US Open

The U.S. Open is one of golf’s four major championships, run each June by the United States Golf Association on a different American course every year. It is open to both professionals and amateurs who qualify, which is where the name comes from.

What is the US Open?

The U.S. Open is the national golf championship of the United States and one of the sport’s four men’s majors, alongside the Masters, the PGA Championship, and The Open Championship. Its official name is the United States Open Championship. The United States Golf Association (USGA) has run it every year since 1895, pausing only for the two World Wars.

The name says a lot. Unlike an invitational such as the Masters, this championship is open to any golfer who can get through qualifying, professional or amateur. A player needs only a handicap index of 1.4 or better to enter, according to the USGA, and thousands try each year for a field capped at 156.

For golf fans, the U.S. Open matters because it carries a reputation few events can match. The USGA sets up its courses to be brutally demanding, and the tournament has built its identity around testing the best players in the world to their limits. A score around par is often enough to win, which almost never happens at other tour stops.

How the tournament works

Scoring follows 72 holes of stroke play, a format the USGA settled on back in 1898. Players go 18 holes a day from Thursday to Sunday. The lowest four-round total wins, and a cut after the first two rounds thins the field so only the leaders reach the weekend.

Qualifying is what sets the event apart. Some players earn exemptions straight into the field by, for example, ranking among the top 60 in the Official World Golf Ranking or by winning a recent major. Everyone else fights through a two-stage qualifying process that the USGA has used in some form since 1924, with local and final qualifying rounds open to amateurs and pros alike.

The championship does not have a permanent home. Each year, it moves to a different course, and the USGA favors layouts that punish wayward driving and reward precision. Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania has hosted it a record 10 times, most recently in 2025. The 2026 U.S. Open returns to Shinnecock Hills in Southampton, New York, from June 18 to 21, according to the USGA.

The rewards are considerable. The 2025 purse hit 21.5 million dollars, the largest of any major that year, and winner J.J. Spaun collected 4.3 million of it, per CBS Sports. Beyond the prize money, the champion takes home a gold medal and keeps the U.S. Open Championship Cup for a year, plus exemptions into future majors.

Why the U.S. Open is called the toughest test in golf

Ask most players which major punishes mistakes hardest, and the answer tends to be this one. Golf Monthly notes the U.S. Open is widely known as the hardest test in golf, and the winning scores back that up. Across its history, winning totals have ranged from 16 under par all the way to 20 over, a spread of 36 shots that says everything about how the conditions can shift.

The difficulty is engineered on purpose. The USGA grows thick rough, narrows the fairways, and lets the greens run fast and firm, so par becomes a genuinely good score rather than a baseline. At the 2025 championship at Oakmont, only four players entered the final round under par, and Spaun won at one under, as reported by CBS Sports.

That setup philosophy is why the event feels different from week to week on the PGA Tour, where players routinely finish 20 under par. The U.S. Open asks a different question. It wants to know who can grind out a score when nothing comes easy, which is part of why a par save on Sunday can feel as valuable as a birdie anywhere else.

U.S. Open vs The Open Championship

The two events sound almost identical, and plenty of newcomers mix them up. They are separate tournaments run by different organizations in different countries. The U.S. Open is the American national championship. The Open Championship, sometimes called the British Open, is golf’s oldest major and is played in the United Kingdom.

Feature	U.S. Open	The Open Championship
Run by	USGA	The R&A
First played	1895	1860
Country	United States	United Kingdom
Typical month	June	July
Course style	Varied American courses, thick rough	Links courses near the coast
Nickname	The toughest test in golf	The oldest major

A simple way to keep them straight: the U.S. Open is the United States’ national title, while The Open Championship is Britain’s. Both are majors, and a handful of players have managed to win each in the same career.

Records and notable champions

The record for most U.S. Open titles belongs to four men with four wins apiece: Willie Anderson and Bobby Jones from the early era, plus Ben Hogan and Jack Nicklaus, according to the USGA record book. Reaching that mark again has eluded every player of the modern era, including Tiger Woods.

The scoring records show how rare a low number is here. Rory McIlroy holds the mark for the lowest 72-hole total, a 268 that finished 16 under par at Congressional in 2011, per Golf Compendium. Woods owns the largest winning margin, an extraordinary 15 strokes at Pebble Beach in 2000. One of the most celebrated moments came in 1913, when amateur Francis Ouimet beat the leading British professionals at The Country Club in Brookline, a result that helped popularize golf in America.

Related Golf Terms

Twilight rate — A discounted green fee for playing later in the day.
Uphill lie — When the ball is on a slope with the target higher than the player’s feet.
Unplayable lie — When a player declares the ball unplayable and takes relief with a one-stroke penalty.
Uneven lie — When the ball is on sloping ground, with one foot higher than the other.
Up and down — Getting the ball in the hole in two strokes from off the green.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the U.S. Open a major?

Yes. It is one of the four men’s professional majors, currently played third in the calendar after the Masters and the PGA Championship and before The Open Championship.

Can amateurs play in the U.S. Open?

Yes. The event is open to amateurs who hold a handicap index of 1.4 or better and make it through qualifying. Several amateurs reach the field every year.

Where is the 2026 U.S. Open?

Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, New York, hosts the 2026 championship from June 18 to 21, per the USGA.

Who won the 2025 U.S. Open?

J.J. Spaun won at Oakmont Country Club, finishing one under par for his first major title.

How much does the U.S. Open winner get?

The 2025 winner earned 4.3 million dollars from a total purse of 21.5 million dollars, the biggest of any major that year.

Sources

United States Golf Association (USGA). “U.S. Open Records.” Accessed June 2026.
https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/media/online-media-center/usga-records/u-s–open-records.html
Encyclopaedia Britannica. “U.S. Open | Golf, History & Winners.” Accessed June 2026.
https://www.britannica.com/sports/US-Open-golf
EBSCO Research Starters. “U.S. Open (golf).” Accessed June 2026.
https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/sports-and-leisure/us-open-golf
CBS Sports. “2025 U.S. Open prize money, purse.” Accessed June 2026.
https://www.cbssports.com/golf/news/2025-u-s-open-prize-money-purse-payouts-for-each-player-from-21-5-million-pool-at-oakmont-country-club/
Golf Monthly. “US Open Records.” Accessed June 2026.
https://www.golfmonthly.com/tour/us-open-records-who-has-the-most-wins-and-what-are-the-lowest-and-highest-winning-scores
Golf Compendium. “U.S. Open Tournament Records.” Accessed June 2026.
https://www.golfcompendium.com/2022/05/us-open-tournament-records.html
NBC Sports. “U.S. Open history, qualifications, records.” Accessed June 2026.
https://www.nbcsports.com/golf/news/u-s-open-history-qualifications-records-courses-most-wins-101