USGA has released the 2026 U.S. Open tee times and featured pairings for Round 1 and Round 2 at Shinnecock Hills, starting with Bryson DeChambeau’s spotlight group and a full slate of major-ready storylines.
When Bryson DeChambeau struck a ball into some of the tallest rough he could find for a 2026 U.S. Open YouTube short, the point wasn’t the landing spot—it was how the shot barely seemed to rise above the grass before dribbling just a few feet in front of him.
“Oh boy,” DeChambeau said in the video. “Well, you can’t hit it there.”
At Shinnecock Hills, where the U.S. Open begins Thursday. June 18. those moments matter more than ever for the golfer who now carries a second kind of uncertainty alongside the usual week-to-week pressure: his future outside the PGA Tour after competing outside LIV Golf for the first time since another missed cut at the PGA Championship. The USGA’s published tee times and groupings for the first two rounds make it clear that his fate—and the stakes around it—will remain a central subplot even as other elite rivalries line up beside him.
U.S. Open tee times and pairings were released for the first two rounds, with all Round 1 times listed as Eastern and “starting from 10th hole.” Here are the 10 best groups to watch in Round 1.
A lot of eyes will follow DeChambeau again this week given his uncertain future with LIV Golf and shaky play of late. He is just two years removed from winning the tournament. yet he has missed the cut at three of the past four majors. His Round 1 grouping is packed with high-upside pressure: Bryson DeChambeau with Viktor Hovland and Matt Fitzpatrick.
DeChambeau’s group tees off at 1:25 p.m. in Round 1, with a Round 2 tee time at 6:30 a.m. Hovland is coming off his best finish—third at the RBC Canadian—since a third-place showing at last year’s U.S. Open. Fitzpatrick has moved back into the top-five of the world golf rankings and leads the FedEx Cup standings this season.
The opening rounds also feature a rare concentration of top-tier Ryder Cup talent. Rory McIlroy’s Round 1 pairing puts him with Tommy Fleetwood and Ludvig Åberg—European Ryder Cup teammates whose group is the only one in the opening two rounds featuring three golfers ranked among the top 15 in the world at the moment.
McIlroy is scheduled to begin at 7:52 a.m. in Round 1 and will tee off at 12:47 p.m. in Round 2. The week’s biggest personal fuel is that he is making just his fourth start since winning The Masters.
A different kind of pursuit takes center stage with Scottie Scheffler. His quest for a career grand slam begins inside a group featuring the defending U.S. Open champion, J.J. Spaun, and the defending (and third-youngest) U.S. Amateur winner.
Scheffler, Spaun, and Mason Howell (a) tee off at 8:14 a.m. in Round 1 and at 1:09 p.m. in Round 2.
The major-winner-heavy slate continues with a group that features Jon Rahm, Justin Rose, and Jordan Spieth. Rahm and Rose have produced top-10 finishes over the past few seasons. but the draw here is the way recent-year momentum is uneven across a roster of former champions. Spieth, meanwhile, hasn’t finished better than T-23 last year at the U.S. Open since winning at Chambers Bay in 2015.
That Round 1 tee time is 2:09 p.m., with Round 2 set for 7:14 a.m.
Brooks Koepka returns to the setting of his last U.S. Open victory, teeing off with Cameron Young and Chris Gotterup. Koepka won the U.S. Open when it was last held at Shinnecock Hills. Young is up to No. 3 in the world golf rankings behind only Scheffler and McIlroy.
Gotterup has cooled some after two wins in his first three starts of 2026, but he remains just outside the top 10 in the world.
Their Round 1 tee time is 7:30 a.m., and Round 2 is 12:25 p.m.
Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele, and Hideki Matsuyama form another former major-winner group. Thomas had his best finish since returning from back surgery at the PGA Championship last month. Schauffele is still struggling to rediscover the consistent form that helped him break through for two major wins in 2024.
Matsuyama brings the added weight of a Ryder Cup-era heavyweight, and their week begins at 1:47 p.m. in Round 1, with a Round 2 tee time of 6:52 a.m.
Aaron Rai, Collin Morikawa, and Jason Day offer the kind of lineup that can swing a leaderboard quickly. Rai is making his first start at a major since his unexpected win at the PGA Championship. He missed the cut last week at the RBC Canadian. but the expectation is that his consistent driver should serve him well at Shinnecock Hills.
Morikawa played last week for the first time since the PGA Championship after the birth of his first child, and he hopes the break will help with the back issues that have hindered him since The Players Championship in March.
Their Round 1 tee time is 1:14 p.m., with Round 2 set for 6:19 a.m.
Another group built around former U.S. Open winners is Dustin Johnson, Wyndham Clark, and Gary Woodland. Woodland’s storyline includes feel-good redemption after brain surgery and subsequent PTSD. Johnson has the added question of his latest bid to return to relevancy eight years after finishing third on this course. Clark is back after he damaged a locker at Oakmont during last year’s U.S. Open.
Their Round 1 tee time is 1:36 p.m., and Round 2 is 6:41 a.m.
Sam Burns, Tyrrell Hatton, and Si Woo Kim bring a mix of putting-driven contention and recent form. Hatton recently won the LIV Golf event in Spain. and he has finished in the top-10 in at least one major in each of the past three years. Burns has been a regular in contention at majors in recent seasons thanks to his superior putting.
Kim could be the steady baseline: he might be the most consistent golfer on the PGA Tour with eight top-10 finishes in 2026.
They tee off at 7:41 a.m. in Round 1, with Round 2 at 12:36 p.m.
Finally, Ryan Gerard, Russell Henley, and Ben Griffin round out the list of best groups to watch in Round 1. The narrative here is built for surprise—this could be a group that produces another unexpected major winner like Rai, or Spaun last year.
Gerard just carded his third second-place finish of the year at The Memorial. Henley is coming off a win at the Charles Schwab Challenge last month and leads the PGA Tour in driving accuracy.
Their Round 1 tee time is 1:36 p.m., with Round 2 scheduled for 6:41 a.m.
One thread ties these matchups together: each featured group. from DeChambeau’s fairway risk to Rai’s driver reliability and Henley’s accuracy lead. is built around a specific way to survive Shinnecock’s difficulty. The week’s headline drama may hinge on one swing in rough. but the competition will be decided by who can turn that pressure into repeatable shots—hole after hole—once the tournament clock starts ticking Thursday. June 18.
2026 U.S. Open Shinnecock Hills USGA tee times Bryson DeChambeau Scottie Scheffler Rory McIlroy LIV Golf PGA Tour featured groups Round 1 Round 2