My photos from round 3 of the 126th U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills June 24, 2026

Posted by Mike C. in Aviation, Commentary, Golf, Internet, Media, Personal, Photography, Sports, Travel, Weather.
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WARNING: I opine on unruly fans at the end of this post.

Nearly nine months after attending day 1 of the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, my dad Bill and I were on the opposite end of Long Island at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club for the third round of the 126th U.S. Open. (As I type this parenthetical, the Wikipedia entry is incomplete.)

Due to COVID-19 postponing the 2020 U.S. Open and excluding fans, this was my first trip to a U.S. Open since 2018, also at Shinnecock and also for the third round. Furthermore, this was my third time at Shinnecock for the U.S. Open, and my dad’s fifth time. He was there in 1986 when Raymond Floyd won and again in 1995 for Corey Pavin‘s victory. My first time was in 2004 when Retief Goosen won his second U.S. Open.

In 2004 and 2018, the mode of transportation for Dad and I was LIRR trains. In the latter case, we spent more time traveling to Shinnecock Hills than attending the U.S. Open there. I was too worn out and we were so far away that I just wanted to go home. And I thought we’d be taking trains again in 2026. Instead, Dad drove to one of a few automobile parking lots for shuttle bus service to and from the course. Our destination was the “blue lot” on the former site of Calverton Executive Airpark.

We left the house shortly after 9:30 AM with a route that eventually found us on the Long Island Expressway (L.I.E.; I-495). Our exit was 68 (William Floyd Parkway). This LED sign was placed ahead of the exit, seen at 10:14 AM:

Seconds later, we exited the L.I.E. Five minutes after that, we exited the northbound William Floyd for NY 25 east.

We turned into Calverton Executive Airpark at 10:27 AM.

Five minutes later, we were guided to a parking spot, walked to the checkpoint, and boarded a shuttle bus.

The USGA opted for late tee times on Saturday. The first pairing teed off at 9AM and the last wouldn’t begin their third round until 3:45 PM. This meant a low passenger capacity departed the blue lot at 10:39 with Dad and I seated in seats 5 and 6 (second row left). The east-southeast ride took about 45 minutes and was peaceful except for the music playing in my earbuds via my iPhone 17 Pro, which was the source for all photos in this recap.

I got a great photo of Shinnecock Canal ten minutes from the golf club entrance.

There was also a blurry photo of one of the early holes, but you don’t want to see that.

Dad and I exited the shuttle bus at 11:27 AM and would spend the next five hours within Shinnecock Hills Golf Club.

The first 2 1/2 hours were spent walking around as much of the course as possible. Let’s get two photos of me out of the way, one taken by my dad and the other a selfie:

The gallery below begins at gate 1 (11:28 AM) and ends at the 1st hole green (1:50 PM).

There are so many golfers (and caddies) in the photos above and below that I couldn’t possibly link to them all. Instead, I’ll link to this page on the U.S. Open website. Thanks, however, to Google for helping me identify the caddies.

Dad and I decided to set up on the right side of the 2nd hole tee to watch the last 11 pairings. Then, we’d head for home.

These photos were taken between 1:56 and 4:01 PM, and occasionally divert to the 1st hole green.

The walk back to the blue lot shuttle bus took 20 minutes, with a stop for a cookie and Sprite along the way.

The ride back to Calverton Executive Airpark was closer to 30 minutes than 45, but at full capacity. Dad and I sat near the middle of the bus while still on the left side.

It was 5:04 when we got “back to civilization,” as I quipped upon exit.

Thank you, as well, USGA and Shinnecock Hills Golf Club. Overall, I had a wonderful time.

Little did I know I was part of a mass exodus from the course that thinned the crowds by the time Matt Fitzpatrick and Wyndham Clark finished their rounds just after 8PM. Well, maybe if the tee times were earlier, we’d have stayed longer. 3:45 for the last pairing? Shinnecock Hills is on Long Island’s East End, not the Monterey Peninsula like Pebble Beach Golf Links, home to next year’s U.S. Open. So what if it was the second-longest day of the year? Also consider that most attendees commuted from Nassau County (like me and Dad) or one of New York City’s five boroughs. Shinnecock isn’t as convenient as Bethpage Black. If everyone stayed for the end, I figure we’d all get home between 10:30 PM and 12:30 AM, depending on where we live. The final tee time on Sunday was 2:30 PM. Much better.

In Saturday’s third round, Wyndham Clark overcame bogeys with birdies, an eagle, and many pars. The result was an even par 70, remaining at -7 for the championship. His partner for the final round on Sunday was Scottie Scheffler.

I was shielded from most of the unruly fans on Saturday, but I heard them loud and clear (and obnoxiously rude!) on Sunday. Sure, it was Scottie Scheffler’s 30th birthday. Sure, he was going for the career grand slam. Sure, you can root for Scottie. What you shouldn’t do is root against someone like Wyndham Clark, and with the same fervor directed at European golfers last September at Bethpage Black during the Ryder Cup. I doubt stems from Wyndham punching his locker after missing the cut at last year’s U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club. This was actively rooting for someone to fail, heckling him right before swinging or putting, haranguing “GET IN THE BUNKER!” on every tee shot, and cheering derisively at every bogey. No wonder Wyndham told Mike Tirico “New York didn’t really like me” during the trophy presentation. Yes, that’s right: Wyndham Clark survived all the aforementioned crap, a charge by Sam Burns that came one birdie short of a tie, and won his second U.S. Open championship. He did so wire-to-wire. Thank goodness that wire didn’t fray.

Wyndham Clark is the third consecutive U.S. Open champion at Shinnecock Hills to win this major for the second time: Retief Goosen in 2001 (Southern Hills) and ’04, Brooks Koepka in ’17 (Erin Hills) and ’18, and now Clark in ’23 (Los Angeles Country Club) and ’26. Congratulations, Wyndham. This New Yorker likes you, and loved the heartwarming moment with your dad after you won. It was a very happy Father’s Day.

Getting back to fan behavior, this is the second time in nine months that the world has witnessed unruly New Yorkers at a major men’s golf tournament. These bad apples, no pun intended, have given the majority of fans (people like me and my dad) an unshakable negative reputation. Yep, we Yanks are all drunk a-holes, aren’t we? (No!) God forbid these fans resurface at Winged Foot in two years; or worse yet, at Bethpage Black for the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. If it happens there, I guarantee this region will never host another women’s golf major, and that would be a shame, especially considering changes to the PGA Tour in 2028:

The PGA TOUR has already lined up an initial set of 10 of its expected 15 PGA TOUR Championship Series regular season events for 2028. The remaining events will either be filled by existing events or new markets under consideration, such as Boston, Denver, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C.

Thank you for reading all the way to the end. If you’re wondering, Dad and I got home around 6:15 PM and watched the rest of the third round on TV. I searched my DVR in vain to see if we were on TV. Outside of those few seconds after Sam Stevens teed off at the 2nd hole, we went unnoticed by NBC’s Canon 4K cameras.

My next blog post will likely be three blog posts recapping this year’s Long Island Retro Gaming Expo. Until then, Knicks in 5– I mean, so long. 😀