Question of the week [June 22-28]: What are your thoughts on the 2026 U.S. Open, specifically regarding the course, the finish and the tournament in general?
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Tommy Jennings | Winder, GA
It's complicated. The course was a major test, as it should be, and the field was just as major. The tournament was compelling and the outcome was never in doubt. Once again, however, the New York fans sucked. Cheer, cuss, or deride all you want at a team sport contest, but to bring that mindlessness to a golf tournament is a shame. I hope a lesson was learned: find a place to hold a national open where the game and the players are respected, not rejected.
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Larry Walker | Oceanside, CA
I thought the press and fan bias regarding Wyndham Clark was abysmal. I also thought getting fans to the location was a complete mess regarding access and transportation, generating a snooty attitude that says, "Come if you want, but on our terms." That should not be encouraged. The course setup was spectacular and the finish was good, but it's always tiring and frankly awful when the press openly markets for fan favorites or underdogs to take down the leader. Rage-baiting is awful sportsmanship and totally unnecessary. Focus on the golf.
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Bill Levin | Rockford, IL
I thought the New York fans were a disgrace. You don’t cheer a bad shot and yell crap at the players like they did. I hope major championships stay away from New York in the future.
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Mark Amendola | Mountain Top, PA
Fairways as wide as a football field — I haven't seen that since LACC, which was also won by Wyndham Clark. I have never seen a winner play worse on the weekend. The greens were slow and bumpy with tricked-up pin placements. The USGA and NBC continued to tell us they had to adjust the setup due to the wind, as if wind is unusual at a links course. Please drop this place from the rotation; there are plenty of good courses that reward great golf.
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Dennis Brissette | Heathrow, FL
Shinnecock appeared more like an Open Championship course than a U.S. Open venue. The USGA continues to return to the same courses rather than introducing new sites for their biggest event. The players and the public deserve better.
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Anthony Austin | Orlando, FL
The fan behavior tarnished the whole event. True fans of golf don’t want to view unsportsmanlike behavior from the gallery.
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Thomas Klabunde | Tempe, AZ
First off, I love watching the best players in the world struggle to break par as 25-under wins at routine tour events are just plain boring by comparison. I loved watching many of them get pushed to the limits of their frustration—something the rest of us can relate to. The course was a beast, especially with the high winds the first couple of days, providing a true U.S. Open challenge.
Wyndham Clark got away with pretty much every bad shot he hit Sunday. Missing 45-yard-wide fairways on a day with little wind is generally not a recipe for success at an Open. But despite being in the rough and fescue, he was still able to get a club on the ball fairly cleanly. Not everyone was so lucky.
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Mike Owsik | Bryn Mawr, PA
The setup of the course with the extreme runoffs surrounding the greens makes it silly. I’d like to see the rough grown in around the greens instead (three to five inches) to put the guesswork back into getting up and down.
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Steve Moore | Birmingham, AL
The weather and the already brutal Shinnecock design finally made a TV audience cry "uncle" during the first few days. Even though fewer tickets were sold, the weather, lengthy train rides, and other events thinned the crowds until Sunday. That’s when the brutal fans of Ryder Cup fame showed up to boo a man who, frankly, didn't deserve it.
But what unfolded was a Sunday afternoon of grit, talent, execution, mental fortitude, and redemption as Wyndham Clark taught us all a lesson on Father’s Day: you can fix things that you break. None of us know the pressure of leading a U.S. Open with the gallery catcalling your every shot on national TV while the broadcasters are clearly on board with the Scottie Scheffler bromance. Deep down, we really aren't ones to judge another man’s past missteps, but we can marvel at their work when they make good on a debt that was owed. It was even more special to see his father surprise him on a day where a mother’s memory kept Wyndham on track for a wire-to-wire, rare second U.S. Open victory.
Then he did it: he apologized for last year’s trashing at Oakmont and admitted that he deserved the negativity out there. He said what many of us have been waiting for, and now I think you are going to see more sponsor logos on this man and his bag. Redemption is something each of us prays for, and it’s pretty cool to watch someone else achieve it.
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Barry Burks | Knoxville, TN
A great U.S. Open. The USGA and staff at the golf course did a great job managing the conditions and preparing for the weather. The golf was sensational, though some really good shots ended up with poor outcomes — but that's golf. I loved the two-stroke penalty for poor conduct, but absolutely hated the negative fan behavior toward Wyndham Clark. I'm embarrassed as a golf fan and an American. I loved Wyndham's handling of the abuse. He showed tremendous maturity and class, proving that he has been aggressively managing his past frustration outbursts.
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Ralph M. Bush | South Trenton, NY
A great U.S. Open. The course and wind conditions worked to force play closer to par. Watching the world's best players cope with these situations was intriguing and fun. All major courses should force the field closer to par. Birdie-fests are boring and redundant.
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Andy Krakauer | West Linn, ORW
orst fan behavior in a while. It was ridiculous how Wyndham Clark was treated. I don’t love the guy, but the fan behavior towards him was boorish, at best.
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Kevin Jones | Naples, FL
Long Island fans were shameful. There should be no more major events on Long Island. Alternatively, strict rules of fan conduct should be instituted, with unruly fans removed from the premises immediately and unceremoniously. The fan behavior on Long Island is a stain on the game of golf.
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Richard Holt | Southport, NC
I attended the U.S. Open on Thursday and Friday. It was organized and managed very well — a very orderly event. The plenty of volunteers should be commended, and the food was good. It is a spectacular course to view in person and to watch on TV.
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Rick Adams | Bradenton, FL
The course was gimmicky, the finish was melodramatic, and the announcers were way too focused on Rory McIlroy on Saturday. It was disrespectful to the other golfers.
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Lynn Patton | Scottsdale, AZ
The setting is beautiful, but the greens are like a clownish miniature golf course. I don’t think any more majors should be held at Shinnecock. They should use a course more accessible from NYC, such as Bethpage Black.
George Austin | Sunset Beach, NC
The course and conditions were too extreme, which made for a boring tournament.
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Gary Whittemore | Longmont, CO
Shinnecock continues to be a top-flight venue for the U.S. Open. The tournament directors did a good job keeping it playable and not letting it get out of control. It is just too bad the course is in New York. The treatment of Wyndham Clark was embarrassing — another classless display by New York golf fans. Sure, most people would have loved to see Scottie complete his career grand slam. However, Clark had paid for his past U.S. Open indiscretion ad nauseam and did not deserve the treatment he received while going wire-to-wire. It was a tremendous display of golf and a great Sunday finish. Sam Burns will get his U.S. Open in the not-too-distant future, too.
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Pete Croppo | Bayfield, Ontario
Generally, what this year's Open gave us was exactly what should be expected of it. The course setup was fair, the length of rough punishing, and ultimately, it left the best player standing at the end. Who could ask for more, unless your personal favorite didn't win?
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Peter Petrucci, MD | Bluffton, SC
The course looked terrible on TV. I would be more interested in what the tour pros honestly think about the venue, if they would ever give an honest response.
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Gino Composto, PGA | Palm Beach Gardens, FL
The finish was great. I am not a fan of Clark due to Oakmont, so I did not watch until the back nine on Sunday. New York and Long Island fans should just watch from home.
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William R. Favro | Sunset Beach, NC
The setup on some of the greens was unfair, resulting in good shots running way off the back. Otherwise, the setup on this top-notch course was outstanding. The finish was great and the overall tournament was excellent. Well done.
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Barbara Schmidt | Lake Elmo, MN
I was impressed with how Wyndham Clark hung in there despite the rude and obnoxious fans. But I was more than shocked that the USGA puts up with the rotten behavior of the crowd, which defies all expectations of golf protocol, and the tragic logistical access at Shinnecock. The course may be iconic, but it's not worth the trials and tribulations spectators have to go through to attend. Shinnecock has become a parody of itself — it's no longer iconic, just a joke that is painful for players, spectators, and television fans. It's time for it to be removed from the schedule.
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Joe Nicholson | Sunset, SC
The background buzz on the telecast was incredibly annoying. It sounded like a prop airplane or drones the entire time.
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Tom Reed | Nashville, TN
This was an epic U.S. Open. There were so many daily physical differences to the course over the week, and it certainly presented challenges for all of the competitors. The course was basically wide, open, and long, yet the rough and bunkers were punishing. Three competitors finished under par, with the winner averaging 1-under par each day. Par should be a great score, and it was. There was drama, notable highlights, and a high level of competition right up to the last putt. This Open stands out in the same way the 1995 U.S. Open stood out when Corey Pavin won.
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James Clinton | Houston, TX
When I watch a golf tournament, I like to see the pros make good shots and make putts. I see enough bad shots in my daily group. That wasn't possible at this year's U.S. Open. I have never seen so many missed putts and unfortunate bounces. Furthermore, why are the USGA and PGA allowing play around New York? The New York fans both at Bethpage and this Open have proven what lousy sports they are.
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Michael McGillivary | Westlake Village, CA
The U.S. Open should never be played on a links course. We get links golf just one month later at the Open Championship. Once a year of balls rolling 60 yards past the green or coming back 60-plus yards to the player is enough.
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Jeff Stoltz | Sun Lakes, AZ
The fairways were too wide. The best golfers in the world should be required to hit it straight. That being said, it was a great finish and a fun tournament to watch.
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Robert Lembo | Huntington Beach, CA
First, ticket-holders booing Wyndham Clark suggests fan regulations are in order. Second, while the USGA worried mightily about green speed the first two days, they mostly got it right, unlike past championships like Chambers Bay where putting resembled a tricked-up miniature golf course. But the real story was the width of the fairways and the lack of thick rough, which mostly featured thin, tall fescue. That gave a bomber like Clark the chance to go for it on most holes and avoid disaster even when missing the fairway. That, combined with a hot putter, made him the victor.
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Ed Hogan | Hudson, MA
It's a tough venue to get to for fans, but Shinnecock is a great venue for the U.S. Open due to wind exposure and the greens. Having said that, I think some of the greens are too penal, as good shots are too often rewarded with roll-offs. The tournament was good, though there wasn't much drama until Clark started leaking oil on Sunday. To his credit, he hung in there, though Sam Burns' putt on 18 should have dropped to force a playoff.
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Glynn Soyars | Richmond, VA
The greens were very, very bad. All of them.
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Donald E. Sujack | Geneva, IL
Worthy champion in Wyndham Clark. That said, if every golf course had greens like Shinnecock, scores would be higher for everyone and fewer people would enjoy or play the game. To paraphrase Eddie Pepperell: any links course with greens that one must dramatically modify to accommodate the wind isn't much of a links golf course.
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Mike Powers | Powder Springs, GA
At times, the TV screen made the greens look recently aerated with light and dark dots. I thought I was seeing things. However, the Saturday and Sunday rounds were exciting as players advanced and retreated constantly. The crowd behavior is embarrassing to professional golf and needs to be stopped.
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The First Call invites reader comment. Write to editor Stuart Hall at shall@buffalogroupe.com. If your comment is selected for publication, we will not publish your email address. We reserve the right to edit for clarity and brevity.
Front: Wyndham Clark on the 17th hole during the third round of the 2026 U.S. Open.
Photo: Logan Whitton/USGA.