Free 2026 U.S. Open Cheat Sheet ahead of Round 1 on Thursday, June 21.
Winning a major championship pool is a combination of art, science, and luck. Neil Parker breaks it all down with a list of players to target, some to avoid, and best bets before the U.S. Open begins Thursday.
The third major championship of the 2026 PGA Tour season has arrived with the 156-player field hitting Shinnecock Hills Golf Club for the U.S. Open beginning Thursday, June 18. Making the cut and playing the weekend is criticalPicking the right favorites won't win a pool, but picking the wrong one can lose itPicking the winner and multiple players at the top of the leaderboard is essential to winning your pool, and betting favorites haven’t always played well at the U.S. Open in recent years.
Additionally, I’m anticipating the demands ofStatistically and stylistically, there is no better fit for Shinnecock than Scheffler, and while the wins haven’t been piling up in 2026, I wouldn’t be surprised if his entire focus this season was to win this event to complete the career Grand Slam. Mr. Automatic in major championships, Schauffele has a pair of wins to go along with eight Top 10s across 14 majors since the beginning of 2023.
And, his worst finish during the heater was a T28 at the 2025 PGA Championship. If there’s any LIV Golf discount saddled to Rahm, there shouldn’t be. He finished T2 at the PGA Championship in May, and the links-style demands of Shinnecock are a perfect fit for Rahm’s ball-striking and short-game creativity.
The Englishman has bookended a nine-tournament run with a pair of solo seconds at the THE PLAYERS and RBC Canadian Open with three more wins while ranking second in this field in true strokes gained tee-to-green, seventh on approach, and second in the around-the-green metric. His game is dialed throughout the bag.
This is where the pool’s contenders separate themselves from the pretenders, and selecting the right players from the middle of the pack will leapfrog you up the standings in your U.S. Open pool when they’re sitting pretty on the Sunday leaderboard. In addition to pacing the field in true strokes gained putting in 2026, Burns has consecutive Top 10s at the U.S. Open and has spiked in both true strokes gained on approaches and around-the-green across his past three events.
Won LIV Golf Andalucia to start the month and has the all-around game to contend at a links-style track. I also value Hatton finishing T4 at the 2025 U.S. Open in addition to gaining true strokes on approach in four consecutive majors. With a T4 finish at Shinnecock at the 2018 U.S. Open, Reed heads back with a T12-T10 run in majors to start 2026, and his tee-to-green game and short-game prowess are perfect fits for what this course demands.
Reed is set to play well again this week.is an excellent way to prepare for your pools, and here are a handful of players whose game carries far more weight than their name recognition might. Overloading long shots isn’t necessary, either. Instead, identifying a player or two who go low will be enough to separate you from the pack.
With three straight Top 25s in majors, and six more across his past nine 2026 events while gaining true strokes tee-to-green, around-the-green and putting, McNealey has my attention as a high-floor target for poolies. There have been flashes from Griffin this spring with a pair of Top 5 finishes, and he carded a T10 at the U.S. Open last year amid his breakout season.
I’m not anticipating Griffin being a popular target for poolies this week, so he’s an ideal contrarian option. The Truist winner also carded a T6 at the Memorial Tournament and has played the weekend in eight consecutive events ahead of his second trip to Shinnecock Hills. While Reitan missed the cut at the 2018 U.S. Open, his game is in an entirely different place this time around, and he’s another off-the-radar target who can reward.
Often, who you fade and don’t select is just as important as the golfers you prioritize in pools. Here are several well-known players and household names I’m looking past this week. Obviously, McIlroy has the all-around game to both contend and win this week, but he did miss the cut here at the 2018 U.S. Open, and I don’t think his edge off the tee is as large a separator this week as it is at other tracks.
Consecutive missed cuts in major championships while losing true strokes on approach and around the green is a massive warning sign for DeChambeau this week. The 2018 U.S. Open winner at Shinnecock Hills injured his hand and had to withdraw from the RBC Canadian Open last week, so he’s a full fade for me given hisI’m confident the first major championship is coming for Aberg sooner than later, but I don’t think this is the major-championship test he’s acing.
He’s lost true strokes putting in consecutive majors, and he’s lost true strokes around the green in consecutive signature events. : Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links. Neil Parker is, first and foremost, a sports fan.
A huge supporter of the Cowboys, Cubs, and Maple Leafs, he has managed to parlay his passion into writing gigs at some of the top websites in the industry. Neil takes a numbers-based approach to his handicapping and complements his in-depth statistical analysis with a keen eye on the markets to provide the best available odds. He loves to lean on his rolodex of idioms to offset his inner nerd.
When it comes to wagering, he throws down on anything that catches his eye at bet365, Betway and BetVictor. He also keeps a close eye on CoolBet because the polar bear brand often has outlier NHL and NFL moneyline prices. Neil graduated with honors from St. Thomas University in 2007 before completing his BEd at Acadia University in 2010.
After teaching a myriad of courses and subjects, he found a groove delivering fun lessons to exceptional learners in non-traditional classroom environments. If his decade-plus teaching run taught him anything about sports betting, it’s to stay the course and use the summer – or offseason – to refresh and prepare to be better in the year to come. Scottie Scheffler Tops U.S. Open Odds to Win & Live Win Probability for Shinnecock HillsU.
S. Open Odds and Live Win Probability 2026: Who'll Win at Shinnecock Hills?
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