US Open · 2026
The US Open
Golf's toughest test — the United States Open Championship is organised by the USGA and is known for demanding course setups with narrow fairways, thick rough, and lightning-fast greens that push even the world's best players to their limits.
US Open 2026
Oakmont Country Club, Oakmont, Pennsylvania, USA
Sky Sports Golf is the primary UK broadcaster for the US Open. BBC Sport may carry some coverage depending on rights arrangements for the year. Check both broadcasters for exact scheduling closer to the tournament.
About the US Open
The United States Open Championship — universally known as the US Open — was first played in 1895, making it one of the oldest golf majors in existence. It is organised by the United States Golf Association (USGA), the governing body of golf in the United States and Mexico.
The defining characteristic of the US Open is the USGA's deliberate and infamous course setup. Each year, the association prepares the host venue to be as demanding as possible: fairways are narrowed to penalise even slight misses off the tee, rough is grown thick and deep to punish errant approach shots, and greens are firmed and quickened to make distance control critical. The philosophy is to identify the best player in the world, not the most fortunate.
The tournament also lives up to its name with genuinely open qualifying. Any professional or amateur golfer who meets the USGA's handicap requirements (scratch or better for amateurs) can attempt to qualify through a two-stage qualifying process. This makes the US Open one of the most inclusive majors in terms of access, even if its setup remains the most exclusive.
Oakmont Country Club — 2026 Venue
Oakmont Country Club is the most storied US Open venue in history, having hosted more US Opens than any other course. Founded in 1903 by Henry Clay Fownes and his son William, the course was designed from the outset to be as demanding as possible — Fownes famously declared that "a shot poorly played should be a shot irrevocably lost."
The course is renowned for two things above all else: its greens and its bunkers. The greens at Oakmont are among the fastest in the world when the USGA has finished with them for US Open week. Putts from above the hole can accelerate dramatically, and even the shortest of downhill putts demands respect. Reading the greens correctly is half the battle at Oakmont.
The Church Pew bunkers — a series of long, parallel grass ridges running through the expanse of sand between the 3rd and 4th holes — are one of the most recognisable features in major championship golf. Finding them from the tee demands precise recovery play and can rapidly turn a promising round into a difficult one.
Previous US Opens at Oakmont
| Year | Champion | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Dustin Johnson | -4 |
| 2007 | Angel Cabrera | +5 |
| 1994 | Ernie Els | +5 |
| 1983 | Larry Nelson | +4 |
| 1973 | Johnny Miller | -5 |
Over par winning scores are common at Oakmont, illustrating just how demanding the course is even for the world's best players.
Recent US Open Champions
| Year | Champion | Score | Venue | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | To be confirmed | — | Oakmont Country Club, PA | Verify at usga.org |
| 2024 | Bryson DeChambeau | -6 | Pinehurst No. 2, NC | Second US Open title; dramatic final round |
| 2023 | Wyndham Clark | -10 | Los Angeles CC, CA | First major; edged Rory McIlroy |
| 2022 | Matt Fitzpatrick | -6 | The Country Club, Brookline, MA | First major for the Englishman |
| 2021 | Jon Rahm | -6 | Torrey Pines, CA | Drained final-hole birdie putt to win |
| 2020 | Bryson DeChambeau | -6 | Winged Foot GC, NY | Won by six shots; dominant display |
| 2019 | Gary Woodland | -13 | Pebble Beach Golf Links, CA | Held off Brooks Koepka & Rory McIlroy |
| 2018 | Brooks Koepka | -1 | Shinnecock Hills, NY | Back-to-back US Open titles |
British & Irish Champions at the US Open
The US Open has been won by several British and Irish players over the years, making it a tournament UK fans follow closely beyond simply the home challenge:
The Sheffield-born Fitzpatrick won his maiden major at the same course where he had won the 2013 US Amateur title as a teenager. He held off Will Zalatoris and Scottie Scheffler in a dramatic final round, holing a clutch bunker shot on the 18th to seal victory.
Justin Rose became the first Englishman to win the US Open since Tony Jacklin in 1970, holding on at Merion Golf Club in Pennsylvania. Rose shot a final-round 70 to win by two shots and claim his first and, to date, only major championship title.
McIlroy won his first major with a record-breaking performance at Congressional, winning by eight shots with a 72-hole score of -16. At age 22 it announced him as a generational talent. He has contended at several subsequent US Opens but is yet to add a second title.
Jacklin's 1970 US Open victory at Hazeltine came just a year after his 1969 Open Championship win at Royal Lytham, making him the first British player since Max Faulkner (1951) to hold two majors simultaneously. He remains one of Britain's greatest ever major champions.
How to Watch the US Open in the UK
Sky Sports Golf is the main UK broadcaster for the US Open, carrying live coverage of all four competitive rounds. Available via Sky subscription or NOW TV passes. Streaming also available through the Sky Sports app and website.
BBC Sport may carry highlights and some live coverage of the US Open depending on rights arrangements in a given year. Check BBC Two, BBC Sport website, and BBC iPlayer around tournament week for the latest schedules.