U.S. Open Tiers: Favorites, Contenders, and Sleepers Ranked

Let the challenge begin.

The U.S. Open returns to Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, New York, starting Thursday, and the third major of the season figures to once again be the toughest test in golf.

In five previous U.S. Opens at Shinnecock Hills dating back to 1896, only three golfers have finished with scores under par. Raymond Floyd finished 1 under when he became the oldest U.S. Open champion in 1986. Corey Pavin shot even par when he won his first major in 1995, and Retief Goosen (4 under) and Phil Mickelson (2 under) were the only golfers under par in 2004.

In the last U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, Brooks Koepka became the first back-to-back winner of the U.S. Open since Curtis Strange in 1988-89.

While Scottie Scheffler 's quest for the career Grand Slam will be the biggest story this week, the United States Golf Association's setup and ability to control the conditions will be under scrutiny.

In 2003, 28 golfers couldn't break 80 on Sunday, and the average score was 78.7.

In 2018, Mickelson purposely swatted his moving ball out of frustration on the 13th green and was docked a two-stroke penalty.

"[It's a] second-shot golf course," former U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick said. "The fairways are a little bit wider this time. Obviously, [the] U.S. Open tests all aspects of your game, I feel like. But Shinnecock, in particular, with how severe the greens are, you've got to do a good job of managing that."

Here's a look at the field in the 126th U.S. Open, from the favorites to the sleepers to the guys hoping to make the cut:

World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler hasn't won in his past 11 starts, the third-longest drought of his career. He isn't playing poor golf. He was a runner-up three times and is second on the PGA Tour with seven top-10s. If Scheffler's iron play improves this week, it wouldn't be surprising to see him win again.

Rory McIlroy

McIlroy isn't competing as much on tour as he did in the past, but it doesn't seem to be hurting him so far. After picking up his second straight win in the Masters , he has three straight top 20s. He isn't happy with consistency off the tee, which shouldn't be much of a problem this week because of Shinnecock's wide fairways. It has been 15 years since his lone U.S. Open win at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland.

Scottie Scheffler

He can become the seventh man to complete the career Grand Slam by winning at Shinnecock Hills on Sunday. His game has been up and down, from his iron play to his putting, but he's still more than good enough to get it done. He has four top-10s in his past five U.S. Open starts.

Xander Schauffele

Schauffele can get three-fourths of the way to a career Grand Slam by adding a U.S. Open trophy to his PGA Championship and Open Championship victories in 2024. He has seven top-10s in nine starts in the U.S. Open and hasn't finished worse than a tie for 14th.

Jon Rahm

The 2021 U.S. Open champion has won twice in the LIV Golf League this season and nearly chased down Tyrrell Hatton in the final round in Spain two weeks ago. He tied for second in the PGA Championship on a difficult course, a sign he might contend this week.

Cameron Young

Young was Captain America during last year's Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, and the New York native will be playing in front of a home crowd again this week. He has two wins and six top-10s in 2026.

Matt Fitzpatrick

He's the only golfer on tour with three victories this season and was playing better than anyone before a recent so-so stretch. The 2022 U.S. Open winner is coming off back-to-back mediocre finishes in the event but is playing much better this season.

Here are the other legitimate contenders to win the U.S. Open. They have the game, guts and nerves to handle four pressure-packed rounds on a setup that is traditionally the most difficult among the majors.

Russell Henley

He picked up his sixth PGA Tour victory in the Charles Schwab Challenge on May 31. Henley finished in the top 14 in four of the past five U.S. Opens. He leads the tour in driving accuracy (71.9%), which will only help at Shinnecock.

Ludvig Åberg

The 26-year-old from Sweden is more than talented enough to win his first major. He had a three-month stretch of good golf until finishing 39th in the Memorial. He was in the hunt in the final round of the PGA Championship and tied for fourth. Åberg switched to a mallet-style Scotty Cameron Phantom 3 putter in the Charles Schwab Challenge and had good results.

Collin Morikawa

Morikawa, 29, is a new dad and returned to the tour in the Canadian Open. He has been bothered by a bad back since The Players, but the extra time off might have helped. He also can claim three-fourths of the career Grand Slam after capturing the 2020 PGA Championship and 2021 Open Championship.

Tommy Fleetwood

The reigning FedEx Cup champion picked up steam with top-five finishes in the Truist Championship and the Memorial Tournament (with a missed cut in the PGA Championship in between). He carded a 7-under 63 at Shinnecock Hills on Sunday in 2018, nearly chasing down Brooks Koepka.

Chris Gotterup

A Jersey guy winning his first major on Long Island? It sounds like a Bruce Springsteen song. Gotterup has cooled off since winning two of his first three starts of the season, but he has all the tools to pick up his first major win.

Patrick Reed

Remember me? The former Masters champion has made only two starts since early March while he waits to return to the PGA Tour on Aug. 25. He tied for 12th in the Masters and for 10th in the PGA Championship. He finished solo fourth in the 2018 U.S. Open and can contend again.

Robert MacIntyre

The Scottish golfer won the Scottish Open and Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in the past three seasons, so he should feel right at home at Shinnecock Hills. His form hasn't been great since the Masters, but he was runner-up in last year's U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club.

Bryson DeChambeau

Hey, Google Gemini, what are Bryson's chances to win this week? "He is an absolute tier-one contender. If you are betting on or pulling for Bryson, you are banking on his historic U.S. Open magic overriding his shaky performance in the year's first two majors. ... If he manages his accuracy off the tee during the first two rounds, he is a clear favorite to play late into Sunday afternoon. If the driver gets erratic early, Shinnecock's brutal fescue rough will make it a very short week." There you have it from the technology that purportedly fixed Bryson's swing in Spain . The two-time U.S. Open winner's game was a mess in the first two majors .

Brooks Koepka

He lifted a U.S. Open trophy on the 18th green the last time the tournament was played at Shinnecock Hills, defeating Fleetwood by a stroke to win the major for the second time. He was fourth on tour in approach (.754) heading into the RBC Canadian Open. If his putter heats up, he might be a factor. However, Koepka's status is in question after he withdrew from the RBC Canadian Open before the final round because of a hand injury.

Wyndham Clark

Clark's game is heating up after he won the CJ Cup Byron Nelson on May 24. The 2023 U.S. Open champion at Los Angeles Country Club tied for third in the Memorial in his next start. Shinnecock Hills' lockers seem to be safe .

Tyrrell Hatton

The English golfer just picked up his second LIV Golf victory in Spain. He's a three-time winner of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on the DP World Tour and tied for sixth in the 2018 U.S. Open. He was in the hunt in last year's U.S. Open and tied for fourth.

Sam Burns

Burns tied for seventh at the Masters and for fourth at the Memorial and has been one of the best putters on tour this season. He has three top-10s in his past eight majors after struggling in the Big Four early in his career. Burns was right there at last year's U.S. Open until he struggled over the final eight holes.

Justin Thomas

JT's form has been good since late April; he posted a Sunday 65 to get into contention at the PGA Championship. Thomas missed the cut in his past three starts in the U.S. Open, but he has all the shots -- especially around the greens -- to make noise this week.

Si Woo Kim

Kim has climbed to 18th in the world rankings with eight top-10s in his first 16 starts on tour this year. He hasn't finished in the top 25 of a U.S. Open since tying for 13th in his debut in 2017.

Kristoffer Reitan

He claimed his first PGA Tour win at the Truist Championship and tied for sixth at the Memorial. He's 106th in driving accuracy (56.9%), which might be a concern this week.

Justin Rose

Rose, 45, has played some of the best golf of his career over the past couple of seasons. The 2013 U.S. Open winner missed the cut in five of his past six starts in the event.

Joaquín Niemann

Niemann keeps winning in the LIV Golf League, picking up his eighth victory in South Korea in May . His best finish at the U.S. Open was a tie for 23rd in 2020.

Harris English

Another former Georgia Bulldog with good success at the U.S. Open, English finished eighth or better in three of his past six starts in the event. He has struggled with his irons this year, but his putting has been lights-out.

Hideki Matsuyama

The former Masters champion has two top-10 finishes in his past four U.S. Open starts. He tied for second at the 2017 U.S. Open at Erin Hills in Wisconsin, another links-style course.

Patrick Cantlay

Cantlay had a nice stretch of golf just before the Masters, finishing in the top 12 in four straight events. He missed the cut at Oakmont last year, the first time he didn't play on the weekend in the U.S. Open.

Aaron Rai

Rai was a stunning winner in the PGA Championship. He won the 2020 Scottish Open on a links-style course, and he's second on tour in driving accuracy (69.9%). Can he catch a red-hot putter in back-to-back majors?

Jordan Spieth

Spieth is coming off a missed cut at the Memorial and doesn't have a top-10 in 15 starts, but his game doesn't appear far off from contending. He was once regarded as one of the best links-style golfers in the world because he hit greens and scrambled well. He's still one of the best scramblers on tour. He'll have to hit irons better and find fairways off the tee.

Cameron Smith

The LIV Golf League captain ended a tough stretch in the majors when he tied for seventh in the PGA Championship.

J.J. Spaun

After a slow start to the season, the defending U.S. Open has found his form again. He finished in the top 14 in four of his past five starts.

Here are the sleeper candidates to lift the U.S. Open trophy Sunday. The list includes former major championship winners, rising stars and other players whose games have been works in progress this season. Will it all come together at Shinnecock Hills?

Gary Woodland

Woodland, who won the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links, is still crushing the ball off the tee at age 42.

Alex Smalley

Smalley had at least a share of the lead in each of the first three rounds at the PGA Championship and tied for runner-up. He followed that with a tie for third at the Charles Schwab Challenge and a missed cut at the Memorial.

Ben Griffin

After a rough start to the season, Griffin had turned things around until a missed cut at the Memorial. He tied for 10th at last year's U.S. Open.

Akshay Bhatia

He missed the cut in two of his past three starts on tour and has been wildly inconsistent off the tee, ranking 123rd in driving accuracy (55.5%).

Shane Lowry

Lowry's game had been in a rut since his late collapse at the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches in late April. He showed some life the past couple of weeks and should be more than comfortable at Shinnecock Hills.

Maverick McNealy

McNealy tied for 18th at the Masters and the PGA Championship and tied for 10th at the Memorial.

Viktor Hovland

The ultratalented Hovland has slipped to 33rd in the Official World Golf Ranking and had just one top-10 finish in his fir

_Originally reported by [ESPN](https://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/page/Usopenrankings2026/2026-us-open-ranking-favorites-contenders-hopefuls)._