US Open prize money is one part of the equation, but Mike Whan said the USGA still puts Shinnecock Hills ahead of revenue when it chooses where to play. The 2026 U.S. Open is at Shinnecock Hills in Southampton, with 21,000 fans on Thursday and 27,000 on Friday even as the field moves toward the fourth and final round.
Mike Whan and Shinnecock Hills
“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 said that on Saturday morning, and the line explains why Shinnecock Hills is back for the sixth time, after first staging the championship in 1896 and last doing so in 2018. Wyndham Clark led the field at 7 under par heading into the final round, but the larger story is the venue choice behind the leaderboard.
Attendance at Shinnecock Hills
The USGA made 30,000 tickets available for tournament days at Shinnecock Hills, and practice rounds drew about 10,000 fans per day. Even with that, Whan said there was no way the week was going to top 155,000 total fans.
That is well below the crowd totals he cited for other recent championships. He said attendance at Oakmont was closer to 215,000 total fans and Pinehurst had about 250,000 in 2024. The USGA also sold 25 percent fewer tickets than last year at Oakmont Country Club in suburban Pittsburgh.
USGA Revenue Tradeoff
Whan did not frame that drop as a problem to fix. He framed it as the cost of choosing a course the USGA values for championship quality and history, even when it requires higher infrastructure and logistical costs and a smaller gate than a more ticket-friendly site would deliver.
Shinnecock Hills sits 90 miles east of Times Square and is harder to fill than the more compact crowds the USGA can draw elsewhere, but the decision still reflects the same calculation Whan described: build the championship around the course first, then live with the ticket and revenue math that follows.
