Shinnecock Hills is being treated like a test of accuracy and ball-striking—made tougher by early rain and sustained wind. MISRYOUM’s ranking of the entire U.S. Open 2026 field at Shinnecock runs from No. 1 Scottie Scheffler through No. 156, with specific driv
At Shinnecock Hills, the U.S. Open doesn’t forgive—but it does reward the players who can keep the ball in play, control speed, and survive longer looks on tough greens.
This week’s challenge is set up by the course itself: missing the fairway is a severe penalty. and uneven fairways. subtle elevation changes. and undulating. fast greens make approach shots harder to make close. Scrambling and speed control get prioritized. and the task gets even heavier with early rain—65% on Thursday—and winds of 15–20 mph throughout the four days. including gusts up to 27 mph on Saturday.
So the handicap isn’t built around last season’s highlight reel or the good form of February and March. It’s built around what matters here and what’s happening now: driving accuracy and ball-striking statistics. considering only recent form from the last few weeks and in recent U.S. Open rounds—because this championship has a habit of rewarding players who already look like they belong when the pressure arrives.
Last year’s winner, J.J. Spaun, entered the week ranked No. 25 per Data Golf, and in 2014 Martin Kaymer became the last player ranked outside the top 25 to win—he was world No. 32. The U.S. Open, in other words, is usually a top-25 kind of test.
With all that in mind, here is the ranking of the entire U.S. Open 2026 field at Shinnecock from Nos. 1–156:
Nos. 1–10
1. Scottie Scheffler
2. Jon Rahm
3. Rory McIlroy
4. J.J. Spaun
5. Russell Henley
6. Aaron Rai
7. Patrick Cantlay
8. Kristoffer Reitan
9. Patrick Reed
10. Justin Rose
The top three—Scheffler, Rahm, and McIlroy—sit at the head of the list simply because they’re the best. McIlroy’s iron play is described as trending, with the reminder that it’s a small sample size. Rahm. the ranking notes. will need to drive it better to win. though the same logic allows for the possibility of dialing it back to find fairways. Spaun is rallying into form just in time for his defense. Reitan is placed high because he has been the best approach player of the past month or so. Rose, a T-10 here in 2018, rises in the model, but the putter has gone cold.
Nos. 11–20
11. Tommy Fleetwood
12. Wyndham Clark
13. Cameron Young
14. Justin Thomas
15. Ludvig Aberg
16. Alex Fitzpatrick
17. Si Woo Kim
18. Tyrrell Hatton
19. Matt Fitzpatrick
20. Sam Burns
Wyndham Clark is singled out as someone who could be playing like the best player in the world right now after a win at the Byron Nelson. a third at Memorial. and another strong week in Canada. The concern is that Clark has been reliant on the flatstick. For Young, the putter is described as having slowed him down. The ranking prefers Alex Fitzpatrick over his brother because he’s the better iron player and owns three top-10s in as many signature events since earning his card. Burns is credited with doing a lot of things well since about mid-March.
Nos. 21–30
21. Joaquin Niemann
22. Nicolai Hojgaard
23. Xander Schauffele
24. Brooks Koepka
25. Shane Lowry
26. Andrew Novak
27. Min Woo Lee
28. Viktor Hovland
29. Chris Gotterup
30. Adam Scott
Schauffele’s streak—four straight top-12s in majors—doesn’t automatically translate into Shinnecock optimism in this model. because the concern is that he can’t turn in approach numbers like he did at Aronimink and other recent starts and still expect the same results here. Koepka is slotted conservatively due to injury concern, specifically left hand numbness. Novak is described as getting more comfortable in majors; results have suffered because of the short game and putting. but the ranking keeps him because he’s still ball-striking at a very high level. Hovland is treated as fitting a similar profile to Novak. Min Woo Lee has flashed at this championship before. with a T-5 in 2023 and top-30s on both sides of that.
Nos. 31–40
31. Bryson DeChambeau
32. Bud Cauley
33. Kurt Kitayama
34. Maverick McNealy
35. Jordan Spieth
36. Gary Woodland
37. Tom Kim
38. Collin Morikawa
39. J.T. Poston
40. Harris English
DeChambeau’s position reflects the immediate risk: he has missed two straight major cuts. and that makes it impossible to put him in the top 30 when poor iron play and chipping are also part of the picture. Kitayama, who has never made a U.S. Open cut in four attempts. is still placed as a top-40 player because he’s on a heater and hits it well enough that missing a fifth straight U.S. Open cut can’t simply be assumed. Bud Cauley is credited as having had the recent stats for solid U.S. Open play even before Canada—he just needed to get into the field. Tom Kim and others in this tier are not singled out the same way. but the list keeps the focus on the traits that matter most for Shinnecock.
Morikawa’s ranking stands out, and the reasoning given is direct: the only reason he made the cut at the PGA was because of putting, which has been historically unreliable. The hope for Morikawa, in this view, is rest, feeling healthier, and ball-striking returning to elite form.
Nos. 41–50
41. Ryan Gerard
42. Lucas Herbert
43. Harry Hall
44. Alex Smalley
45. Max Greyserman
46. a-Jackson Koivun
47. Jayden Schaper
48. Hideki Matsuyama
49. Keith Mitchell
50. Jacob Bridgeman
Two Duke alums. a North Carolina alum. and a Chapel Hill native in Koivun are described as ending up in this tier by coincidence. Gerard is placed here because he’s trending, especially with the putter. Koivun is framed with expectations “through the roof. ” but a top-50 is presented as a success—because the concern is that he doesn’t chip it enough yet to win on this setup. Matsuyama is described as struggling off the tee; if he leans less on the driver. the ranking says he has the U.S. Open chops to outperform this spot. Bridgeman is noted for having the putter back. and two nice approach weeks in a row are part of the reason.
Nos. 51–60
51. a-Preston Stout
52. Sepp Straka
53. Ugo Coussaud
54. Keegan Bradley
55. Chris Kirk
56. Andrew Putnam
57. Ben James
58. Cooper Dossey
59. Ben Griffin
60. David Puig
Straka is included with a frustrating U.S. Open career in mind despite being one of the best iron players and most accurate drivers on Tour. Stout is described as built for big. punishing ballparks and is credited with having success at Olympic. Southern Hills. and Prairie Dunes. James is described as arguably the best ball-striker coming out of college this summer. but what he did on Saturday in Canada scares this ranking away—his good is
very good. but the model says he can’t make enough putts. Dossey has five top-10s on the Korn Ferry Tour this season. Griffin is suggested as someone who should be higher since he has two top-3s in his last five starts and was T-10 last year at Oakmont; the concern is that. if Memorial is any indication. the putter cooled and the iron play will have to be more consistent than it has been.
Nos. 61–70
61. Alex Noren
62. Brian Harman
63. Johnny Keefer
64. Max McGreevy
65. Michael Brennan
66. Nick Taylor
67. Davis Thompson
68. Matti Schmid
69. Ryan Fox
70. Sungjae Im
Harman hasn’t missed a major cut since the 2024 Masters. Keefer had a bad start to the season, but is placed here because he’s been a top-25 ball-striker over the past month and the chipping looked like it turned a corner in Canada.
Nos. 71–80
71. Jackson Suber
72. Ryo Hisatsune
73. Cameron Smith
74. Sudarshan Yellamaraju
75. Daniel Berger
76. Corey Conners
77. Ben Kohles
78. Adrien Dumont de Chassart
79. Dustin Johnson
80. Sahith Theegala
Suber and Yellamaraju get bumps for nice weeks in Canada. while Berger’s frustrating play is offset slightly by the fact he was T-6 here in 2018. Corey Conners is pegged with the note that he hasn’t had a top-20 finish since March. The ranking says to keep an eye on Adrien Dumont de Chassart. described as having been nails around and on the greens; if he can find fairways. he’s liked to make the cut.
Nos. 81–90
81. Robert MacIntyre
82. Rickie Fowler
83. Michael Kim
84. Nathan Kimsey
85. Sam Stevens
86. John Parry
87. Matt McCarty
88. Akshay Bhatia
89. Jason Day
90. William Mouw
MacIntyre’s runner-up at Oakmont is explicitly discounted: the iron play is described as abysmal. and it’s tied directly to the fact he has already missed two major cuts this year. Fowler is said to have fallen off a cliff since that strong pre-PGA run. Akshay Bhatia’s slump is traced to The Players.
Nos. 91–100
91. Pierceson Coody
92. Patrick Rodgers
93. Cole Hammer
94. Carlos Ortiz
95. Billy Horschel
96. Kevin Roy
97. Emiliano Grillo
98. a-Miles Russell
99. Alejandro Tosti
100. Jimmy Stanger
This tier is described as full of intriguing names. Coody is credited as one of the best drivers in the world. Hammer is given a breakout-year role on the Korn Ferry Tour. Russell is highlighted for making his major debut. Stanger. in the second-to-last start under his medical extension. bogeyed his last hole in Canada to drop to T-4; the finish is still treated as great. but the ranking says he has work to do at the U.S. Open to keep full status on Tour, with top 40 presented as the target.
Nos. 101–110
101. Nico Echavarria
102. Laurie Cantera-Ryder Cowan
103. Zac Blair
104. a-Ethan Fang
105. Matthew Jordan
106. James Nicholas
107. Adrien Saddier
108. Caleb Surratt
109. Carl Yuan
110.
The ranking text is broken in the source here, but the named entries appear in this section as provided.
Nos. 111–120
111. Nick Hardy
112. Neal Shipley
113. a-Arni Sveinsson
114. a-Eric Lee
115. Angel Hidalgo
116. Taihei Sato
117. Chandler Phillips
118. Dylan Wu
119. Taylor Montgomery
120. Ben Silverman
Nos. 121–130
121. Niklas Norgaard
122. Hennie du Plessis
123. Padraig Harrington
124. Peter Uihlein
125. Rocco Repetto
126. Taylor Jake Peacock
127. Jackson Van Paris
128. Filippo Cellia-Logan Reilly
129. a-Jackson Herrington
130.
The source again appears broken across a couple lines here, but the names above are preserved exactly as they appear.
Nos. 131–140
131. Brandon Wu
132. Graeme McDowell
133. Mason Howell
134. Harry Higgs
135. Marcelo Rozo
136. Kaito Onishi
137. a-Bryan Lee
138. Giuseppe Puebla
139. Ryuichi Oiwa
140. Spencer Tibbits
Nos. 141–156
141. a-Chase Kyes
142. Greyson Leach
143. J.B. Holmes
144. Jake Sollon
145. Manav Shaha
146. Marek Fleming
147. a-Vaughn Harber
148. -Jack Schoenberger
149. a-Jackson Ormond
150. Brandon Holt
151. a-Hamilton Coleman
152. Robbie Higgins
153. a-Mateo Pulcini
154. T.K. Kim
155. a-Matthew Robles
156. Jake Knapp (injury concern, as he’s not played since the RBC Heritage; top 40 if healthy).
The field closes with Jake Knapp. His ranking comes with an explicit injury concern: he has not played since the RBC Heritage, with a top-40 outcome described as the upside if he is healthy.
In a championship shaped by fairways. uneven lies. and the reality of long looks when shots miss by a yard. this list is ultimately a bet on who is most likely to keep the ball in the right places at Shinnecock. The rest—especially when rain and wind have their say—gets decided by who can scramble. control speed. and make the putts when the greens demand discipline.
U.S. Open 2026 Shinnecock Hills Scottie Scheffler Jon Rahm Rory McIlroy J.J. Spaun tournament ranking golf field 1-156