2026 U.S. Open: Ranking favorites, contenders, hopefuls and everyone else - ESPN

Let the challenge begin.

The U.S. Open returns to Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, New York, starting Thursday, and the third major of the season figures to once again be the toughest test in golf.

In five previous U.S. Opens at Shinnecock Hills dating back to 1896, only three golfers have finished with scores under par. Raymond Floyd finished 1 under when he became the oldest U.S. Open champion in 1986. Corey Pavin shot even par when he won his first major in 1995, and Retief Goosen (4 under) and Phil Mickelson (2 under) were the only golfers under par in 2004.

In the last U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, Brooks Koepka became the first back-to-back winner since Curtis Strange in 1988-89 with a winning score of 1 over.

While Scottie Scheffler's quest for the career Grand Slam will be the biggest story this week, the United States Golf Association's setup and ability to control the conditions will be under scrutiny.

In 2003, 28 golfers couldn't break 80 on Sunday, and the average score was 78.7.

In 2018, Mickelson purposely swatted his moving ball out of frustration on the 13th green and was docked a two-stroke penalty.

"[It's a] second-shot golf course," former U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick said. «The fairways are a little bit wider this time. Obviously, [the] U.S. Open tests all aspects of your game, I feel like. But Shinnecock, in particular, with how severe the greens are, you've got to do a good job of managing that.»

Here's a look at the field in the 126th U.S. Open, from the favorites to the sleepers to the guys hoping to make the cut:

World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler hasn't won in his past 11 starts, the third-longest drought of his career. He isn't playing poor golf. He was a runner-up three