Who Are The Past Winners at Shinnecock Hills? A Look Back As The 2026 US Open Reaches Its Final Day
Wyndham Clark carries a six-shot lead into the back nine today, chasing his second US Open title at a course that has only let three players ever finish under par. Here is who has won at Shinnecock before him.
The final round of the 2026 US Open is underway at Shinnecock Hills, and Wyndham Clark holds a commanding six-shot lead heading into the closing 18 holes, the fourth-largest 54-hole lead in US Open history behind only Jim Barnes in 1921, Rory McIlroy in 2011, and Tiger Woods at Pebble Beach in 2000. Scottie Scheffler, chasing the career Grand Slam on his 30th birthday, sits in the final pairing as the closest challenger. Whatever happens over the next few hours, the champion will join a short and storied list. Shinnecock Hills has hosted the US Open five times before today, and the names on that list explain why this course is treated with such reverence.
The Five Champions Before Today
James Foulis won the very first US Open played at Shinnecock in 1896, shooting 152 over two rounds played in a single day and beating England's Horace Rawlins by three strokes, taking home a $150 prize.
The tournament did not return for 90 years. When it did, in 1986, Raymond Floyd carded a final-round 66 to win by two strokes over Chip Beck and Lanny Wadkins, becoming, at 43 years and 284 days, the oldest US Open champion in history at the time, a record Hale Irwin broke four years later.
In 1995, the tournament's centenary year, Corey Pavin won his only major championship by two shots, sealing it with a 4-wood approach from 228 yards on the 18th that finished within five feet, widely regarded as one of the great shots in US Open history. Greg Norman, who had led after 36 and 54 holes, finished runner-up for the second time at Shinnecock.
Retief Goosen claimed his second US Open title in 2004, surviving brutally firm conditions that made parts of the course nearly unplayable, beating Phil Mickelson by two strokes in the third of Mickelson's six career runner-up finishes at the championship.
Brooks Koepka completed back-to-back US Open titles in 2018, holding off a closing 63 from Tommy Fleetwood to win by one stroke and collect a $2.16 million prize.
What Connects Them All
Only three players in five previous Shinnecock US Opens have ever finished a full championship under par, and none lower than four-under. The course, redesigned by William Flynn in 1931, demands patience over power and punishes anyone who tries to simply overpower it. Whoever finishes on top today inherits a $4.5 million winner's share from this year's $22.5 million purse, and a place on a list that has rewarded precision and composure far more often than raw distance.