U.S. Open: Golf One and Done Picks Strategy (2026)

The U.S. Open, the pinnacle event of One and Done pools for the summer, has arrived and we cover popular picks and storylines.

by Jason Lisk - Jun 15, 2026

Matt Fitzpatrick will try to win his second U.S. Open title

The U.S. Open goes to Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, New York — one of the most storied and demanding venues in American golf. It marks the sixth overall U.S. Open, and the fifth time since 1986 that the U.S. Open will be contested here. For One and Done pool players, this is one of the most important deployment weeks remaining on the calendar.

Here’s what you need to know for your Golf One and Done picks this week.

U.S. Open One and Done Picks: Purse Info

The U.S. Open purse has not been officially announced, but last year’s total purse was $21,500,000, with $4,300,000 going to the first-place winner. Any increase this year would push it higher, and it likely ranks as the highest prize amount available, other than for pools that use the TOUR Championship. You want to make a pick that gives you a great chance of winning, and only want to diversify off your top choice if it makes sense for popularity reasons and your place in the standings.

If you want to see where this tournament’s purse ranks in your specific PGA One and Done pool, you can set up your pool entry in our Golf One and Done Picks product.

U.S. Open Overview for One and Done Pools

This analysis is a complement to the data in our product, which provides customized weekly pick grades that account for factors like:

• The total number of picks you need to make this season.
• The specific tournaments included in your pool.
• The golfers you’ve already used so far.

Here are a few notable highlights for the 2026 U.S. Open field:

• 156 golfers in the field, with a cut at top 60 and ties. The largest major field of the season, featuring a mix of PGA Tour regulars, international qualifiers, LIV golfers, and amateurs and others who earned their way through sectional qualifying.
• Shinnecock Hills: one of golf’s great tests. The course in Southampton, New York sits on sandy, windswept terrain reminiscent of the links courses of the British Isles. Gusting winds off Peconic Bay shift direction as the holes change orientation, presenting players with a constantly evolving challenge. Strategic fairway bunkers narrow the driving corridors and force golfers to think carefully about club selection off many tees. The approach shots into crowned, sloping greens protected by deep bunkers are among the most demanding in the game — the closer you get to the hole at Shinnecock Hills, the harder the golf becomes.
• Patience and damage limitation win here. In the four modern U.S. Opens at Shinnecock Hills, only three golfers have finished under par — Raymond Floyd (-1) in 1986, and Retief Goosen (-4) and Phil Mickelson (-2) in 2004. Corey Pavin won at even par in 1995, and Brooks Koepka won at +1 in 2018. The course can punish aggression and rewards players who can grind through adversity without taking big numbers.
• Veteran Edge? The average age of the 12 golfers who finished in the Top Three at each U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills over the last 40 years has been 35 years old. Among the winners, Raymond Floyd won at age 43, Pavin and Goosen were in their mid-30s, and only Brooks Koepka, winning for the second year in a row, was under 30 (28 years old).
• Four of the top six in our rankings are past U.S. Open champions. Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Matt Fitzpatrick, and Bryson DeChambeau have all won this event before, giving them a proven track record under U.S. Open conditions. The two exceptions are Scottie Scheffler — going for the career Grand Slam as the clear favorite — and Cameron Young, who has been one of the hottest players on Tour this season.
• Koepka won the last U.S. Open at Shinnecock in 2018. His course history here is unmatched among active players. However, Koepka withdrew before the final round of last week’s RBC Canadian Open with a hand injury, and his health status bears monitoring.
• Clark Leads the strong recent form list. Wyndham Clark, who won the U.S. Open in 2023, arrives in the best recent form in the field. Tommy Fleetwood, Sam Burns, Si Woo Kim, and Viktor Hovland have also posted strong strokes gained numbers in recent weeks. Fleetwood shot a famous 63 in the final round of the 2018 U.S. Open here — the best round in Shinnecock history.
• J.J. Spaun is the defending champion. Spaun won at Oakmont last year in a performance that shocked the field, and he returns with the defending title. He is also in strong recent form, finishing in the top 15 in two of his last three starts.

U.S. Open One and Done Picks: Video

For this U.S. Open week, we will have a couple of different opportunities for video.

Our One and Done Picks Video published on Tuesday, June 16th.

Then, special for this week, we will do a live show to answer questions and discuss various pool formats, including One and Done and also Tiers contests, on Wednesday, June 17th at 1 p.m. ET.

Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to the PoolGenius YouTube Channel so you don’t miss when each Golf One and Done Picks video is released.

You can also listen to these episodes on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

U.S. Open One and Done Picks: Advice

Below, we’ll break down the top U.S. Open One and Done picks by looking at tournament odds, future value rankings, pick popularity, and the strategy behind when to use each golfer.

Top 15 in Win Odds

Here are the top 15 (and ties) in win odds for the U.S. Open as of Monday, June 15:

1. Scottie Scheffler +460
2. Rory McIlroy +960
3. Jon Rahm +1050
4. Xander Schauffele +1850
5. Cameron Young +2050
6. Matt Fitzpatrick +2100
7. Tommy Fleetwood +2450
8. Ludvig Aberg +2600
9. Bryson DeChambeau +2900
10. Brooks Koepka +3400
11. Russell Henley +3600
12. Collin Morikawa +3600
13. Wyndham Clark +3800
14. Sam Burns +3900
15. Si Woo Kim +3900