Final qualifying for the U.S. Open is underway Monday at 10 sites, where players must survive 36 holes to earn a place at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club. The day is spread across the country and Canada, with fields ranging from 54 to 79 players and a long list of recognizable names chasing one of golf’s toughest prizes.
That is why fans are searching for Us Open Qualifying now: the championship begins Thursday, June 18, and this is the last chance to get in. Golf Channel is carrying the action from noon to 2 p.m. ET and again from 4 p.m. to midnight ET, turning a one-day grind into a national watch event for anyone tracking the road to Long Island.
The scale is part of what makes the day matter. Toronto has 61 players, including Max Homa, Rasmus Hojgaard, Ricky Castillo, Beau Hossler, Camillo Villegas and Garrick Higgo. Sacramento lists 78 players and features Ricky Barnes, Michael Block, Kevin Na and Geoff Ogilvy. Springfield, Ohio also has 78 players, with Tony Finau, Brandt Snedeker, Aldrich Potgieter, Billy Horschel and Neal Shipley in the field. Creswell, Ore., has 54 players, with Andrew Putnam and Michael Putnam among them, while Rockville, Md., has 77 players and Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., has 78.
Palm Beach Gardens may draw the sharpest eyes because it includes Matt Kuchar, Luke Clanton, Matthieu Pavon and Nico Gordic-Ronderos, who is 14 and the youngest player in final qualifying. Purchase, N.Y., rounds out the published fields with 79 players. The site-by-site qualifying spots are still listed as TBD, which leaves every group playing through the day without a clear number to chase until the final scoreboards settle.
That uncertainty is part of the appeal and the pressure. Final qualifying has long been called golf’s longest day because players are asked to play two full rounds for a single chance at the U.S. Open, and Monday puts that test across 10 sites at once. By the end of the day, the only thing that will matter is who survived the 36 holes and who gets on the tee sheet at Shinnecock Hills on Thursday.
For readers trying to follow the chase, a field-by-field breakdown of Us Open Qualifying 2026: 10 sites, 36 holes and major names in play is available at but the real answer still has to be earned on the course.
