The US Open is a unique major. The Masters has Augusta National, The Open has the links and the US Open has the brutality.
Pinehurst No.2 hosted an almighty championship in 2024, culminating in Bryson DeChambeau beating Rory McIlroy in one of the greatest major events in recent history.
McIlroy agonisingly missed short putts on holes 16 and 18 to surrender the tournament to DeChambeau who roared in a par putt on the 72nd hole to win his second US Open title, after splashing a remarkable bunker shot from the greenside sand under immense pressure.
This was one of the most memorable US Opens for some time. J.J. Spaun then won his first major title at Oakmont in 2025, in what was a damp and wet tournament in Pittsburgh.
Shinnecock Hills is the host venue for the 2026 US Open.
Shinnecock has hosted the US Open five times. This will be the sixth time, and the most recent occasion was in 2018 when Brooks Koepka won the US Open in consecutive years.
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Tiger Woods was granted a special exemption to play in the 2024 tournament after his eligibility for winning the 2019 Masters had run out. Woods maintained his schedule of playing in each major championship in the 2024 season.
It is probably a safe bet that Woods, a 15-time major champion and legend of the game, will be extended another invitation to play in 2026 if he is fit enough, given past icons such as Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer were offered the same privileges.
Along with DeChambeau, past US Open champions on the LIV Golf roster such as Jon Rahm will be in the field with their 10-year exemptions.
Players at the top of the world amateur golf ranking and the Official World Golf Ranking will be eligible to play at Shinnecock, as well as previous winners of The Open Championship, the Masters and the PGA Championship.
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Here are some notable players who are yet to qualify/currently ineligible, for the US Open:
Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed, Sergio Garcia, Louis Oosthuizen, Jason Day, Adam Scott, Tony Finau, Rickie Fowler, Joaquin Niemann, Marco Penge, Rasmus Hojgaard, Nicolai Hojgaard, Ryan Fox, Max Homa
Take a look below at the US Open field 2026, which we will endeavour to update when new players qualify:
US Open field – 2026
Ludvig Aberg
Akshay Bhatia
Keegan Bradley
Jacob Bridgeman
Sam Burns
Brian Campbell
Patrick Cantlay
Wyndham Clark
Hamilton Coleman (must remain an amateur)
Corey Conners
Bryson DeChambeau
Harris English
Ethan Fang (must remain an amateur)
Tony Finau
Matt Fitzpatrick
Tommy Fleetwood
Chris Gotterup
Ben Griffin
Harry Hall
Brian Harman
Padraig Harrington
Tyrrell Hatton
Russell Henley
Jackson Herrington (must remain an amateur)
Brandon Holtz (must remain an amateur)
Viktor Hovland
Mason Howell (must remain an amateur)
Sungjae Im
Stephan Jaeger
Dustin Johnson
Johnny Keefer
Brooks Koepka
Jackson Koivun (must remain an amateur)
Shane Lowry
Robert MacIntyre
Hideki Matsuyama
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Rory McIlroy
Maverick McNealy
Collin Morikawa
Alex Noren
Andrew Novak
Carlos Ortiz
Mateo Pulcini (must remain an amateur)
Jon Rahm
Justin Rose
Xander Schauffele
Scottie Scheffler
Cameron Smith
J.J. Spaun
Sepp Straka
Nick Taylor
Justin Thomas
Gary Woodland
Cameron Young
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