Rory McIlroy will begin his US Open 2026 campaign alongside Ryder Cup teammates Tommy Fleetwood and Ludvig Åberg at Shinnecock Hills – a marquee European threeball that immediately reshapes the tournament’s opening narrative.
The group tees off at 7:52am ET (12:52pm BST) Thursday off the 10th tee, with live coverage beginning at 12:30pm on Sky Sports Golf.
McIlroy arrives chasing a second major of the season, two months removed from back-to-back Masters titles and 15 years on from his breakthrough US Open win at the same event.
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The US Open Tee Times and What They Signal
The USGA has handed McIlroy, Fleetwood, and Åberg an early-late draw – Thursday morning, Friday afternoon. This is a featured trio the USGA wants on screens during prime broadcast windows on both days.
Fleetwood returns to Shinnecock Hills with unfinished business. His closing 63 in 2018 tied the lowest final round in US Open history and left him one stroke behind Brooks Koepka – the best major finish of his career at that point.
Åberg is the youngest of the three at 24 but arrives with credentials that demand respect. A solo second at the 2024 Masters, multiple major top-10s, and back-to-back Ryder Cup appearances as a points contributor for Europe. Åberg is not window dressing here – he is a genuine contender at a tournament where the betting market already respects his price.
McIlroy‘s 2018 at Shinnecock was brutal – an opening 80 that ended his week early. He carries a different profile now. Six major titles, a Grand Slam completed, and a mental composure in contention windows that his 2018 self could not match. The redemption arc writes itself. The question is whether he delivers it.
US Open 2026 Round 1 Tee Times – Key Groupings
| BST Tee Time | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
| 12:30pm | Brooks Koepka | Chris Gotterup | Cameron Young |
| 12:52pm | Rory McIlroy | Tommy Fleetwood | Ludvig Åberg |
| 1:14pm | Scottie Scheffler | Mason Howell (a) | JJ Spaun |
| 6:14pm | Aaron Rai | Collin Morikawa | Jason Day |
| 6:25pm | Bryson DeChambeau | Viktor Hovland | Matt Fitzpatrick |
| 6:47pm | Justin Thomas | Hideki Matsuyama | Xander Schauffele |
| 7:09pm | Justin Rose | Jordan Spieth | Jon Rahm |
Scheffler, Spaun, and the Grand Slam Stakes
Scottie Scheffler tees off at 8:15am ET (1:15pm BST) alongside amateur Mason Howell and defending champion JJ Spaun. At 29, Scheffler is world No. 1 and the pre-tournament favourite – a fifth major in as many seasons would be a historically dominant run.
The career Grand Slam is the story inside Scheffler‘s draw. The US Open is the one golf majors title missing from his cabinet. McIlroy completed his own Grand Slam at Augusta last year, and the USGA has quietly served Scheffler a similar narrative stage at Shinnecock Hills.
JJ Spaun is the defending champion and deserves more pre-tournament attention than he is receiving. A back-to-back US Open title would make him the first since Brooks Koepka to achieve it.
DeChambeau, Fitzpatrick, and the Pressure Group
Bryson DeChambeau begins at 1:25pm ET (6:25pm BST) alongside Viktor Hovland and Matt Fitzpatrick. The two-time US Open winner has missed the cut at both the Masters and PGA Championship in 2026. A third consecutive missed cut in golf majors would be a damaging headline for a player built around major-week performance.
Fitzpatrick arrives in the sharpest form of his career – three PGA Tour wins this season and runner-up to Bud Cauley at the RBC Canadian Open last week. He is the quiet danger in that group. His 2022 US Open title came at Brookline under similar pressure-cooker conditions.
The Rose-Spieth-Rahm grouping – three former US Open champions in a single threeball – is the kind of pairing that produces must-watch Thursday television. None of the three is a top-five favourite this week. All three are capable of a 66 that resets the conversation.
US Open 2026 Broadcast Schedule – Sky Sports Golf
- Thursday (Round 1): Live from 12:30pm BST on Sky Sports Golf, coverage until at least 1:00am
- Friday (Round 2): Live from 12:30pm BST on Sky Sports Golf, coverage until at least 1:00am
- Saturday (Round 3): Live from 3:00pm BST on Sky Sports Golf
- Sunday (Round 4): Live from 4:00pm BST on Sky Sports Golf
- Build-up shows: ‘Live from the US Open’ features on Tuesday and Wednesday of tournament week
- Highlights: One-hour highlight packages available for all four rounds
Sky Sports is also broadcasting the final two days of the Amateur Championship and the final round of the Meijer LPGA Classic on Sky Sports Mix during the same window – making it a strong weekend of golf majors and Tour action across both channels.
Odds and Predictions
| Player | Outright Odds (approx.) | Key Angle |
| Scottie Scheffler | +450 | World No. 1, Grand Slam on the line |
| Rory McIlroy | +700 | Won here in 2011, two months from Masters double |
| Ludvig Åberg | +1400 | Masters runner-up, major-ready profile |
| Matt Fitzpatrick | +2000 | Three PGA Tour wins in 2026, sharpest form of career |
| Tommy Fleetwood | +2500 | 2018 Shinnecock runner-up, venue familiarity |
| JJ Spaun | +3000 | Defending champion, overlooked by the market |
The McIlroy–Scheffler head-to-head market is where the sharpest action will land. This is not a 50/50 split – Scheffler‘s current form makes him a 60/40 favourite over any single opponent across a 72-hole field.
But McIlroy at Shinnecock Hills, 15 years on from his defining breakthrough, with a Ryder Cup comfort blanket and no apparent form dip? That gap narrows considerably.
Åberg is the value name in this field. The market prices him as a mid-tier hope. His major-round scoring average and composure under Sunday pressure suggest the market is wrong by a meaningful margin.
Each-way exposure at +1400 or longer is the most defensible position for bettors building a US Open 2026 portfolio.
Fitzpatrick is the second value target. Three wins in a season is not noise – it is form. His US Open pedigree is established. Shinnecock Hills rewards ball-strikers who manage spin and trajectory in the wind, and Fitzpatrick‘s game profile fits that bill precisely.
For the latest odds, favorites analysis, and full tournament preview for the US Open 2026 at Shinnecock Hills, keep it locked to Sportscasting.
