Get ready for the seasons toughest major, the 2026 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club. Shinnecock has historically been one of the hardest courses for players, where wide fairways give-way to extremely long rough and fescue, fast and firm greens, and an all-around difficult scoring set-up requiring all parts of the game to be on point.

U.S. Open 2026 Predictions

The U.S. Open gives us an incredibly talented field that consists of the best players from all over the world. With such a strong field, it's no surprise to see that top players tend to perform the best at these venues. J.J. Spaun proved last season that doesn't always matter though, as these venues still require every part of the game to be on point to compete. Between major champions, top tour players, and the many open qualifiers in the field, it truly can be an event that anyone can take home.

With such a diverse field of talent, who has what it takes to cement their name in history, but more importantly, who has the chance to make us some money?

 

 

U.S. Open Free Picks Featuring Patrick Reed & 

Patrick Reed To Finish Top 20 (+194 at DraftKings)

While Patrick Reed is not yet back on the PGA Tour, that doesn't mean we've forgotten about him over at Fantasy Alarm. Reed leads the DP World Tour standings this season, and while he hasn't been playing as many tournaments as others thus far, the golf we have seen has been incredible. He's recorded two wins on the season, and has no worse than a T12th finish in his last 3 starts, two of those being The Masters and the PGA Championship.

Reed has a bit of an up and down history at the U.S. Open, but it's clear that he performs best at shorter U.S. Open courses, which is what we will see this year with Shinnecock playing just over 7,400 yards. The last U.S. Open at Shinnecock saw Reed finishing in 4th place, and there's a legitimate argument that he's playing better now than he was that season. His irons, wedges, and putter have all been strengths this season, and while his driver has been a bit of an up and down, he's still an accurate player off the tee. Most importantly, he's shown us that he has the scoring and bogey avoidance numbers that we're looking for. I love the nearly 2-to-1 value we're getting right now.

 

 

U.S. Open One & Done Pick: Rory McIlroy

This is arguably my favorite pick available, even if this wasn't a Major. Rory has been incredible this season as he's made it clear he's Major hunting to a certain extent. The U.S. Open has most evaded Rory, as he won in 2011 and has not won since, but that doesn't mean he hasn't been close. Over the last 7 iterations of this event, Rory has not finished worse than 19th, and prior to that he had 3 straight top 5s and 6 straight top 10's. His recent form is what makes him my choice here though.

Rory has recorded 4 straight top 20 finishes, including his win at Augusta. His driver has not been the elite club that it's been before, yet he's still averaging over 4 strokes gained per event with this club. His irons are what have shined through, gaining as many as 6 strokes as recently as the Memorial. His wedges and putter have always been, and continue to be, the club that will make or break an event for him. If he can roll the rock on these greens and leave himself in good spots to minimize the impact of the wedges, he's in-line to potentially gain another major this season.

 

 

U.S. Open Long Shot Pick: Alex Fitzpatrick (100/1 at DraftKings)

To many, Fitzpatrick is still a bit of an unknown and a player who many think is only on tour due to his brother Matt (who I also love this week). That said, Alex has proven he belongs. He has 4 top 20 finishes in his first 5 events as a PGA Tour Cardholder, and what he's done well is exactly what we need this week. He's been both long and accurate with the driver (5th in Total Driving), which is crucial at U.S. Open venues. He's 10th in Ball-striking and Approach play, leads the field in Birdie or Better Percentage, and truthfully has no major holes in his game. We've seen him perform in Majors as well, with a T19 in the 2023 Open Championship. This is important because the winds players are dealing with this week will make this event play more like an Open Championship than any other major.