Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, aka The Cock, on Long Island, New York, is one of the founding members of the United States Golf Association and hosted the second-ever U.S. Open in 1896. So, it’s only fitting that the U.S. Open returns to Shinnecock in 2026, America’s 250th birthday year.
Undoubtedly one of the toughest courses in the world, Shinnecock is a par-70 links-style course with uneven lies, deep rough along the fairway with random fescue, elevation changes and brutally difficult greens. Oh, and it’s a coastal track with few trees, making it highly susceptible to wind.
After a 90-year hiatus, there have been four U.S. Opens at The Cock from 1986 to 2018. Only four golfers have finished those U.S. Opens under par. Brooks Koepka, Shinnecock’s reigning U.S. Open champion in 2018, won with a score of +1. Basically, what I’m getting at is there will be carnage at The Cock this week.
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Shifting gears, my PGA TOUR betting record this season is a disgrace. And it’s killing me because golf is my favorite sport to gamble on, and it’s the only sport I can’t beat. I’m down damn near 38 units (u), and I’m not even getting unlucky. I just suck this year.
But that all changes this week. I successfully predicted the New York Knicks would meet the San Antonio Spurs in the 2026 NBA Finals, then picked New York to win the title. I hit Napoleon Solo at the 2026 Preakness Stakes in May and a 100-to-1 trifecta at the Belmont Stakes two weeks ago.
That said, I’m calling my shot and guaranteeing a win at the 2026 U.S. Open because I won’t let my heater go cold. Now that I just jinxed myself, let’s discuss the horses for the course that I’m riding into The Cock.
2026 U.S. Open Best Bets
The following odds are based on my previous bets on the golfers listed below. Subject to change.
🇺🇸 Bryson DeChambeau +3000 at FanDuel (0.67u) and Top-20 with ties +173 at Kalshi (0.75u)
🇺🇸 Russell Henley +4000 at BetMGM (0.5u) and Top-10 with ties +279 at Kalshi (0.5u)
🇺🇸 Patrick Reed +5000 at Fanatics Sportsbook (0.4u) and Top-20 with ties +217 at Kalshi (0.5u)
🇺🇸 Chris Gotterup +5403 (0.37u) and Top-20 with ties +173 (0.75u), both at Kalshi
🏴 Tyrrell Hatton +5713 (0.35u) and Top-20 with ties +228 at Kalshi (0.5u)
🇺🇸 Harris English +13233 at Kalshi (0.15u) and Top-10 with ties +510 at DraftKings (0.25u)
🇦🇺 Cameron Smith +13257 (0.15u) and Top-20 with ties +489 (0.25u), both at Kalshi
Bryson DeChambeau
I’m buying low on Bryson, who missed the cut at The Masters and PGA Championship this year, where he was +1200 and +2000, respectively. Last year, DeChambeau entered the U.S. Open as the second-betting favorite at +750.
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A two-time U.S. Open champion in 2020 and 2024, Bryson is the best or second-best driver in golf, and the U.S. Open is the most driver-heavy tournament year in, year out. I mean, he’s gained strokes off-the-tee in every major and LIV Tour event with shot-link data that he’s played in since February 2024.
Even if Shinnecock forces these guys to be more strategic off-the-tee, Bryson will still find a way to gain strokes with his driver. Also, DeChambeau is a sneaky good putter and has gained strokes on the greens in eight of his 11 starts this season, according to DataGolf.com, including The Masters and PGA Championship.
He finished T25 in the last U.S. Open at Shinnecock while gaining strokes on the field with his driver and putter. Finally, Bryson is a golf nerd who will tailor a game plan to the course he’s playing.
Russell Henley
Henley has made the cut in four of his last five U.S. Opens with a T13 in 2021, T14 in 2023, T7 in 2024 and T10 last year. He tied for 25th in the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock and was tied for the lead after the first round.
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Henley is having another great season, featuring a T3 at The Masters and a win at the 2026 Charles Schwab Challenge. He was T10 at The Open Championship last year, his previous visit to a links-style course.
Many golf betting analysts are saying that driving accuracy is more important than distance at Shinnecock because you’re dead if you aren’t playing from the fairway. Henley leads the PGA TOUR in driving accuracy this season.
Furthermore, he plays well at similar crossover courses. Per Betsperts Golf, Henley is sixth in this field for total strokes gained at similar courses to Shinnecock over the last three years. Henley is good enough to win a major, and he has the game to win here.
Patrick Reed
Along with Augusta National, where he won the green jacket in 2018, Shinnecock is one of the two courses Reed would draw inspiration from if he were designing a major championship venue, per Joseph LaMagna from TheFriedEgg.com. Reed thinks that much of The Cock.
He left LIV before the start of this season to join the DP World Tour and play his way back onto the PGA TOUR. Reed won two of his first four starts on the DP World Tour, tied for second in another and finished T10 in his most recent tournament on the DP World Tour.
Now that he essentially locked up his PGA TOUR card for next season, Reed has only played in The Masters and the 2026 PGA Championship since March, where he finished T12 and T10. It’s clear his only focus is winning a second major and you know he’s been practicing at Shinnecock over the last month.
Reed’s U.S. Open best finish was fourth here in 2018. He gained strokes across the board in driving, on approach, around-the-green and putting that week at The Cock. Reed has 12 international wins, played for three American Ryder Cup teams, and enters the U.S. Open with great lead-in form.
Chris Gotterup
Since last year’s U.S. Open, where he finished a respectable T23, Gotterup has won three times: the 2025 Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club, the 2026 Sony Open at Waialae and the 2026 Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale.
The Renaissance Club is a par-70, driver-heavy links-style course in Scotland. Waialae is another par-70 course in Hawaii with coastal winds, like The Cock. TPC Scottsdale is a “bomber’s paradise” with wide fairways in the desert. These are three different types of courses in different climates and geographies.
Meanwhile, Gotterup is ninth on TOUR in total strokes gained this season and doesn’t have a weak club in the bag. This is why he’s finished third (The 2025 Open Championship), T24 (this year’s Masters) and T10 (2026 PGA Championship) in his last three majors.
Lastly, Gotterup’s swing speed is one of the fastest in golf, allowing him to use any strategy off-the-tee. He’s kind of like a poor man’s DeChambeau in the betting market, but Gotterup is playing better and has nearly double the odds of Bryson.
Tyrrell Hatton
Hatton’s wife, Emily, had their first child last month, and Tyrrell won his first tournament as a father on the LIV Tour in Andalucia. Eight days before his child’s birth, Hatton missed the cut at the 2026 PGA Championship. Maybe he was distracted by his wife’s pregnancy and can refocus now that their child is out.
Regardless, Tyrrell has gained strokes ball-striking (driving and on approach) in the last four majors. On top of winning his last start, Hatton has three more top-10 finishes on the LIV Tour this season and he tied for third at The Masters in April.
His best U.S. Open finish was T4 last year at Oakmont Country Club, a comp course to Shinnecock. Hatton’s second-best finish at the U.S. Open was T6 at The Cock in 2018 while gaining strokes across the board. An eight-time DP World Tour winner, the Englishman is familiar with links-style courses.
Harris English
The five-time PGA TOUR winner and two-time American Ryder Cupper is ranked 17th by DataGolf.com, which is the premier website for golf stats. But English is outside the top-50 in the betting odds to win the U.S. Open. I.e., English is underrated by the market.
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He’s made the cut in all 10 U.S. Opens with three top-10s in 2020-21 and 2023. His last win was the 2025 Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in San Diego, which hosted the 2021 U.S. Open. For whatever reason, he didn’t play at Shinnecock in 2018, but his game works better at tougher courses.
English has finished between 17th and 25th in most starts this season, including a T4 at the RBC Heritage, T18 at the PGA Championship and T17 at the Memorial Tournament in three of his past five events. He was second at last year’s Open Championship.
Cameron Smith
The Aussie missed the cut at the 2018 U.S. Open at The Cock, which isn’t great. Yet, the 2022 Champion Golfer of the Year can obviously win on a links-style course. Plus, Shinnecock’s greens are insane, and Smith has a top-three best short game (chipping and putting) in the world.
The driver is by far Smith’s worst club in the bag, but The Cock’s fairways are at least wide. His best finish at the U.S. Open is fourth in 2023 at the Los Angeles Country Club, which also has wide fairways, elevation changes and tricky green complexes.
After missing the cut at six consecutive majors, Smith parted ways with his longtime swing coach before the 2026 PGA Championship, where he tied for seventh. It’s nothing to brag about, but Smith has finished T16 and T3 in the last two LIV events leading up to this week’s U.S. Open.
The bottom line is Smith’s world-class short-game can keep him in the mix at any course, and 130-to-1-ish is too good to pass up on a guy who is a major winner and playing well.
U.S. Open 2026 ‘One-and-Done’ Pick: Bryson DeChambeau
Mayo Cup season standings: 4,221st with $4,543,780
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