Scottie, Rory and more comment on the set-up at Shinnecock Hills

We’re here at the 2026 U.S. Open, taking it all in. The course looks incredible, as it always does. I was last out here in 2018 and it’s great to be back. The views up around that historic clubhouse … it’s a special place. 

But as Golfdom’s Digital Media Specialist Will Coughlin told me as we lurched back up No. 1 to head towards the maintenance facility, “I have a feeling we’ll hate this hill by the end of the week.”

We watched guys hit tee shots on the long par three No. 2, including Scottie Scheffler who was playing with my personal favorite, Gary Woodland (we have the Kansas Jayhawks in common… and not much else.) We also saw Dustin Johnson, who was teeing it up with Oklahoma State’s (and winner of the Amateur Championship at Royal St. George’s) Ethan Fang.

I told Jon Jennings that the course looked fantastic, and he seemed really happy and upbeat. But no one cares what I think of the conditions… what do the players think?

Defending champion J.J. Spaun gushed about the course conditions, saying, “Conditions-wise, it’s in great shape. A little bit soft from the weather last night, but it’s going to be in good shape for a really good test.”

Adam Scott said he thought the USGA was being “conservative” with greens, in anticipation of a dry and windy week.
“The golf course is in good shape. It’s shaping up to be a good test,”

Scottie Scheffler told the media. “The fairways are quite wide in some spots… but when you get wind, it’ll play narrower.”   

Rory McIlroy was asked about the the crew applying some irrigation to greens during the round, and if he and his peers were OK with that. McIlroy seemed ready for that question, and backed the decisions of the USGA and Shinnecock’s crew.

“Look, it’s a unique golf course. The members at Shinnecock will tell you they do that every single day. Every single day at this course the members play, they put water on the course at 2:00 p.m.

So it’s a unique golf course, and it seems like it’s just something they have to do. For me, it’s more — my concern was you don’t want to look as if you’ve lost the golf course and you’re starting to put water on it, which is I don’t think what they’re going to do.

I think, especially with the heaviness of the wind on Thursday, it’s probably prudent to do that. Friday doesn’t look as windy, but I think just for, again, fairness and competitive integrity, they do it on Friday, too. Then I don’t think — I think they’ve got enough bandwidth on the weekend that they probably don’t need to do it, so I understand it.

I think, when I first heard of it, my first reaction was, that’s stupid, why are they doing that? Then once you actually listen and you’ve let them break it down to you, you’re, like, yeah, that makes sense.”

(Video Courtesy of USGA)

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