The 126th U.S. Open tees off Thursday at Shinnecock Hills, widely considered one of the most difficult majors venues around the world.

Our golf experts preview the event, break down betting trends and provide their favorite prop picks along with best bets to win this week. That includes a wave of public support for European players following Rory McIlroy’s successful defense at the Masters and Aaron Rai’s breakthrough win at the PGA Championship.

126th U.S. OPEN
Location: Southampton, N.Y., June 18-21
Course: Shinnecock Hills Golf Club (Par 70, 7,440 Yards)
Purse: $22.5 (2025: $4.5M)
Defending Champion: J.J. Spaun
FedEx Cup Leader: Matt Fitzpatrick

PROP PICKS
–Scottie Scheffler Top 5 Finish (+110 at BetMGM): The world’s No. 1-ranked player has only managed to hoist one trophy so far this year, but he does have seven top-5 finishes. That includes a runner-up at the Masters. Scheffler is unsurprisingly the most popular bet in the field to finish top-5 this week.

–Kristoffer Reitan to Beat Alex Fitzpatrick (-108 at DraftKings): Two of the breakout stars of the first half of 2026 are pitted against each other here. Ranked 204th at the end of last year, Fitzpatrick has rocketed up to 69th with excellent finishes including fourth at the Truist Championship and a T6 at the Memorial after winning the Zurich Classic with his brother.

Reitan served notice by hanging around the top of the leaderboard before settling for T41 at the Masters. He then won the Trust and equaled Fitzpatrick at the Memorial. This will be Fitzpatrick’s first U.S. Open. Reitan missed the cut in his lone appearance — at Shinnecock in 2018 as a 20-year-old amateur.

BEST BETS
–Scheffler (+455 at DraftKings) is attempting to become the seventh player to complete the career Grand Slam. His lone victory this year came back at the American Express in January. That hasn’t prevented Scheffler from being the biggest liability at BetMGM, where he leads the field with 14.1% of all bets and 24.7% of all money wagered on this week’s winner.
–Rory McIlroy (+940) has three top-10s in eight starts this season, including his win at the Masters. Only six players have won the Masters and U.S. Open in the same year. McIlroy is second in both total bets (6.5%) and money (6.2%) backing him to win at BetMGM.
–Jon Rahm (+1175) won his first major at the 2021 U.S. Open. He tied for second at the PGA Championship and is back to No. 8 in the world rankings.
–Xander Schauffele (+1850) has finished in the top 14 in each of his previous nine U.S. Open appearances, with his best finish a tie for third in 2019.
–Cameron Young (+1900) is coming off a T46 at the Memorial, but has two wins and six top-10s this year. He is BetMGM’s second biggest liability, with 6.2% of all money wagered on the winner backing Young.
–Tommy Fleetwood (+2250) has six top-10s in 12 starts this season, led by a T4 at the Memorial. He also holds the U.S. Open course record at Shinnecock with a 63 in the final round in 2018.
–Matt Fitzpatrick (+2250) won the 2022 U.S. Open. He is coming off a runner-up last week and is the only three-time winner on tour this season.
–Wyndham Clark (+4500), the 2023 U.S. Open champion, followed up his win at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson with a third-place finish at the Memorial.

NOTES
–Founded in 1891, Shinnecock Hills is the oldest incorporated golf club in the United States. It hosted the second U.S. Open in 1896 with only 35 players, won by James Foulis. It also hosted the U.S. Open in 1986 (Raymond Floyd), 1995 (Corey Pavin), 2004 (Retief Goosen) and 2018 (Brooks Koepka).
–The USGA accepted 10,201 entries for the 2026 U.S. Open, one shy of the record set last year.
–The field will be cut to the low 60 scores and ties after 36 holes.
–In the event of a playoff, it would be a two-hole aggregate playoff following the completion of Sunday’s round.
–The winner receives a 10-year U.S. Open exemption, a five-year PGA Tour exemption and five-year exemptions into the other three majors along with The Players Championship. The top-10 finishers are exempt into next year’s U.S. Open and the top four finishers and ties receive invites to the 2027 Masters.
–The field includes 36 players who competed in the most recent U.S. Open at Shinnecock in 2018.
–Brooks Koepka, who won the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock, plans to play despite withdrawing last weekend due to a hand injury.
–Adam Scott is scheduled to make his 100th consecutive start in a major.
–Jackson Koivun, the top-ranked amateur in the world, will make his professional debut next month at the John Deere Classic.

HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday: 6:30 a.m.-5 p.m. ET (USA), 5-8 p.m. (NBC Sports Network, Peacock); Friday: 6:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. (NBC Sports Network, Peacock), 1:30-7:30 p.m. (NBC, Peacock), 7:30-9:30 p.m. (NBC Sports Network, Peacock); Saturday: 10 a.m.-Noon (USA), Noon-8 p.m. (NBC, Peacock); Sunday: 9 a.m.-Noon (USA), Noon-7 p.m. (NBC, Peacock)
Streaming:
–Thursday: U.S. Open all-access: 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. (Peacock), featured Groups (usopen.com, USGA App, Peacock, YouTube TV, DirecTV, Xfinity), approximately 7:30 a.m., 7:45 a.m., 8:15 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 1:45 p.m., 2 p.m.
–Friday: U.S. Open all-access: 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. (Peacock), featured Groups (usopen.com, USGA App, Peacock, YouTube TV, DirecTV, Xfinity), approximately 7:30 a.m., 7:45 a.m., 8:15 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 1:45 p.m., 2 p.m.
–Saturday: U.S. Open all-access: 10 a.m.-noon (Peacock), featured Groups (usopen.com, USGA App, Peacock, YouTube TV, DirecTV, Xfinity), TBD
–Sunday: U.S. Open all-access: 9 a.m.-noon (Peacock), featured Groups (usopen.com, USGA App, Peacock, YouTube TV, DirecTV, Xfinity), TBD
X: @USOpenGolf

–Field Level Media