US OPEN '26: Facts and figures for the 126th championship
SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. (AP) — A brief look at the U.S. Open (all times EDT):
Event: 126th U.S. Open golf championship:
Dates: June 18-21.
Site: Shinnecock Hills Golf Club.
Length: 7,440.
Par: 70.
Cut: Top 60 and ties.
Playoff (if necessary): Two-hole aggregate immediately after 72 holes are completed.
Field: 156 players (19 amateurs).
Purse: TBA. Last year: $21.5 million ($4.3 million for winner).
Defending champion: J.J. Spaun.
Last year: J.J. Spaun emerged from a crowded pack on a soggy Oakmont Country Club course with two shots that define his career. He drove the green on the par-4 17th for a two-putt birdie and holed a 65-foot birdie putt on the 18th for a 2-over 72 and a two-shot victory over Robert MacIntyre. Spaun finished at 1-under 279, the only player to break par. It was his first major title.
Last time at Shinnecock Hills: Brooks Koepka became the first back-to-back U.S. Open champion in 29 years. He shot 2-under 68 for a one-shot victory over Tommy Fleetwood. The course was so severe Saturday none of the last 45 players to tee off broke par. The USGA conceded the mistake and put water on the course. Fleetwood shot 63.
U.S. Open champions at Shinnecock Kills: Brooks Koepka (2018), Retief Goosen (2004), Corey Pavin (1995), Raymond Floyd (1986), James Foulis (1896).
Back to Shinny: Adam Scott, Justin Rose and Graeme McDowell are the only players in a U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills in 2004, 2018 and 2026. Brandt Snedeker joins them if he gets in as an alternate.
The money line: Scottie Scheffler (+550), Rory McIlroy (+1000), Jon Rahm (+1200), Cameron Young (+1800).
Century mark: Adam Scott is playing in his 100th consecutive major, the second-longest streak in history behind Jack Nicklaus (146).
Grand Slam: Scottie Scheffler can become the seventh player with a career Grand Slam by winning the U.S. Open.
Grand slammed: Phil Mickelson is no longer eligible for the U.S. Open, the one major keeping him from the career Grand Slam.
Key statistic: Retief Goosen, Phil Mickelson and Raymond Floyd are the only players to finish under par in five U.S. Opens at Shinnecock Hills
Noteworthy: Shinnecock Hills is the only course to hold the U.S. Open in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries.
Quoteworthy: “The way we’re thinking about this year is let Shinnecock be Shinnecock.” -- John Bodenhamer, chief championships officer for the USGA.
Television: Thursday, 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (USA Network), 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. (Peacock); Friday, 6:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. (Peacock), 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. (NBC), 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. (Peacock); Saturday, 10 a.m. to noon (USA Network), noon to 8 p.m. (NBC); Sunday, 9 a.m. to noon (USA Network), noon to 7 p.m. (NBC).
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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
