Mike Whan said the USGA put the U.S. Open purse behind the course itself at Shinnecock Hills, choosing prestige over a cleaner business case for the 2026 U.S. Open. The site drew fewer fans and carried higher logistical costs, but the USGA still went with it.
Whan spelled out the ranking Saturday morning while the third round played out: “In our decision process, we put cathedrals at No. 1. Where do we want to play the U.S. Open? Operations and revenues are not at the top of the list. You could argue that’s a terrible way to think, but that’s what separates us from a (PGA) Tour stop.”
Whan’s Shinnecock Hills choice
The 2026 U.S. Open is being played at Shinnecock Hills in SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y., the sixth course in history to host the championship. The first U.S. Open there came in 1896, and the course last staged the event in 2018. That history is the point: the USGA keeps returning because it wants the championship test that comes with the venue, not the easiest revenue path.
Whan said he arrived and thought about the size of the crowd he saw moving toward the first hole. “At Oakmont, there would’ve been 15,000 people waiting at the rope for us to drop it.” Instead, he described seeing about 500 fans walking toward Shinnecock Hills’ first hole.
Ticket limits at Shinnecock Hills
The USGA made 30,000 tickets available for tournament days at Shinnecock Hills, and the gates showed the limit. About 21,000 fans came through on Thursday, then 27,000 on Friday. Practice rounds drew about 10,000 fans per day.
Whan said there was no way attendance was going to top 155,000 total this week, and he contrasted that with the scale of other recent championships. He said Oakmont likely drew closer to 215,000 total attendees than 155,000, while Pinehurst in 2024 drew about 250,000. The gap is the cost of choosing a site built for a championship test instead of mass turnout.
USGA revenue tradeoff
The decision also came with 25 percent fewer tickets sold than last year at Oakmont Country Club in suburban Pittsburgh, along with higher infrastructure and logistical costs at Shinnecock Hills. That leaves the USGA absorbing a smaller crowd base at the same time it is staging one of its biggest events.
For fans, the practical result is simple: fewer tickets, tighter access, and a more limited footprint than at a higher-capacity stop. Whan said the USGA is not trying to think like a PGA Tour stop, and the numbers at Shinnecock Hills show exactly what that means in practice.
