At Shinnecock, the forecast calls
for a windy, wild US Open
[June 18, 2026]
By EDDIE PELLS
SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. (AP) — The sight of workers dragging a garden hose
onto the seventh green in the middle of the final round at
Shinnecock Hills in 2004 has long been remembered as the equivalent
of the USGA waving a white flag. The message: We've officially lost
the golf course.
This year, with the U.S. Open returning to one of the country's most
difficult and windswept layouts, the USGA sent a message before the
tournament began: It will be watering the greens and it's not a sign
of surrender.
It is, however, the reality of what's shaping up to be a rough week
at what is traditionally the season's roughest major — America's
national championship. Sustained wind near the eastern tip of Long
Island was expected to rise beyond 30 mph at times for the opening
round.
The 126th edition of U.S. Open began ominously Thursday morning when
the large American flag atop the clubhouse was crackling at 6:30
a.m. Fog began to roll in, prompting James Nicholas to ask the
starter if they were on time.
“I just wanted to make sure,” Nicholas said. “I can't see the
fairway.”
But he had plenty of room to see the flight of his 3-iron. To give
the players a chance, the USGA has made the fairways wide and is
trying to keep the greens soft and slower than usual.
That's all part of the plan to keep it tough but fair.
“When we start to talk about numbers in the mid-30s, that becomes
problematic in a number of ways,” John Bodenhamer, the USGA official
in charge of course setup, said in referencing the wind forecast.
Shinnecock, considered one of America's true cathedrals of golf, has
also been the scene of some of its more jarring debacles.
In 2018, Phil Mickelson, frustrated with a ball he putted past the
hole on No. 13 that just kept rolling, jogged toward the ball and
swatted it back up the hill while it was still moving. That was a
two-shot penalty that left the left-hander “embarrassed and
disappointed by my actions.”
In 2004, organizers had to water the heavily sloped Redan green on
No. 7 in between groups on Sunday — the signature moment on a fiasco
of a day in which not a single player broke par.
Bodenhamer outlined a plan for the first two days, in which the USGA
built in more time between the morning and afternoon waves to
“syringe” the greens. He described that as applying a light mist on
top of the surfaces, sort of like what happens when they water
vegetables in the produce section at the grocery store.
He said course workers would wait until as late as possible before
the start of the weekend rounds to water, in hopes they would remain
receptive throughout the day. Saturday's forecast calls for heavy
wind out of the north and northwest, which is the opposite of normal
at Shinnecock and can blow balls from the back to front of what
Bodenhamer called “the problematic greens — or the more severe
greens, not problematic.”
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Kaito Onishi, of Japan, tosses is club on the first hole during a
practice round for the U.S. Open golf tournament at Shinnecock Hills
Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y., Wednesday, June 17, 2026.(AP
Photo/Gerald Herbert)
He said the speeds of the greens could be set to
measure around 10 on the stimpmeter. A normal reading for a major
would be around 13. If that's the case, these could be the slowest
U.S. Open putting surfaces he can recall since 1995, when Corey
Pavin won at Shinnecock with a score of even par.
But when asked what this year's trip around Shinnecock could look
like, Bodenhamer brought up 1992, when Tom Kite used a 6-iron on the
102-yard seventh hole, then chipped in from left of the green to set
up a win in gale conditions at Pebble Beach.
“We think Thursday could look a little bit like that, with what
we’re seeing in the forecast,” Bodenhamer said. “We’ve given that
some thought.”
The USGA has been transparent with the players about the watering
plan.
“When I first heard of it, my first reaction was, ‘That’s stupid,
why are they doing that?’” Rory McIlroy said. "Then, once you
actually listen and you’ve let them break it down to you, you’re,
like, 'Yeah, that makes sense.'”
Since Bodenhamer took over the course setup job in 2019, the USGA
has more or less stopped using par as a benchmark for a winning
score. The year before he took over, Brooks Koepka won at Shinnecock
with a score of 1 over. Since then, the average winning score has
been nearly 7 under, even with notoriously tough courses like Winged
Foot and Oakmont in the mix.
This year, the goal, in Bodenhamer's words, is to “let Shinnecock be
what it's supposed to be.”
If the wind kicks up, as expected, it will be the toughest test in
golf. If it doesn't and the USGA sticks with its watering plan, it
could turn into something totally different.
“It is a very unique site. It is up on top of the hill. It does get
battered by the elements,” Justin Rose said. “The course changes
dramatically from morning to afternoon. What I’m hearing is some
slightly different protocols this week make sense to me, and I think
it’s set up to be a great tournament.”
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