US Open Tips 2026

The 2026 US Open returns to Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in New York State as Major Championship golf returns in June. The US Open has a history of visiting the most challenging classical golf courses across the country and 2026 is no exception with the United States Golf Association’s (USGA) selecting the inland links course at Shinnecock.

This will be the 6th U.S. Open held at the course which is located close to the wealthy Hamptons area on eastern Long Island from Thursday 18th June to Sunday 21st June. Previous winners here in modern times are Ray Floyd, Corey Pavin, Retief Goosen and Brooks Koepka.

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Recent US Open history features a new breed of champion with first-time Major winners galore. Indeed going back to 2009, 13 of the last 17 champions had never captured a Major title.

2025 is a prime example – step forward J.J. Spaun. Arriving at Oakmont, the 34 year-old (at the time) had played in 8 Majors with 23rd at the 2022 Masters his best finish at the highest level. 2nd at The Players Championship in March, losing to Rory McIlroy in a play-off, had provided a message that the Californian could mix it at the highest level, but his Oakmont victory was a large surprise to most at best odds of 125/1

2023 saw relative unknown Wyndham Clark hit the big time. Winning his first PGA Tour title in early May at the Wells Fargo Championship, he then took out the U.S. Open 6 weeks later at 66/1. Prior to winning his best Major Championship finish had been T75.

2022 saw Matt Fitzpatrick win at 25/1 at the same Brookline course where he’d won the US Amateur 9 years earlier.  2021 saw Jon Rahm win his maiden Major title as the 9/1 favourite on the course where he won his first PGA Tour title back in 2017. In 2020, Bryson DeChambeau bludgeoned his way around Winged Foot to capture his first Major title – in doing so becoming only the second ever winner to average over 320 yards off the tee when winning a Major. 2019 saw Gary Woodland capture his first Major victory at the iconic Pebble Beach. Off the back of consecutive PGA Championship top-8 finishes, Woodland delivered a masterclass of long, straight driving and elite-level ball-striking at Pebble, holding off modern-day US Open king Brooks Koepka.

Brooks triumphed at both the 2017 and 2018 renewals held at the contrived Erin Hills and the classical faux-links at Shinnecock Hills. He hits the ball a mile, but undoubtedly has the patience, approach play and short game to tame tough golf courses. Before Brooks, 2016 saw the buccaneering Dustin Johnson show huge mental resolve to capture his first Major, despite being told on the 12th tee of the final round that he was being assessed for a one-shot penalty, sustained for his ball moving on the 5th green as he was addressing his putt.

2015 saw 21 year-old Jordan Spieth win back-to-back Majors at a versatile Chambers Bay course which split the opinions of both players and the wider golfing public. 2014 saw Martin Kaymer in a class of his own as he made playing Pinehurst Number 2 look unnaturally easy on his way to winning his 2nd Major title. 2013 saw Justin Rose capture his first Major Championship with an emotional victory at Merion Golf Club.

These victories followed on from first Major wins for Webb Simpson (Olympic Club 2012), Rory McIlroy (Congressional 2011), Graeme McDowell (Pebble Beach 2010) and Lucas Glover (Bethpage Black 2009).

2024 on this basis was an exception with Bryson DeChambeau capturing his second US Open at Pinehurst Number 2, taking advantage of Rory McIlroy’s late Sunday collapse. He joined Martin Kaymer, Jordan Spieth and Brooks Koepka (2018) who were all Major Champions when winning the US Open Championship.

So just who will be the 2026 U.S. Open champion at this tough, barren, classical, Poa Annua-grassed test that is Shinnecock Hill Golf Club?

Golf betting at the Major Championships is a complex subject. Mistakes can be costly, however select the right player or player portfolio and the rewards can be excellent. Golf Betting System’s goal is to provide you with informed US Open tips, free tournament research guides, plus insight and information that will help you make educated decisions about what players to back at the 2026 US Open Championship.

Course Information:

Shinnecock Hills Golf Course, Southampton, New York: Designer: William S Flynn, 1937, with Crenshaw & Coore renovation 2012; Course Type: Technical Inland Links; Par: 70; Length: 7,434 yards; Holes with Water Hazards In-Play: 1; Fairways: Bentgrass and Poa Annua; Rough: Bluegrass, Rye and Fescue; Greens: 6,000 sq.ft average Poa Annua.

Course Scoring Average:

• 2018: 74.65 (+4.65), PGA Tour Difficulty Rank 1 of 51 courses

Shinnecock Hills is an inland links-style golf course, famous for being the first links golf course in the United States. One of the founding courses of the USGA and certainly an iconic United States golf course, Shinnecock Hills was redesigned in the 1930s by William S. Flynn design.

An open property set in rolling hills, Shinnecock features plenty of long fescue grass, the likes of which players love to take images of their balls disappearing into before the tournament. However the course is actually pretty wide off the tee for a U.S. Open venue. Significantly changed prior to the 2018 U.S. Open by Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore – think Pinehurst Number 2 – in a 2012 renovation that saw hundreds of trees removed, green sizes increased and over 400 yards added in length. With ever changing routing, the real challenge of Shinnecock for the players is thinking about the wind and understanding how to hit relatively small, pronounced and well defended green complexes. A commonly held view is that Shinnecock Hills feels more like Scotland than almost any other golf course in the United States.

Shinnecock Hills is undoubtedly a United States classic. The club has hosted U.S. Open’s across the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries and golf history is absolutely everywhere in the clubhouse. A faux- links golf course, the course has a true Scottish feel to it and across the 1995 U.S. Open won by Corey Pavin, the 2004 renewal won by Retief Goosen, and the most recent 2018 U.S. Open won by Brooks Koepka, it yielded winning scores of Even/280, -4/276 and +1/281. 2018 highlights the well known fact that links golf is inextricably linked to weather conditions. +30mph gusting winds on Thursday allied to uncontrollably fast greens on Saturday saw no players break par across 72 holes. The 2004 renewal started with a softer than desired golf course and light winds on the opening day. But with the course becoming increasingly firm and fast, allied to stronger, gusting winds, scoring stalled. At tournament’s close only Goosen and Mickelson were under par.

Shinnecock Hills at 7,434 yards for a Par 70 is stretching. Below you can see how Shinnecock compares to other post-2018 Par 70 United States Major Championships host courses.

• 2022 PGA Championship – Southern Hills Country Club – 7,556 yards.
• 2024 U.S. Open – Pinehurst Number 2 – 7,548 yards.
• 2020 U.S. Open – Winged Foot – 7,477 yards.
• 2019 PGA Championship – Bethpage Black Course – 7,459 yards.
• 2018 U.S. Open – Shinnecock Hills – 7,445 yards.
• 2026 U.S. Open – Shinnecock Hills – 7,434 yards. 
• 2023 U.S. Open – Los Angeles Country Club – 7,421 yards
• 2026 PGA Championship – Aronimink Golf Club – 7,394 yards.
• 2023 PGA Championship – Oak Hill Country Club – 7,394 yards.
• 2025 U.S. Open – Oakmont Country Club – 7,372 yards.
• 2018 PGA Championship – Bellerive Country Club – 7,316 yards.
• 2022 U.S. Open – The Country Club, Brookline – 7,264 yards
• 2020 PGA Championship – Harding Park – 7,251 yards.

Naturally Shinnecock is a strategic golf course, which cannot be totally overpowered into submission. A set of 4 par-3s which include the 252 yard 2nd Hole are mentioned in the highest regards from a global standpoint. The short 157 yard 11th is a brute of hole, despite having a wedge in hand. 7 of 12 par-4s are over 450 yards, with the 3rd and 14th playing over 500 yards. As you’d also expect with a U.S. Open venue, the par-5s are no pushovers either at 592 yards (5th) and 614 yards (16th) from the tips.

But there are a couple of interesting points which we need to bear in mind with the Shinnecock layout. Firstly, whereas the sub-7,000 yard layout featured fairways which ranged in width from 26 to 28 yards, the Coore and Crenshaw renovation in their quest to take the course back to it’s 1930s William Flynn roots, widened the fairways to over 40 yards in lots of circumstances. Now the USGA in their quest to make the course more of a challenge replaced some significant chunks of fairway with rough. But Shinnecock’s fairways play at 30-34 yards in the championship landing areas. That’s very generous in modern day golf terms when compared to the likes of Torrey Pines South where fairway widths are 24-27 yards at 300 yards from the tee. To add a little detail, the 13th hole features the thinnest fairway at 19 yards at 275 yards from the tee. But apart from that, all holes feature fairways which are a minimum of 30 yards wide, with the 8th at a huge 64 yards wide. No matter how you look at this set-up, power is sure to be a huge advantage and even inaccurate drivers will find plenty of short grass.

Secondly, the renovation also saw green sizes grow a little, so green complexes at 6,000 sq.ft average are more generous than those we saw in 2004. Putting surfaces are Poa Annua, which we know are not to every players tastes, but they are a mix of 80% Poa Annua with 20% Bentgrass.

So undoubtedly Shinnecock Hills, as per all links venues, will play as hard as the conditions allow. A firm course with target 12.5ft stimp greens and plenty of wind as per 2018 will be an absolute beast. However if Mother Nature throws rain into the mix and tranquil conditions, no matter what the USGA try to do this will be a mid-score (-10 and above) winning golf tournament.

Shinnecock Hills is a Coore & Crenshaw Restoration.  Relevant PGA Tour designs are listed below:

Coore & Crenshaw

• Pinehurst Number 2 – 2014 + 2024 U.S. Open
• Plantation Course at Kapalua –  The Sentry
• Trinity Forest Golf Club – 2018/19 AT&T Byron Nelson
• Yokohama Country Club – Baycurrent Classic

Shinnecock Hills: The United States oldest genuine links-like test.

Let’s take the final skill statistics from Brooks Koepka from the latest 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills. This gives us a little more insight into the requirements for this test:

• 2018, Brooks Koepka (+1). 318 yards (2nd), 64.3% fairways (55th), 68.1% greens in regulation (4th), 47.8 % scrambling (24th), 1.76 putts per GIR (5th).

Unfortunately, as recently as 2018 the USGA were still living in the dark ages, so we have no Strokes Gained Data at all from Shinnecock. We have to rely on traditional golf stats, key top 5s from 2018 U.S. Open can be seen below:

• Driving Distance – 1st: Ryan Fox (41st); 2nd: Brooks Koepka (1st); 3rd; Gary Woodland (36th); 4th: Jhonattan Vegas (41st); 5th: Dustin Johnson (3rd).
• Total Driving – 1st: Tommy Fleetwood (2nd); 2nd: Dustin Johnson (3rd); 3rd: Louis Oosthuizen (16th); 4th: Gary Woodland (36th); 5th: Matthieu Pavon (25th).
• Greens in Regulation – 1st: Haotong Li (16th); T2nd: Tommy Fleetwood (2nd), Dustin Johnson (3rd); 4th: Brooks Koepka (4th); 5th: Matt Fitzpatrick (12th).

In Brooks Koepka, who won the latest 2018 U.S. Open held here, we have a long and not so straight driver, whose irons were very much on-point – at 68.1% Greens in Regulation, he ranked 4th for Greens Hit on the week. Brooks was the defending U.S. Open champion at Shinnecock, plus had also finished 4th at the 2014 U.S. Open played at Pinehurst Number 2 – another Coore & Crenshaw restoration. On top of his maiden Major victory, Brooks also had a further 5 top-10 Major finishes including 10th at the 2015 Open Championship (St Andrews) and 6th at the 2017 Open Championship (Royal Birkdale).

In Retief Goosen, who won the previous 2004 U.S. Open held here, we have a long and straight driver of the golf ball whose patient approach paid huge dividends. A 4-time top-10 finisher at the Open Championship, Goosen was no stranger to success on links-style golf courses at the highest level and naturally had also won the United States Open Championship 3 years earlier at Southern Hills. His victory was sealed by a combination of excellent driving – he ranked 3rd for Total Driving – and top-notch ball-striking where he topped the field. However when he missed greens his 70% up and down rate was also the best in the field.

10 Major Championships have been played in the Northeastern United States since the start of 2013. New York has staged 4 Majors, Pennsylvania 3, New Jersey 2, with Massachusetts holding 1 – this goes back to the 2013 U.S. Open won by Justin Rose at Merion in Pennsylvania. Nationality wise, Justin and Matt Fitzpatrick have been the only non-Americans to triumph, with Jason Dufner, Dustin Johnson, Jimmy Walker, Brooks Koepka (x2), Bryson DeChambeau and J.J. Spaun all being victorious for the home nation.

Below you’ll find the top 10 finishers across those 10 Majors held in the Northeastern United States since 2013:

2025 U.S. Open – Oakmont Country Club, Oakmont, Pennsylvania

• 1st: J.J. Spaun; 2nd: Robert MacIntyre; 3rd: Viktor Hovland; 4th: Tyrrell Hatton, Carlos Ortiz, Cameron Young; 7th: Sam Burns, Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler; 10th: Ben Griffin, Russell Henley.

2023 PGA Championship – East Course, Oak Hill Country Club, Pittsford, New York

• 1st: Brooks Koepka; 2nd: Viktor Hovland, Scottie Scheffler; 4th: Cam Davis, Bryson DeChambeau, Kurt Kitayama; 7th: Rory McIlroy, Sepp Straka; 9th Patrick Cantlay, Justin Rose, Cameron Smith.

2022 U.S. Open – The Country Club, Brookline, Massachusetts

• 1st: Matt Fitzpatrick; 2nd: Scottie Scheffler, Will Zalatoris; 4th: Hideki Matsuyama; 5th: Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa; 7th: Keegan Bradley, Adam Hadwin, Denny McCarthy; 10th Joel Dahmen, Gary Woodland.

2020 U.S. Open – West Course, Winged Foot, Mamaroneck, New York

• 1st: Bryson DeChambeau; 2nd: Matthew Wolff; 3rd: Louis Oosthuizen; 4th: Harris English; 5th: Xander Schauffele; T6: Dustin Johnson, Will Zalatoris; T8: Tony Finau, Zach Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Webb Simpson, Justin Thomas.

2019 PGA Championship – Black Course, Bethpage State Park, Farmingdale, New York

• 1st: Brooks Koepka; 2nd: Dustin Johnson; T3: Patrick Cantlay, Jordan Spieth, Matt Wallace; 6th: Luke List; 7th: Sung Kang; T8: Matt Kuchar, Shane Lowry, Rory McIlroy, Adam Scott, Erik van Rooyen, Gary Woodland.

2018 U.S. Open – Shinnecock Hills GC, Shinnecock Hills, New York

• 1st: Brooks Koepka; 2nd: Tommy Fleetwood; 3rd: Dustin Johnson; 4th: Patrick Reed; 5th: Tony Finau; T6: Daniel Berger, Tyrrell Hatton, Xander Schauffele, Henrik Stenson; T10: Justin Rose, Webb Simpson.

2016 PGA Championship – Lower Course, Baltusrol, Springfield, New Jersey

• 1st: Jimmy Walker; 2nd: Jason Day; 3rd: Daniel Summerhays; T4: Branden Grace, Brooks Koepka, Hideki Matsuyama; T7: Martin Kaymer, Henrik Stenson, Robert Streb; T10: Paul Casey, Tyrrell Hatton, William McGirt.

2016 U.S. Open – Oakmont Country Club, Oakmont, Pennsylvania

• 1st: Dustin Johnson; T2: Jim Furyk, Shane Lowry, Scott Piercy; T5: Sergio Garcia, Brendan Grace; Woodland; 7th: Kevin Na; T8: Jason Day, Jason Dufner, Zach Johnson, Daniel Summerhays.

2013 PGA Championship – East Course, Oak Hill Country Club, Pittsford, New York

• 1st: Jason Dufner; 2nd: Jim Furyk; 3rd: Henrik Stenson; 4th: Jonas Blixt; T5: Adam Scott, Scott Piercy; 7th: David Toms; T8: Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Zach Johnson, Rory McIlroy.

2013 U.S. Open – Merion Golf Club, Ardmore, Pennsylvania

• 1st: Justin Rose; T2: Jason Day, Phil Mickelson; T4: Jason Dufner, Ernie Els, Billy Horschel, Hunter Mahan; T8: Luke Donald, Steve Stricker; T10 Nicolas Colsaerts, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, Rickie Fowler, Hideki Matsuyama.

Another intriguing aspect to the last 10 winners of Major Championships held in the Northeastern United States is a proven track record in the area prior to capturing their title. Now the degree of pedigree varies across champions – as it would with winning prices which vary from 16/1 (Dustin Johnson) to 150/1 (Jimmy Walker) – but what is irrefutable is that every winner of a Major Championship held in this area since the start of 2013 had previous wins or top-12 finishes in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York or Pennsylvania, prior to lifting their respective trophy:

J.J. Spaun – 2025 U.S. Open Winner

• 17th – 2025 Truist Championship – Philadelphia Cricket Club

Brooks Koepka – 2023 PGA Championship Winner

• 5th – 2021 Travelers Championship – TPC River Highlands
• 1st – 2019 PGA Championship – Oak Hill CC
• 1st – 2018 U.S. Open – Shinnecock Hills
• 4th – 2016 PGA Championship – Baltusrol
• 9th – 2016 Travelers Championship – TPC River Highlands

Matt Fitzpatrick – 2022 U.S. Open Winner

• 12th – 2018 U.S. Open – Shinnecock

Bryson DeChambeau – 2020 U.S. Open Winner

• 8th –     2019 Travelers Championship – TPC River Highlands
• 1st –     2018 Dell Technologies Championship – TPC Boston
• 1st –     2018 Northern Trust – Ridgewood – New Jersey
• 8th –     2018 Travelers Championship – TPC River Highlands

Brooks Koepka – 2019 PGA Championship Winner

• 1st –     2018 U.S. Open – Shinnecock Hills
• 4th –     2016 PGA Championship – Baltusrol
• 9th –     2016 Travelers Championship – TPC River Highlands

Brooks Koepka – 2018 U.S. Open Winner

• 4th –     2016 PGA Championship – Baltusrol
• 9th –     2016 Travelers Championship – TPC River Highlands

Jimmy Walker – 2016 PGA Championship Winner

• 9th –     2014 Deutsche Bank Championship – TPC Boston
• 5th –     2009 Turning Stone Championship – Atunyote GC

Dustin Johnson – 2016 U.S. Open Winner

• 9th –     2015 The Barclays – Plainfield
• 8th –     2013 PGA Championship – Oak Hill
• 4th –     2012 Deutsche Bank Championship – TPC Boston
• 3rd –    2012 The Barclays – Bethpage Black
• 1st –     2011 The Barclays – Plainfield
• 9th –     2010 The Barclays – Ridgewood
• 4th –     2009 Deutsche Bank Championship – TPC Boston
• 1st –     2008 Turning Stone Championship – Atunyote GC

Jason Dufner – 2013 PGA Championship Winner

• 4th –     2013 U.S. Open – Merion
• 2nd –    2009 Deutsche Bank Championship – TPC Boston

Justin Rose – 2013 U.S. Open Winner

• 6th –     2011 The Barclays – Plainfield
• 1st –     2010 AT&T National – Aronimink
• 9th –     2010 The Travelers – TPC River Highlands
• 4th –     2006 Deutsche Bank Championship – TPC Boston
• 3rd –    2005 Buick Championship – TPC River Highlands
• 3rd –    2003 Deutsche Bank Championship – TPC Boston

In this day and age of statistics it’s interesting to look at what inbound player skill strengths, if any, are particularly shared by U.S. Open winners. Naturally this cannot be an exact science as the U.S. Open moves from course-to-course, with venues changing in terms of key requirements from the eventual winner. Nothing highlights that more than a striking difference between Shinnecock Hills, Pebble Beach, Winged Foot, Torrey Pines, Brookline, Los Angeles Country Club, Pinehurst Number 2 and Oakmont over the past 8 U.S. Open renewals. However there are patterns which are not exact, but definitely highlight trends.

For instance 14 of the last 19 winners of the U.S. Open ranked in the top 16 in the All-Round skill category in their last appearance. It’s also fact that no U.S. Open winner over the same timescale has been outside the top 18 for Greens in Regulation in the week they won. Naturally hitting your irons and approaches well is a huge upside.

But if we’re looking for strong skill sets in a winner’s previous appearance, we actually need to look for top-level driving. In Wyndham Clark, Matt Fitzpatrick, Brooks Koepka (x2), Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Martin Kaymer and Justin Rose we have 8 players who ranked 1st, 18th, 3rd, 25th, 1st, 1st, 16th, 1st and 8th for Total Driving in their previous appearance. For Martin Kaymer that happened to be at Wentworth, so he has to be excluded from the Strokes Gained stat angle, but that Total Driving number also translates very well to Strokes Gained Off the Tee.

Here Fitzpatrick (2nd), DeChambeau (16th), Koepka (5th), Koepka (2nd), Johnson (4th), Spieth (5th) and Rose (13th) clearly had real confidence with the driver when they arrived at Brookline, Torrey Pines, Winged Foot, Shinnecock Hills, Erin Hills, Oakmont, Chambers Bay and Merion respectively. If the European Tour had a consistent Strokes Gained Stat back in 2014, Kaymer would have been very close to the top of it at Wentworth as well.

If we go back to 2010 and look at Graeme McDowell’s lead in to his U.S. Open victory, he played the Wales Open on the European Tour, which he won. That week he topped Greens in Regulation at 80.6%, was 15th for Total Driving and was 2nd in the All-Round category.

2019 U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland was 52nd in his previous appearance at the  Memorial Tournament, which showed absolutely no hint of a Pebble Beach victory, but even with Woodland the All-Round, Total Driving and Strokes Gained Off The Tee angle works when you extrapolate a little. Prior to Muirfield Village, Gary had finished 8th at the PGA Championship – that was his second Major top 10 in his last 3 attempts. At Bethpage Black he’d ranked 4th for All-Round, 7th for Total Driving and 7th for Strokes Gained Off The Tee.

Now 2020 champion Bryson DeChambeau muddies the waters again, although in Covid times it’s worth noting it was played in mid-September. DeChambeau undoubtedly struggled with his All-Round came on his previous outing at East Lake. However both his Strokes Gained Off the Tee and Greens in Regulation numbers were in decent enough shape.

Covid again impacts the trend with Jon Rahm in 2021. Remember Rahm was leading the Memorial Tournament by 6 shots heading into Sunday when he tested positive for Covid-19 and had to withdraw. To say he was miffed was an understatement. Look at his numbers through 54 holes and, as you would expect, they were top drawer. 1st for Strokes Gained Off the Tee, 3rd for Total Driving and 1st for All-Round at the time of withdrawal, safe to say Jon was at the very peak of his powers and I’m inclined to use those numbers for U.S. Open research purposes ongoing.

2022 champion Matt Fitzpatrick played the week before the U.S. Open at the RBC Canadian Open at St George’s G&CC in Toronto, where he finished in 10th spot. 2nd for Strokes Gained Off the Tee, 18th for Total Driving and 7th for All-Round, marked him as a top contender to capture his first Major Championship in Massachusetts a week later.

2023 champion Wyndham Clark last year played the Memorial Tournament a fortnight before the Los Angeles Country Club-hosted U.S. Open. 1st for Total Driving (translated to 40th for Off the Tee incredibly), 2nd for Greens in Regulation and 3rd for All-Round was a beacon that if you overlooked his lack of Major experience. He would go on to win at a whopping 66/1.

Bryson DeChambeau in 2024 played LIV Houston the week before the Pinehurst Number 2-hosted US Open. As per 2020, his lead in event wasn’t exactly black and white in terms of indicators of impeding success, but like many US Open winners he was top 16 for All-Round.

And to bring this full circle, J.J Spaun missed the cut in his previous appearance at the Memorial Tournament, which showed absolutely no hint of an Oakmont victory, but even with Spaun the All-Round and Total Driving angle works when you extrapolate a little. Prior to Muirfield Village, J.J. had finished 6th at the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club, where he’d ranked 16th for All-Round, 28th for Total Driving and 3rd for Tee to Green.

US Opens are traditionally all about the length of the rough. Every year from the Monday of tournament week we see videos on Social Media with balls disappearing into rough and never reappearing! In every player interview prior to the off, the mantra is “got to keep the ball in the fairway,” and it’s continually repeated. The time old discussion point prior to US Opens is how does the USGA’s policy of +4 inch rough actually affect the outcome of the tournament. “Long and straight works” is something I utter on our US Open Golf Betting System Podcast every year, but is that actually true?

Well a perusal of the last 11 winners’ season-long statistics is quite revealing. Matt Fitzpatrick in 2022 was by far the shortest off the tee, ranking 91st for Driving Distance All Drives. Worth noting though that Fitzpatrick was undoubtedly work in progress in terms of his driving power, as he was 13th for Driving Distance at the RBC Canadian Open the week before, averaging a lengthy 310 yards off the tee.

Take Fitzpatrick out of the equation and taking 2015 through 2025 champions, all ranked in the top 80 for Driving Distance on the PGA Tour on arrival at the U.S. Open. In essence that equates to approximately top 45% on Tour for Distance Off the Tee. On the other hand, Dustin Johnson (2016), Brooks Koepka (2017/2018), Bryson DeChambeau (2020) and Wyndham Clark (2023) all ranked in the bottom 25% on Tour for Driving Accuracy.

Bryson DeChambeau in 2024 complicates things on the basis he’s a LIV Golf League player. Slot his LIV driving stats into the PGA Tour numbers for comparison and DeChambeau would have been the longest on Tour and the 170th most accurate when arriving at Pinehurst Number 2.

This is Steve’s pre-event preview for the 2026 US Open. Steve’s final US Open tips for 2026 will be published here around 18:00BST on the Monday of the event.

This article was last reviewed by Steve Bamford at 14:41BST 25.05.26.

Steve Bamford is co-founder and part of our editorial team at Golf Betting System and he focuses mainly on the PGA Tour. Steve has been involved in the gambling industry for over 15 years and has a passion for golf as well as football, horse racing and MMA, where he has developed a deep understanding of both online and offline betting gathered through practical experience. Steve also hosts the popular Golf Betting System podcast.

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