His win at LIV Golf Andaluc\u00eda<\/a> \u2014 his first start since becoming a first-time father \u2014 demonstrated how effective the Legion XIII star can be on a demanding layout with firm and fast greens. Last year, Hatton got a taste of contention at the U.S. Open, eventually finishing T4 at Oakmont.<\/p>\nHis previous look at Shinnecock came in 2018, when he finished T6. Three of his eight career major top-10 finishes have come since joining LIV Golf, and on a course built for control rather than power; his recent form makes him a serious contender this week.<\/p>\n
2. JON RAHM<\/p>\n
Best U.S. Open finish: 1st (2021 at Torrey Pines)
Recent form: 2nd (LIV Golf Andaluc\u00eda,\u00a016th\u00a0(LIV Golf Korea),\u00a0T2\u00a0(PGA Championship)<\/p>\n
Jon Rahm enters Shinnecock Hills as LIV Golf’s reigning points leader and a former U.S. Open champion looking to add a third major to his resume. The Legion XIII captain has been fantastic in 2026, with wins in Hong Kong and Mexico City, four runner-up finishes, and two more top-10 finishes \u2014 form that puts him on track for a third consecutive season-long individual title. In his most recent start in Spain, Rahm gained more than 10 strokes on approach, which is an ominous sign for the field this week.<\/p>\n
Rahm’s U.S. Open history is phenomenal: since his win at Torrey Pines in 2021, he’s finished T12, T10 and T7 in three starts (he missed the\u00a02024 edition with an injury). The Spaniard thrives in difficult conditions and proved at last month\u2019s PGA Championship (T2) that he\u2019s ready to contend for another major.<\/p>\n
3. BRYSON DECHAMBEAU<\/p>\n
Best U.S. Open finish: 1st (2020 at Winged Foot; 2024 at Pinehurst)
Recent form:\u00a0T11\u00a0(LIV Golf Andaluc\u00eda),\u00a03rd\u00a0(LIV Golf Mexico City), MC (PGA Championship)<\/p>\n
No player\u00a0in the field has a stronger U.S. Open pedigree than Bryson DeChambeau. The Crushers GC captain has won two of the last six U.S. Opens and is seeking to become the seventh golfer in history to win three.<\/p>\n
“I’ve always felt like my game was prepped for the U.S. Open,” said DeChambeau, pointing to his ball-striking and putting on fast, sloped greens as the foundation of both titles.<\/p>\n
His season has been up and down. He\u2019s missed the cut in both majors but has shown peak form in his back-to-back wins in Singapore and South Africa as well as more recently when he finished 3rd in both Virginia and Korea. Shinnecock’s firm and fast greens should suit DeChambeau but his power may be neutralized at Shinnecock in comparison to other U.S. Open venues.<\/p>\n
4. CAMERON SMITH<\/p>\n
Best U.S. Open finish: 4th (2023 at Los Angeles CC)
Recent form: T5 (LIV Golf Andaluc\u00eda), T16 (LIV Golf Korea), T7\u00a0(PGA Championship)<\/p>\n
Cameron Smith snapped a streak of six straight missed cuts in majors with a T7 at last month’s PGA Championship at Aronimink, and he carries that momentum into a U.S. Open where he’s quietly rounded into strong form. His solo fourth at Los Angeles Country Club in 2023 came on the back of three rounds in the 60s, and he tied for fourth in his U.S. Open debut at Chambers Bay back in 2015. Both of those setups mimic Shinnecock in that there are wider fairways, which should work to Smith\u2019s advantage.<\/p>\n
The Ripper GC captain currently ranks first in the league in Strokes Gained Around the Green and third in Strokes Gained Putting. His ability to escape danger can make him a surprise contender this week.<\/p>\n
5. JOAQUIN NIEMANN<\/p>\n
Best U.S. Open finish: T23 (2020 at Winged Foot)
Recent form: T24 (LIV Golf Andaluc\u00eda), 1st (LIV Golf Korea), T18 (PGA Championship)<\/p>\n
Joaqu\u00edn Niemann\u00a0had a sluggish start to the year by his lofty standards but arrives two starts removed from winning LIV Golf Korea, where he extended his lead as the most prolific winner in LIV Golf history with eight individual titles.<\/p>\n
His U.S. Open history is thinner than the names around him \u2014 a T23 at Winged Foot in 2020 remains his best finish \u2014 but his all-around game has rounded into one of the sport’s most dangerous, and Shinnecock represents a fresh chance to add a marquee major on a course that won\u2019t punish his lower ball flight and enable him to be a shot-maker.<\/p>\n
6. DUSTIN JOHNSON<\/p>\n
Best U.S. Open finish: 1st (2016 at Oakmont)
Recent form: T5 (LIV Golf Andaluc\u00eda), 4th (LIV Golf Korea), T44 (PGA Championship)<\/p>\n
Dustin Johnson’s 10-year exemption for his 2016 U.S. Open win expires after this week, and he’ll look to make the most of it at a course where he’s already produced a third-place finish in 2018, and from 2014-2018 he posted top-4 finishes in four of five U.S. Open starts.<\/p>\n
The 4Aces GC captain enters with renewed confidence, having posted back-to-back top-5 finishes in his last two LIV Golf starts. No one should be surprised if Johnson gets involved this week.<\/p>\n
7. DAVID PUIG<\/p>\n
Best U.S. Open finish: T39 (2023 at Los Angeles CC)
Recent form: T5 (LIV Golf Andaluc\u00eda), T16 (LIV Golf Korea), T18 (PGA Championship)<\/p>\n
David Puig climbed into the U.S. Open field on the strength of his move up the Official World Golf Ranking, and the 24-year-old Spaniard arrives playing some of the best golf of his young career. His runner-up finish to Jon Rahm at LIV Golf Mexico City was the best result of his LIV Golf career, and he currently ranks fourth on LIV Golf this season in Strokes Gained Total.<\/p>\n
Puig’s only U.S. Open start came in 2023, when a final-round 67 \u2014 including four consecutive birdies \u2014 pushed him to a T39 finish in his major debut. Shinnecock will be an entirely different challenge, but a player who ranks among the league’s most consistent over the last two years, with nine top-10s in his last 22 starts, has every tool needed to navigate it.<\/p>\n
8. CARLOS ORTIZ<\/p>\n
Best U.S. Open finish: T4 (2025 at Oakmont)
Recent form: T21 (LIV Golf Andaluc\u00eda), T52 (LIV Golf Korea), T30 (LIV Golf Virginia)<\/p>\n
Carlos Ortiz earned his way back into the U.S. Open field with a T4 at Oakmont last year \u2014 the first top-10 finish of his major career and the best result of his 12 major starts. He’ll be the only golfer from Mexico in the field at Shinnecock this week, carrying the form of a player who broke through with a third-round 67 a year ago to put himself in major contention.<\/p>\n
9. LUCAS HERBERT<\/p>\n
Best U.S. Open finish: T31 (2020at Winged Foot)
Recent form: T24 (LIV Golf Andaluc\u00eda), T8 (LIV Golf Korea), 1st (Maaden LIV Golf Virginia)<\/p>\n
Lucas Herbert claimed the LIV Golf U.S. Open exemption by winning at Maaden LIV Golf Virginia, his first individual league title. He’s making just his fourth U.S. Open start.<\/p>\n
10. GRAEME MCDOWELL<\/p>\n
Best U.S. Open finish: 1st (2010 at Pebble Beach)
Recent form: 51st\u00a0(LIV Golf Andaluc\u00eda), T45 (LIV Golf Korea), T18 (LIV Golf Virginia)<\/p>\n
Graeme McDowell earned his way back into a major for the first time since 2020 by winning medalist-adjacent honors in final qualifying at Dallas Athletic Club. The 2010 champion is a grinder who knows how to keep it together in windy conditions.<\/p>\n
11. LAURIE CANTER<\/p>\n
Best U.S. Open finish: T55 (2025 at Oakmont)
Recent form: T37 (LIV Golf Andaluc\u00eda), T12 (LIV Golf Korea), T46 (LIV Golf Virginia)<\/p>\n
Laurie Canter qualified via his place in the top two of the 2025 Race to Dubai standings and will make his second straight U.S. Open start. He made the cut at Oakmont last year, the sixth time he’s done so in a major.<\/p>\n
12. PETER UIHLEIN<\/p>\n
Best U.S. Open finish: T48 (2018 at Shinnecock Hills)
Recent form: T31 (LIV Golf Andaluc\u00eda), T52 (LIV Golf Korea), 54th (LIV Golf Virginia)<\/p>\n
Peter Uihlein returns to major championship golf for the first time since 2018 after\u00a0claiming medalist honors in final qualifying. The 2010 U.S. Amateur champion already has experience at this venue, having tied for 48th the last time the U.S. Open visited Shinnecock in 2018.<\/p>\n
13. CALEB SURRATT<\/p>\n
Best U.S. Open finish: Major debut
Recent form: 49th\u00a0(LIV Golf Andaluc\u00eda), T45 (LIV Golf Korea), T70 (Soudal Open)<\/p>\n
Caleb Surratt brilliantly survived a six-for-one playoff in final qualifying to earn the first major start of his career at just 22 years old. His own Legion XIII captain, Jon Rahm, didn’t sugarcoat what’s ahead.<\/p>\n
“Let’s be honest \u2014 your first-ever major playing at Shinnecock Hills is going to be a rude awakening,” Rahm said with a smile.<\/p>\n
Surratt, for his part, insists he’s not there just for the experience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. \u2014 This week, 13 LIV Golf players will be in the field competing at the 126th…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":496017,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[85,46,105],"class_list":["post-496016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/496016","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=496016"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/496016\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/496017"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=496016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=496016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=496016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}