GOLF.com: Hurricane-Force Gusts Threaten Thursday Play at 2026 U.S. Open
Near-Hurricane Gusts Forecast for Opening Round
The 2026 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills faces an extraordinary weather challenge. According to Windy.app, Thursday's first tee times at 6:35 a.m. ET will see 20 mph steady winds with gusts to 36 mph. By mid-morning, conditions escalate sharply — 31 mph winds with gusts approaching 52 mph, nearly hurricane force.
The USGA faced criticism at the 2018 U.S. Open at the same venue for "losing the golf course" in high winds. Thursday's forecast raises the same concern.
Scheffler: "It Looks Like Links Golf, But Doesn't Play Like It"
Defending champion Scottie Scheffler offered a precise diagnosis of what makes Shinnecock uniquely punishing in the wind. True links courses defend with wind, but compensate with flat, slow greens that allow ground-game recovery. Shinnecock's greens are fast and steeply sloped — meaning even in brutal wind, players cannot afford to miss: they still must fly the ball high enough to hold the putting surface.
"You can be in the middle of the green and be like, 'wow, I don't know how I'm going to two-putt from here,'" Scheffler noted.
Weekend Outlook
Friday and Saturday offer relative relief — gusts in the 20–30 mph range — before Sunday's final round again features 20 mph gusts throughout the closing stretch.
Strokeslab Perspective
In extreme wind, SG: Approach reliability collapses for the entire field. This sets up a week where SG: Around the Green and SG: Putting become disproportionate differentiators — the players who minimize damage from missed greens will separate from the pack.
When gusts hit 52 mph, SG: Approach regresses across the entire field — the real separator becomes SG: Around the Green and putting under pressure. Tracking which players maintain positive SG values despite the conditions will be the key analytical story of the week.