For the 126th time, the USGA will be crowning a national champion when the governing body holds the 2026 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, June 18-21. The famed course in Southampton, N.Y., is hosting the major championship for the sixth time, with today’s best looking to join James Foulis (1896), Raymond Floyd (1986), Corey Pavin (1995), Retief Goosen (2004) and Brooks Koepka (2018) as previous Shinnecock winners.
Among the early anticipated storylines will be following Scottie Scheffler, whose wins at last year’s PGA Championship and Open Championship mean he he can close the career Grand Slam at this year’s U.S. Open. Sunday’s final round at Shinnecock also falls on Scheffler’s 30th birthday.
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The USGA began accepting online entries on Feb. 18, with a deadline of 5 p.m. EDT on April 8 to apply. Any professional or amateur whose Handicap Index did not exceed 0.4 could file an entry. Local Qualifying was conducted over 18 holes at 108 sites in U.S., and one each in Canada and Mexico, taking place from April 20-May 18. Those players who advance joined a group of locally exempt players in Final Qualifying, which was be conducted over 36 holes at 10 U.S. and three international sites. The final stage was held in England and Texas on May 18, then in Japan on May 25, before wrapping up with 10 more qualifying sites on June 8, what the USGA dubs “Golf’s Longest Day.”
Since 2004, an average of 77.9 players in the U.S. Open field have advanced through one or both stages of qualifying. A year ago at Oakmont, 70 players earned their spot through qualifying, 15 of whom made the cut, including four finishing in the top 20 overall. The top qualifier was Carlos Ortiz, who finished in a tie for fourth and is exempt into this year’s championship.
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Generally considered to be the earliest links in America, heavily remodeled by C.B. Macdonald, then replaced (except for three holes) by William S. Flynn in the early 1930s, it’s so sublime that its architecture hasn’t really been altered for nearly 60 years. Stands of trees that once framed many holes have been removed, and in 2012, the team of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw did make a few changes, mostly greens and fairways expansions and new mowing patterns, though those were modified in preparation for the 2018 U.S. Open, won by Brooks Koepka. Shinnecock Hills is hosting its sixth U.S. Open in 2026, and the club will host again in 2036. View Course
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Upon the close of entries in 2026, 51 golfers were exempt through local and final qualifying into the 156-player field that will play at Shinnecock Hills (they each must formally apply to compete). The USGA has 25 exempt categories in which golfers can continue to earn their way into the championship. On May 18, a handful of other exempt categories were triggered and 34 more players earned their way into the Shinnecock field, most notably PGA Championship winner Aaron Rai.
Below are the players who already know they have a tee time waiting this summer. Two golfers notably not fully exempt: Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. Woods’ 10-year exemption for the last of his three U.S. Open wins ran out in 2019. His five-year exemption for his 2019 Masters win ran out in 2024. He competed that year at Pinehurst, however, after the USGA granted him a special exemption.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Open is the only major Mickelson hasn’t won, having famously finished second a record six times, including at Shinnecock Hills in 2004. He also famously ran afoul of the USGA at Shinnecock in 2018 for hitting a moving golf ball on a green. Mickelson’s five-year exemption into the U.S. Open for winning the 2021 PGA Championship ended last year. Mickelson received a special exemption to play in the 2021 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, but then qualified on his own after winning the PGA at Kiawah Island. It has been reported that he did not file an entry to try to qualify for this year’s U.S. Open.
U.S. Open Full Exemption Categories1. U.S. Open winners (last 10 years; 2016-25)
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Warren Little
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J.J. Spaun (2025) Bryson DeChambeau (2020, 2024) Wyndham Clark (2023) Matt Fitzpatrick (2022) Jon Rahm (2021) Gary Woodland (2019) Brooks Koepka (2017, 2018) Dustin Johnson (2016)
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2. Low 10 and ties, 2025 U.S. Open
J.J. Spaun Robert MacIntyre Viktor Hovland Cameron Young Tyrrell Hatton Carlos Ortiz Jon Rahm Scottie Scheffler Sam Burns Ben Griffin Russell Henley
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3. 2025 U.S. Senior Open winner
Padraig Harrington
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4. 2025 U.S. Amateur winner
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Mason Howell (a)
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5. 2025 U.S. Junior and U.S. Mid-Amateur winners, and 2025 U.S. Amateur runner-up (must be an amateur)
Hamilton Coleman (a) (U.S. Junior champ) Brandon Holtz (a) (U.S. Mid-Amateur champ) Jackson Herrington (a) (U.S. Amateur runner-up)
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6. Masters winners (2022-2026)
Rory McIlroy (2026) Rory McIlroy (2025) Scottie Scheffler (2024) Jon Rahm (2023) Scottie Scheffler (2022)
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7. PGA Championship winners (2022-2026)
Aaron Rai (2026) Scottie Scheffler (2025) Xander Schauffele (2024) Brooks Koepka (2023) Justin Thomas (2022)
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8. Open Championship winners (2021-2025)
Scottie Scheffler (2025) Xander Schauffele (2024) Brian Harman (2023) Cameron Smith (2022) Collin Morikawa (2021)
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9. Players Championship winners (2024-2026)
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Cameron Young (2026) Rory McIlroy (2025) Scottie Scheffler (2024)
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10. 2025 BMW PGA Championship winner (DP World Tour)
Alex Noren
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11. Players who qualified and were eligible for the season-ending 2025 Tour Championship
Ludvig Aberg Akshay Bhatia Keegan Bradley Jacob Bridgeman Sam Burns Patrick Cantlay Corey Conners Harris English Tommy Fleetwood Chris Gotterup Ben Griffin Harry Hall Brian Harman Russell Henley Viktor Hovland Sungjae Im Shane Lowry Robert MacIntyre Hideki Matsuyama Rory McIlroy Maverick McNealy Collin Morikawa Andrew Novak Justin Rose Scottie Scheffler J.J. Spaun Sepp Straka Nick Taylor Justin Thomas Cameron Young
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12. Winners of multiple winners PGA Tour events that award full-point allocation for the FedEx Cup (conclusion of the 2025 U.S. Open to initiation of the 2026 U.S. Open)
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Alex Slitz
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Matt FitzpatrickChris Gotterup Justin RoseScottie SchefflerCameron Young
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13. Top five players in the 2026 FedEx Cup standings not otherwise exempt as of May 18. (Note: Blank entries will be filed by the USGA for players who become exempt after close of entries.)
Alex Fitzpatrick Patrick Rodgers Matti Schmid Sahith Theegala Sudarshan Yellamaraju
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14. The points leader from the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour season (combined points earned on the KFT Regular Season Points Standings and in the KFT Finals)
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Justin Edmonds
Johnny Keefer
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15. Top two players from the 2025 Race to Dubai Rankings not otherwise exempt as of May 18. (Note: Blank entries will be filed by the USGA for players who become exempt after close of entries.):
Adrien SaddierLaurie Canter
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16. Top player from the 2026 Race to Dubai Rankings not otherwise exempt as of May 18. (Note: Blank entries will be filed by the USGA for players who become exempt after close of entries.):
Jayden Schaper
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17. 2025 British Amateur winner (must be an amateur)
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Ethan Fang (a)
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18. 2025 Mark H. McCormack Medal winner (must be an amateur)
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Jackson Koivun (a)
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19. 2026 NCAA Division I Men’s Individual Golf Championship winner (must be an amateur)
Preston Stout (a)
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20. 2026 Latin America Amateur winner (must be an amateur)
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Mateo Pulcini (a)
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21. Top 60 points leaders and ties in the Official World Golf Ranking as of May 18. Players must select a qualifying site at the time of entry. (NOTE: Blank entries will be filed by the USGA for players who become exempt after the close of entries.)
Scottie Scheffler Rory McIlroy Cameron Young Matt Fitzpatrick Justin Rose Collin Morikawa Tommy Fleetwood Xander Schauffele J.J. Spaun Chris Gotterup Russell Henley Jon Rahm Ludvig Aberg Robert MacIntyre Aaron Rai Justin Thomas Ben Griffin Sepp Straka Hideki Matsuyama Alex Noren Patrick Reed Harris English Jacob Bridgeman Si Woo Kim Kristoffer Reitan Akshay Bhatia Tyrrell Hatton Nicolai Hojgaard Kurt Kitayama Viktor Hovland Min Woo Lee Bryson DeChambeau Patrick Cantlay Maverick McNealy Sam Burns Keegan Bradley Ryan Gerard Rickie Fowler Jake Knapp Shane Lowry Jason Day Alex Smalley Marco Penge (WD) Daniel Berger Michael Kim Matt McCarty Jordan Spieth Gary Woodland Adam Scott Nicolas Echavarria Samuel Stevens Corey Conners Andrew Novak Ryan Fox Brian Harman Michael Brennan Pierceson Coody David Puig Nick Taylor Ryo Hisatsune
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22. Top 60 points leaders and ties in the Official World Golf Ranking as of June 15 (if not previously exempt). Players must select a qualifying site at the time of entry. (NOTE: Blank entries will be filed by the USGA for players who become exempt after the close of entries.)
Bud CauleyJ.T. Poston
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23. Top player not otherwise exempt and in top three of the final 2025 LIV Golf Individual Standings as of May 18
Joaquin Niemann
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24. Top player not otherwise exempt and in top three of the 2026 LIV Golf Individual Standings as of May 18
Lucas Herbert
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25. Special exemptions as selected by the USGA. (Must have filed an entry by April 8, 2026. Deadline for submission of request: May 10)
TBD
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QUALIFIERS (Local & Final)
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Zac Blair Filippo Celli Ugo Coussand Ryder Cowan (a) Cooper Dossey Adrian Dumont de Chassart Hennie du Plessis Marek Fleming (a) (L & F) Max Greyserman Emiliano Grillo Cole Hammer Vaughn Harber (a) (L & F) Nick Hardy Angel HidalgoHarry Higgs Robbie Higgins (L & F) J.B. Holmes Billy Horschel Ben James Matthew Jordan T.K. Kim (L & F) Tom Kim Nathan Kimsey Chris Kirk Ben Kohles Chase Kyes (a) (L & F) Greyson Leach (L & F) Bryan Lee (a) Eric Lee (a) Graeme McDowell Max McGreevy Keith Mitchell Taylor Montgomery William Mouw Niklas Norgaard James Nicholas Ryuichi Oiwa Kaito Onishi Jackson Ormond (a) (L & F) John Parry Jake Peacock (L & F) Chandler Phillips Giuseppe Puebla (a) (L & F) Andrew Putnam Logan Reilly (a) (L & F) Rocco Repetto Taylor Matthew Robles (a) (L & F) Kevin Roy Marcelo Rozo Miles Russell (a) Taihei Sato Jack Schoenberger (a) (L & F) Manav Shah (L & F) Neal Shipley Ben Silverman Jake Sollon (L & F) Jimmy Stanger Jackson Suber Caleb Surratt Arni Sveinsson (a) Davis Thompson Spencer Tibbits Alejandro Tosti Peter Uihlein Jackson Van Paris (L & F) Brandon Wu Dylan Wu Carl Yuan
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