Shinnecock Hills Is Back, And Nobody Is Ready For How Brutal This US Open Will Be

Alright, folks, buckle up! The U.S. Open is back, and it's swinging into Shinnecock Hills this week, bringing all the drama and a whole lot of tough golf. If you thought last year was a grind, get ready because this track in Southampton, N.Y., is arguably the most brutal in the entire rotation. Seriously, don't be shocked if we're crowning an *over-par* champion come Sunday evening, even though the sportsbooks are still betting on someone finishing under. This place is no joke, and it's about to test the best like never before!

Welcome To The Gauntlet: Shinnecock's Savage History

Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, founded way back in 1891, is rolling in for its sixth U.S. Open, making it one of only six courses to host America's national championship that many times. We're talking a links-style track, all sandy terrain and few trees, playing to a par 70 at a hefty 7,440 yards. This place just devours scorecards! Want proof? Only two times in its U.S. Open history has the winner finished under par: Raymond Floyd at 1 under in 1986 and Retief Goosen at 4 under in 2004. Think about that. Out of a combined 659 U.S. Open starts at Shinnecock, only *three* individual golfers, Floyd, Goosen, and runner-up Phil Mickelson in 2004, have ever finished under par. A mere 29 guys have even managed to finish better than +5!

The Ghost of 2018 Haunts Shinnecock

The last time Shinnecock hosted, back in 2018, it gave us a preview of this week's potential madness. American Brooks Koepka repeated as champion, finishing at a 1 over par, making him the last player to repeat in th

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is major. That 2018 tournament was also the last major championship overall where *no golfer finished under par*. Koepka, who is +3200 this week, pulled out of the Canadian Open with an injury on Sunday, but he's saying he's good to tee it up in New York. The average score to par in 2018 was a brutal +4.65, which was the highest at any U.S. Open since 2007 and the fifth-highest in the past 40 years. Even the 1986 event, where Floyd went 1 under, was no walk in the park with an average of +4.67. England's Tommy Fleetwood pulled off an insane course-record 63 in the final round of 2018, which only got him to a runner-up finish. That 63 tied the lowest final-round score in tournament history, a feat he matched again in 2023 when he finished T-5. Fleetwood is +2300 to finally bag a major title this Sunday.

This Week's Numbers Are Telling A Story

So, what's on tap for this week? The Over/Under winning score at DraftKings is set at 278.5, with the Under somehow still a -148 favorite. This means someone would need to shoot 279 or better to even sniff under par! The odds of anyone breaking Fleetwood's course record this week are +1200, which tells you how much of a longshot that is. If you're looking for a fresh face, a first-time major winner is sitting at +115, with "No" at -142. It's a field of 36 players from the 2018 event, and even top contenders like Rory McIlroy (+930, second favorite) and Jon Rahm (+1175, third favorite) missed the cut here last time. This isn't just a golf tournament, it's a battle for survival. Get ready for a week where every shot matters and par might just be the best score out there. Sunday is going to be absolutely legendary.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.