The annual test of nerves and sanity is this week at the 126th U.S. Open. Being at the Shinnecock Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y., where only four players have broken par in the last four U.S. Opens at the windswept Long Island track, expect local drug stores to sell out of antacids.
Brooks Koepka won in 2018 at 1-over. Retief Goosen won in 2004 at 4-under, followed by Phil Mickelson at 2-under. Corey Pavin won at even par in 1995. Raymond Floyd took the title in 1986 at 1-under.
With a good weather forecast in the offing, including lighter winds than normal, Shinnecock might not beat the field up as much. Wishful thinking, on the part of the players.
U.S. Open favorites, odds
As has been the case with every tournament in which he’s started this season, BetMGM has world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler as the tournament favorite, with a +550 money line. He’s followed by world No. 2 Rory McIlroy at +1200, Jon Rahm at +1400 and Xander Schauffele at +1800.
Other U.S. Open money lines:
Cameron Young +2000
Matt Fitzpatrick +2000
Tommy Fleetwood +2000
Ludvig Åberg +2200
Bryson DeChambeau +2800
Brooks Koepka +3300
J.J. Spaun +5000
Bud Cauley +9000
Miles Russell +100000
U.S. Open picks
Tommy Fleetwood: When we last saw Tommy at Shinnecock, he was posting an unworldly 63 in the final round in 2018 to finish one shot behind Kopeka. Fleetwood has three top-five finishes in the U.S. Open and this might be the week he snaps his major championship hex. Fleetwood hasn’t scored a follow-up hit to winning the Tour Championship last year but he’s got six top-10s this season, two among his last four starts.
Jon Rahm: It might be time to score one for a LIV player. Rahm’s tie for second in the PGA was his fourth top-10 in his last seven major championship starts, and since 2021, he’s finished among the top 10 in 11 of 18 starts in majors, including the 2021 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. His last four U.S. starts: first, T12, T10 and T7.
Daniel Berger: Because the U.S. Open has a way of evening the odds between the stars and the PGA Tour’s rank-and-file, Berger might be the perfect dark horse. He hasn’t made a top-10 since losing in a playoff at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, but has made a bunch of cuts this season. He tied for sixth in the U.S. Open at Shinnecock in 2018 and has made eight of 10 cuts.
U.S. Open winners since 2000
PGA Tour winners this season
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: U.S. Open picks, predictions, odds: Who wins in 2026?
Reporting by Garry Smits, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Garry Smits, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union | USA TODAY Network
