The 2026 U.S. Open begins on Thursday and will be played at legendary Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y.
While all of the best players in the world will be battling it out on one of the hardest courses on the planet, a number of big-name guys will be looking to win their first U.S. Open. Leading that list is Scottie Scheffler, who has won four major championships and needs a U.S. Open title to become just the seventh player in the history of the sport to win a career grand slam.
The U.S. Open was last played at Shinnecock in 2018, where Brooks Koepka won his second straight with a score of one over, one shot better than Tommy Fleetwood.
While J.J. Spaun will be looking to defend his U.S. Open title this year, plenty of star players will be looking to get their first.
Let’s take a look:
Scottie Scheffler
Scheffler has won the Masters twice, the PGA Championship once and is the defending British Open champion. The closest he’s come to winning the U.S. Open came in 2022 when he finished second behind Matt Fitzpatrick at The Country Club in Brookline, Ma.
Scheffler, the No. 1-ranked player in the world, has been the most dominant player on the PGA Tour over the past few years but he hasn’t been able to put it all together at the U.S. Open. Last year at Oakmont he finished tied for seventh, five shots behind Spaun.
It’s surprising that he hasn’t won the U.S. Open yet but it wouldn’t be much a surprise if he pulls it off this year.
Cameron Young
Cameron Young has three career wins on the PGA Tour but is still looking for his first major title. He won the Players Championship back in March and has all the tools necessary to get a win at Shinnecock. His best finish at the U.S. Open came last year when he finished tied for fourth.
Young backed up his Players victory by finishing third at the Masters in April. He has six top-10 finishes this year on the PGA Tour and would love nothing more than to get a win in his home state.
Tommy Fleetwood
Tommy Fleetwood has been a fan-favorite over the years and finally picked up his first PGA Tour win last August when he took home the Tour Championship at East Lake. His best finish at the U.S. Open came at Shinnecock in 2018 when he finished second behind Koepka after firing a final-round 63.
Fleetwood has been his usual consistent self this year—he has six top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour, including a T4 finish last week at the Memorial.
Collin Morikawa
Collin Morikawa has been a steady force on the PGA Tour in recent years and knows what it takes to win a major. He has two under his belt—the 2020 PGA Championship and the 2021 British Open.
Morikawa’s best finish at the U.S. Open came in 2021 when he finished T4 at Torrey Pines. Last year, he finished T23 at Oakmont.
Xander Schauffele
Xander Schauffele also has won two major championships in his career, with both coming in 2024 at the PGA Championship and the British Open. His best showing at the U.S. Open came in 2019 when he finished T3 at Pebble Beach.
Schauffele is seemingly always in contention at majors, and that has continued so far this year with a pair of top-10 finishes at the Masters (T9) and the PGA Championship (T7).
Justin Thomas
Like Morikawa and Schauffele, Justin Thomas has won two major championships but has yet been able to put it all together at the U.S. Open where his best finish came in 2019 when he placed T8 at Winged Foot.
Thomas finished T25 the last time the U.S. Open was held at Shinnecock.
Ludvig Åberg
A lot has been expected of Åberg since he joined the PGA Tour a few years ago but he’s still looking for his first major championship. He held a lead late at the Players Championship in March, which would have been his biggest win of his career, but then he collapsed down the stretch and finished T5.
Åberg has struggled a bit at the U.S. Open, with his best finish being a T12 at Pinehurst in 2024. He has a T2 at the 2024 Masters and a T4 at the 2026 PGA Championship last month, so he knows what contending at a major championship feels like. Now it’s time for him go out and win one.
Viktor Hovland
Viktor Hovland already has seven wins on the PGA Tour, but the 28-year-old is still looking for his first major championship. His best showing at the U.S. Open came last year at Oakmont when he finished T3.
Hovland, one of the quirkiest players on the PGA Tour, has had a disappointing year so far with just one top-10 finish. He missed the cut at the PGA Championship last month after rounds of 74 and 72.
Russell Henley
Russell Henley, who made his Ryder Cup debut last year at Bethpage, has been playing some great golf this year and is currently ranked No. 5 in the world. He picked up his sixth PGA Tour win last month at the Charles Schwab Challenge and finished T3 at the Masters in April. He stumbled a bit at the PGA Championship where he missed the cut after rounds of 72 and 73.
Henley’s best finish at the U.S. Open came in 2024 when he collected a T7 at Pinehurst.
