has not happened yet. He was loitering on the periphery at the Players on Sunday, but his only other result of note was a collapse to finish second at the Valero Texas Open. I still believe MacIntyre has the guts to win a major, and it’s going to have to be one where the grinders are rewarded. In theory, Shinnecock matches up quite nicely with that, though he’ll have to buck his recent form to make it happen. –PJ Clark

Maverick McNealy

Age: 30 | OWGR: 35
Major History: Best Finish (T-18), Starts (14)

Maverick McNealy is a fine professional golfer, but he’s not a serious contender at a major championship. He started in all four majors for the first time last season and in 14 appearances has yet to crack the top 10. A pair of T-18s this year at the Masters and PGA gives some hope that Shinnecock could be his first yellow box on Wikipedia, but I find it hard to believe a first-time major winner will emerge next week on Long Island. –Adam Woodard

Aaron Rai

Age: 31 | OWGR: 13
Major History: Wins (1), Top 10s (1), Starts (13)

Can Aaron Rai contend regularly in majors? Seems unlikely. He drives the ball about as far as Matt Kuchar and Lucas Glover. That shouldn’t take away from his win at Aronimink. Sometimes, a mortal man meets the moment with exceptional play. That said, I’d be stunned (but impressed) if he was competitive in this major. –Kevin Van Valkenburg

Kristoffer Reitan

Age: 28 | OWGR: 24
Major History: Best Finish (T-30), Starts (4)

Kristoffer Reitan is high on the list of names the casual golf fan may not know, but the hardcore fan knows to have a chance at winning this U.S. Open. The 28-year-old Norwegian struggled early in the year to adjust to life on the PGA Tour, but he’s rattled off four top-10 finishes in his last seven starts, including a win at the Truist Championship. Reitan has only played in one U.S. Open so far in his career, coincidentally enough at Shinnecock Hills in 2018, where he got his butt kicked and shot 81-77. However, he is a completely different player today, and it would not be a surprise to see his name on the first page of the leaderboard this time around. –Joseph LaMagna

Adam Scott

Age: 45 | OWGR: 50
Major History: Wins (1), Top 10s (20), Starts (99)

The golf gods have penned some great stories over the years. Adam Scott winning the U.S. Open at 45 years old in his 100th consecutive major start would be one for the ages. Scott has aged like a fine wine both on and off the golf course, and as Brendan Porath wrote ahead of the PGA, he’s been “a monument to longevity in an era that rarely produces it in professional golf.” He’s second on the PGA Tour in SG: Approach this season, which sets up well for Shinnecock. –Adam Woodard

Alex Smalley

Age: 29 | OWGR: 40
Major History: Top 10s (1), Best Finish (T-2), Starts (5)

Alex Smalley is statistically an above-average player across the board. He’s a promising talent who doesn’t have a glaring weakness in his game, but he also isn’t a standout in any categories. His T-2 at the PGA Championship was a great weekend, but also a bit of a surprise in just his fifth major start. He’ll tee it up for the first time in the U.S. Open as a professional at Shinnecock, and I’m genuinely interested to see how he fares. –Adam Woodard

J.J Spaun

Age: 35 | OWGR: 9
Major History: Wins (1), Top 10s (1), Starts (12)

The defending champion enters as a quiet contender this year. J.J. Spaun is still an above-average player off the tee and is only behind Adam Scott and Collin Morikawa in SG: Approach this season. He won at the Valero Texas Open, then missed the cut at the Masters and again at the PGA Championship. Seven top-25 finishes in 15 events show he can stay in the mix, but just three top 10s and poor results in signature events keep him in the “could win” category. –Adam Woodard

Jordan Spieth

Age: 32 | OWGR: 51
Major History: Wins (3), Top 10s (14), Starts (53)

Saying Jordan Spieth can win this championship feels like a reach, even for an admitted Spieth Fan Club member like myself. Imagine him trying to hang onto a lead down the stretch here. It would be like watching an amateur stuntman ride a unicycle down a flight of stairs. Sure, he could pull it off, but c’mon. –Kevin Van Valkenburg

Sepp Straka

Age: 33 | OWGR: 19
Major History: Top 10s (2), Best Finish (T-2), Starts (20)

Last year was a rough one in majors for Straka. He missed three out of four cuts and finished 52nd in the Open, but give him a pass. His focus needed to be on family after his son was born prematurely. There have been signs of progress in 2026. He’s posted three top 10s, including a fourth-place finish at the Cadillac Championship. Not back yet, but trending. –Kevin Van Valkenburg

Gary Woodland

Age: 41 | OWGR: 44
Major History: Wins (1), Top 10s (4), Starts (55)

Gary Woodland has driven the ball exceptionally well in 2026. Only Scheffler, McIlroy, and Cameron Young have been better. But his chipping and his iron play have been holding him back most weeks. Could that change at Shinnecock? It seems unlikely. He would need to hit a ton of greens. His chipping is among the worst on the PGA Tour this year. –Kevin Van Valkenburg

Nineteen amateurs are in the field at Shinnecock, and 12 earned their way through U.S. Open Final Qualifying, including 17-year-old Miles Russell, whom Joseph wrote a great profile on. Two other elite amateurs — for now — we wanted to highlight are Auburn star Jackson Koivun and Mason Howell. 

Mason Howell

Age: 18 | OWGR: 5,051
Major History: Best Finish (MC), Starts (1)

Howell, an 18-year-old incoming freshman at Georgia, is one of the top junior players in the country and earned his spot by winning the 2025 U.S. Amateur after an incredible run to the title as the No. 63 seed in match play out of 64 players. While in Athens, he’ll room with 2025 U.S. Junior Amateur champion Hamilton Coleman, who is also in the U.S. Open field. –Adam Woodard

‍Jackson Koivun

Age: 21 | OWGR: 254
Major History: Best Finish (MC), Starts (1)

Koivun, a three-time SEC champion and the leader of two national champion teams at Auburn, will turn pro following the U.S. Open and make his debut at the John Deere Classic. He earned his way to Shinnecock via the McCormack Medal as the world’s top-ranked amateur and is the only player in college golf history to win all three player of the year awards — the Haskins, Hogan, and Nicklaus Awards — more than once. TL;DR: This dude is really freaking good and has the potential to be the next American star. –Adam Woodard

Matthew Jordan

Age: 30 | OWGR: 273
Major History: Top 10s (2), Best Finish (T-10), Starts (5)

I am not our resident Golf Course Czar, so I asked my colleague Garrett Morrison about how Shinnecock Hills compares to an Open Championship venue:

“The biggest thing is the wind. But it’s also firm and fast, and there is a severe penalty for wide misses off the tee (fescue).”

You know who has an outstanding record at major championship venues that could be described like that? The Links Master, Matthew Jordan. Sure, you may not know this 30-year-old Englishman. He missed the cut last year at Oakmont (not a links course, by the way!). But this man has an uncanny ability to shoot even-par on windy golf courses with fescue. His 284 total score (71-71-71-71) at the 2024 Open at Royal Troon remains one of the great golf achievements of our time, perhaps even better than Xander Schauffele’s win in the same event!

If this U.S. Open gets windy (I hope!) and plays as close to 280 strokes as possible… this MJ might be the G.O.A.T. for that setup. –PJ Clark

{{inline-course}}

Scott O’Neil — the CEO of LIV Golf, for those who don’t get too into the weeds of professional golf…or CNBC — needs a win. O’Neil is currently on a road show, pitching investors on why they should invest hundreds of millions of dollars to save a league that set the gold standard for how quickly billions of dollars can be lit on fire. Do you think those pitches are going swimmingly? Well, there is one way the pitch could get easier: if one of the below gentlemen hoists the U.S. Open trophy on the 72nd green on Sunday afternoon. LIV golfers showing up at all of the remaining events on this year’s LIV schedule may not be a guarantee, but showing up in a pitch deck if any of them leave Shinnecock the U.S. Open champion? That is a stone-cold lock. –Joseph LaMagna

Tyrrell Hatton

Age: 34 | OWGR: 21
Major History: Top 10s (8), Best Finish (T-3), Starts (44)

Dustin Johnson

Age: 41 | OWGR: 242
Major History: Wins (2), Top 10s (23), Starts (67)

Joaquin Niemann

Age: 27 | OWGR: 79
Major History: Top 10s (1), Best Finish (T-8), Starts (27)

Carlos Ortiz

Age: 35 | OWGR: 185
Major History: Top 10s (1), Best Finish (T-4), Starts (12)

David Puig

Age: 24 | OWGR: 56
Major History: Best Finish (T-39), Starts (6)

Cameron Smith

Age: 32 | OWGR: 132
Major History: Wins (1), Top 10s (10), Starts (39)

Caleb Surratt

Age: 22 | OWGR: 280
Major History: First appearance

Peter Uihlein

Age: 36 | OWGR: 176
Major History: Best Finish (T-44), Starts (11)

These folks are not present, but, for better or worse, and oftentimes worse, they are critical parts of the recent U.S. Open at Shinnecock oeuvre. We remember them, but are happy to be moving on to a new era and excited for new characters to enter the carnival ring. –Brendan Porath

Tiger Woods

Phil Mickelson

Zach Johnson 

Mike Davis

Holly Sonders