Major championship

U.S. Open

Rotating venues in the United States Established 1895

American Golf Archive illustration of the U.S. Open Championship Trophy.
American Golf Archive editorial illustration

The United States’ national open combines an open qualifying route with a rotating course prepared as a rigorous but fair examination.

At a glance

Founded
1895 ↘
Governing organization
United States Golf Association ↘
Usual calendar position
June ↘
Venue model
Rotating host courses in the United States ↘
Field character
Exempt players plus professionals and eligible amateurs advancing through open qualifying ↘
Format
72-hole stroke play over four daily rounds ↘

Across the years

Champions through time

Latest verified Edition

Wyndham Clark

Status
Completed
Venue
Shinnecock Hills Golf Club
Champion
Wyndham Clark
Open 2026 U.S. Open
Browse complete history 132 editions
  1. 2026 U.S. Open Completed

    June 18, 2026 – June 21, 2026

    Venue
    Shinnecock Hills Golf Club
    Champion
    Wyndham Clark
    Source
  3. 2024 U.S. Open Completed

    June 13, 2024 – June 16, 2024

    Venue
    Pinehurst R. & C.C. (Course No. 2)
    Champion
    Bryson DeChambeau
    Source
  4. 2023 U.S. Open Completed

    June 15, 2023 – June 18, 2023

    Venue
    The Los Angeles (Calif.) Country Club (North Course)
    Champion
    Wyndham Clark
    Source
  5. 2022 U.S. Open Completed

    June 16, 2022 – June 19, 2022

    Venue
    The Country Club (Open Course)
    Champion
    Matt Fitzpatrick
    Source
  6. 2021 U.S. Open Completed

    June 17, 2021 – June 20, 2021

    Venue
    Torrey Pines Golf Course (South Course)
    Champion
    Jon Rahm
    Source
  7. 2020 U.S. Open Completed

    September 17, 2020 – September 20, 2020

    Venue
    Winged Foot G.C. (West Course)
    Champion
    Bryson DeChambeau
    Source

Archive essay

Why it matters

The U.S. Open is the USGA’s national open championship, a 72-hole stroke-play competition at rotating American venues that combines exempt players with golfers advancing through qualifying. ↘

Open qualifying is central to the Championship’s national-open character. The USGA has also described its setup aim as a rigorous, difficult but fair examination that tests shotmaking and judgment, rewarding well-executed strokes and penalizing poor ones. A changing host course gives that ideal a different physical form from one edition to another. ↘

Chapter 01

Origins and identity

The USGA first conducted the U.S. Open in 1895. It was already one of the leading championships in Bobby Jones’s 1930 Grand Slam, before the modern men’s major canon replaced the two amateur championships in that earlier group; its major history therefore predates the present four-event arrangement. ↘

Chapter 02

Place and competitive character

The U.S. Open moves among American courses rather than following one permanent rota. Its records show both recurring hosts and one-time settings, so architecture, region and weather change while the USGA’s national championship and setup principles remain the organizing thread. ↘

Chapter 03

Traditions, qualification and evolution

Some players receive full or local exemptions under categories reviewed for each edition. Other professionals and eligible amateurs begin in local qualifying, with successful players joining locally exempt competitors at final qualifying for places in the Championship field. The Championship itself is four rounds of stroke play, with a cut after 36 holes. ↘

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