Rethink needed as Shinnecock US Open falls flat

Wyndham Clark of the United States reacts after making a par on the 13th hole during the third round of the 126th U.S. OPEN at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on June 20, 2026 in Southampton, New York. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)

As Wyndham Clark was finishing his third round in the gloaming on Saturday, putting the finishing touches on another fine round and racing out to what at least seemed like an insurmountable advantage . .. you could all but hear the birds chirping, the ocean waves from a few miles away.

This was more like your club’s member-guest tournament than it was the US Open. The grandstands saw a smattering of people remain, hardly the raucous vibe expected for such a setting.

Some of the best golfers in the world were playing through at one of the country’s best golf courses and those in attendance were scurrying for the makeshift train station outside the gates.

What gives?

Unlike last year at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania or next year at Pebble Beach, the crowds were nowhere near as big at Shinnecock Hills.

Part of that was by design. The United States Golf Association, which runs the event, said it would cap capacity at 30,000 spectators per day. Yet it never announced a sellout for any of the rounds and said it had 27,000 people pass through the gates during Friday’s second round.

“It was unfortunate it got a little flat,” Clark said following the third round. “Sometimes it make it tough to stay really focused because it seemed like everyone was leaving.” 

That’s probably because, well, they were.

The starting time didn’t help. A final tee time of 3:45pm is common at The Open Championship, where daylight can stretch until 10pm. in the summer months. Here, it’s closer to 8:30p.m. and as Clark and Matt Fitzpatrick were getting to the closing holes, the shadows were long, the spectators sparse.

Eastern Long Island is not the easiest place to access, and accommodations are either extremely expensive or requiring spectators to stay long distances away. The rideshare programs are not convenient. And even an added train stop at Shinnecock had departure times that were not conducive to staying for the entire day.

Also, some of those empty grandstand suites were reserved for the Shinnecock membership, who were not likely to be hanging out until 8:30pm.

Perhaps a re-think on the starting times is in order.

“It was kind of unfortunate that we're finishing in the dark and people weren't really out there because there were some obviously key, big moments, and it did kind of get a little flat,” Clark added. “I still felt the moment but it’s maybe just unfortunate that there weren’t all the people there.” 

The US Open has now been played at Shinnecock Hills six times overall, five in the last 40 years and scheduled again for 2036 when the USGA will conduct the men’s and women’s championships in consecutive weeks.

It is understandable why the powers that be want to come here: the place is iconic, one of the five founding members of the USGA, home to the second US Open in 1896 and an unbelievably stern test that can still hold its own.

“Think about Shinnecock Hills the way we do as a cathedral,” said John Bodenhamer, the USGA’s competition chairman. “True William Flynn design, the way he set it up in 1931, the club restored that in 2013. It is a links course. Years ago when you watched previous US Opens, this was more like a parkland course with trees and shrubs all around it. It is a breezy links course.” 

The USGA loves the history of the place, as it should. It was home to the second US Open in 1896 and was brought back 40 years ago when Raymond Floyd won the title, forging a path for a forgotten gem in the rotation.

Logistics make it a challenge, and revenue will be lower here due to all of those concerns. The buildout, on purpose, was scaled back, with fewer grandstands with a focus on showcasing the golf course.

There is also something to be said for attempting to play at a place that has so much history, despite the hassles. The tournament is big business, and that is undeniable. But coming here is also about the event itself.

“If you decide that where we play is the most important decision we have to make for the US Open, then you have to let everything else become secondary,” USGA CEO Mike Whan said during the NBC broadcast on Sunday. “We could get more fans at another location than here because they can get there and this one’s tough.

“But we don’t choose based on the most revenue or the most merchandise or how much parking we can deliver. This is about making sure that when the champions raise the trophy and tells their friends for the rest of their lives, ‘I won my US Open at …,’ the ‘at’ is as important as the U.S. Open part.” Fair enough.

Now, about those starting times.