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For one of his latest YouTube shorts, Bryson DeChambeau tossed a golf ball into some of the tallest rough he could hit into at the 2026 U.S. Open when it begins Thursday, June 18 at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in New York.
"It's not that bad," the two-time U.S. Open winner said initially in the video.
But then his ensuing swing produced a shot that didn't even appear to rise above the grass he was hitting from, as the ball wound up dribbling just a few feet in front of him.
"Oh boy," DeChambeau said. "Well, you can't hit it there."
Where DeChambeau can hit this week, and where he might be headed, will again be among the most compelling potential angles when he competes outside of LIV Golf for the first time since another missed cut at the PGA Championship. His play hasn't matched his notoriety in recent outings at the majors, and DeChambeau's uncertain future hangs over the PGA Tour more than any other LIV golfer given his YouTube popularity and pedigree.
Perhaps Scottie Scheffler's latest pursuit of the career grand slam and Rory McIlroy's grouping with two of his top Ryder Cup teammates will become more fascinating subplots to emerge since USGA officials released tee times and groupings for the first two rounds of the 2026 U.S. Open. But DeChambeau's fate will be a focus regardless of how he performs, with his ability to keep the ball in the fairway critical to his success.
Here's a ranking and breakdown of the 10 best groups to watch in Round 1 of the 2026 U.S. Open:
2026 U.S. OPEN: Best bets, favorites, sleeper picks to know
All times Eastern*starting from 10th hole
A lot of eyes will be on DeChambeau again this week given his uncertain future with LIV Golf and shaky play of late. Just two years removed from winning this tournament, he has missed the cut at three of the past four majors. Fitzpatrick, meanwhile, has moved back into the top-five of the world golf rankings and currently leads the FedEx Cup standings this season. Hovland is coming off his best finish (third at the RBC Canadian) since a third-place showing at last year's U.S. Open.
These European Ryder Cup teammates make up the only group in the opening two rounds that will feature three golfers ranked among the top 15 in the world at the moment. McIlroy is making just his fourth start since winning The Masters.
Scheffler's quest for a career grand slam begins in a group with the defending U.S. Open champion (Spaun) and the defending (and third-youngest) U.S. Amateur winner.
A group made up entirely of former major winners who have gone awhile without winning another one. Rahm and Rose have top-10 finishes over the past few seasons. Spieth hasn't finished better than T-23 last year at the U.S. Open since winning at Chambers Bay in 2015.
Koepka won the U.S. Open when it was last held at Shinnecock Hills and Cameron Young is up to No. 3 in the world golf rankings behind only Scheffler and McIlroy. Gotterup has cooled some after two wins in his first three starts of 2026, but remains just outside the top 10 in the world.
2026 US OPEN: Complete Round 1 and 2 tee times for every group
Another group featuring former major winners. Thomas had his best finish since returning from back surgery at the PGA Championship last month, while Schauffele is still struggling to rediscover the consistent form that helped him break through for two major wins in 2024.
This is Rai's first start at a major since his unexpected win at the PGA Championship. He missed the cut last week at the RBC Canadian, but his consistent driver should serve him well at Shinnecock Hills. Morikawa played last week for the first time since the PGA Championship after the birth of his first child and hopes the break will help with the back issues that have hindered him since The Players Championship in March.
This group of former U.S. Open winners features a range of potential storylines: Woodland's feel-good redemption after brain surgery and subsequent PTSD; Johnson's latest bid to return to relevancy eight years after finishing third on this course; and Clark's return after he damaged a locker at Oakmont during last year's U.S. Open.
Hatton recently won the LIV Golf event in Spain and has finished in the top-10 in at least one major in each of the past three years. Burns has also been a regular in contention at majors in recent seasons thanks to his superior putting. Kim might be the most consistent golfer on the PGA Tour with eight top-10 finishes in 2026.
This could be a group to produce another unexpected major winner like Rai, or Spaun last year. Gerard just carded his third second-place finish of the year at The Memorial. Henley is coming off a win at the Charles Schwab Challenge last month and leads the PGA Tour in driving accuracy.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ranking 2026 US Open featured groups, tee times (and why they matter)
Continue reading...
"It's not that bad," the two-time U.S. Open winner said initially in the video.
But then his ensuing swing produced a shot that didn't even appear to rise above the grass he was hitting from, as the ball wound up dribbling just a few feet in front of him.
"Oh boy," DeChambeau said. "Well, you can't hit it there."
Where DeChambeau can hit this week, and where he might be headed, will again be among the most compelling potential angles when he competes outside of LIV Golf for the first time since another missed cut at the PGA Championship. His play hasn't matched his notoriety in recent outings at the majors, and DeChambeau's uncertain future hangs over the PGA Tour more than any other LIV golfer given his YouTube popularity and pedigree.
Perhaps Scottie Scheffler's latest pursuit of the career grand slam and Rory McIlroy's grouping with two of his top Ryder Cup teammates will become more fascinating subplots to emerge since USGA officials released tee times and groupings for the first two rounds of the 2026 U.S. Open. But DeChambeau's fate will be a focus regardless of how he performs, with his ability to keep the ball in the fairway critical to his success.
Here's a ranking and breakdown of the 10 best groups to watch in Round 1 of the 2026 U.S. Open:
2026 U.S. OPEN: Best bets, favorites, sleeper picks to know
U.S. Open 2026 tee times, pairings: 10 best groups to watch in Round 1
All times Eastern*starting from 10th hole
1. Bryson DeChambeau, Viktor Hovland, Matt Fitzpatrick
- Round 1 tee time: 1:25 p.m.*
- Round 2 tee time: 6:30 a.m.
A lot of eyes will be on DeChambeau again this week given his uncertain future with LIV Golf and shaky play of late. Just two years removed from winning this tournament, he has missed the cut at three of the past four majors. Fitzpatrick, meanwhile, has moved back into the top-five of the world golf rankings and currently leads the FedEx Cup standings this season. Hovland is coming off his best finish (third at the RBC Canadian) since a third-place showing at last year's U.S. Open.
2. Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, Ludvig Åberg
- Round 1 tee time: 7:52 a.m.*
- Round 2 tee time: 12:47 p.m.
These European Ryder Cup teammates make up the only group in the opening two rounds that will feature three golfers ranked among the top 15 in the world at the moment. McIlroy is making just his fourth start since winning The Masters.
3. Scottie Scheffler, J.J. Spaun, Mason Howell (a)
- Round 1 tee time: 8:14 a.m.
- Round 2 tee time: 1:09 p.m.*
Scheffler's quest for a career grand slam begins in a group with the defending U.S. Open champion (Spaun) and the defending (and third-youngest) U.S. Amateur winner.
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4. Jon Rahm, Justin Rose, Jordan Spieth
- Round 1 tee time: 2:09 p.m.*
- Round 2 tee time: 7:14 a.m.
A group made up entirely of former major winners who have gone awhile without winning another one. Rahm and Rose have top-10 finishes over the past few seasons. Spieth hasn't finished better than T-23 last year at the U.S. Open since winning at Chambers Bay in 2015.
5. Brooks Koepka, Cameron Young, Chris Gotterup
- Round 1 tee time: 7:30 a.m.
- Round 2 tee time: 12:25 p.m.*
Koepka won the U.S. Open when it was last held at Shinnecock Hills and Cameron Young is up to No. 3 in the world golf rankings behind only Scheffler and McIlroy. Gotterup has cooled some after two wins in his first three starts of 2026, but remains just outside the top 10 in the world.
2026 US OPEN: Complete Round 1 and 2 tee times for every group
6. Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele, Hideki Matsuyama
- Round 1 tee time: 1:47 p.m.
- Round 2 tee time: 6:52 a.m.*
Another group featuring former major winners. Thomas had his best finish since returning from back surgery at the PGA Championship last month, while Schauffele is still struggling to rediscover the consistent form that helped him break through for two major wins in 2024.
7. Aaron Rai, Collin Morikawa, Jason Day
- Round 1 tee time: 1:14 p.m.*
- Round 2 tee time: 6:19 a.m.
This is Rai's first start at a major since his unexpected win at the PGA Championship. He missed the cut last week at the RBC Canadian, but his consistent driver should serve him well at Shinnecock Hills. Morikawa played last week for the first time since the PGA Championship after the birth of his first child and hopes the break will help with the back issues that have hindered him since The Players Championship in March.
8. Dustin Johnson, Wyndham Clark, Gary Woodland
- Round 1 tee time: 1:36 p.m.*
- Round 2 tee time: 6:41 a.m.
This group of former U.S. Open winners features a range of potential storylines: Woodland's feel-good redemption after brain surgery and subsequent PTSD; Johnson's latest bid to return to relevancy eight years after finishing third on this course; and Clark's return after he damaged a locker at Oakmont during last year's U.S. Open.
9. Sam Burns, Tyrrell Hatton, Si Woo Kim
- Round 1 tee time: 7:41 a.m.*
- Round 2 tee time: 12:36 p.m.
Hatton recently won the LIV Golf event in Spain and has finished in the top-10 in at least one major in each of the past three years. Burns has also been a regular in contention at majors in recent seasons thanks to his superior putting. Kim might be the most consistent golfer on the PGA Tour with eight top-10 finishes in 2026.
10. Ryan Gerard, Russell Henley, Ben Griffin
- Round 1 tee time: 1:36 p.m.
- Round 2 tee time: 6:41 a.m.*
This could be a group to produce another unexpected major winner like Rai, or Spaun last year. Gerard just carded his third second-place finish of the year at The Memorial. Henley is coming off a win at the Charles Schwab Challenge last month and leads the PGA Tour in driving accuracy.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ranking 2026 US Open featured groups, tee times (and why they matter)
Continue reading...
