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The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open national championship of golf in the United States. It is the third of the four men's major golf championships, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour. Since 1898 the competition has been 72 holes of stroke play (4 rounds on an 18-hole course), with the winner being the player with the lowest total number of strokes. It is staged by the United States Golf Association (USGA) in mid-June, scheduled so that, if there are no weather delays, the final round is played on the third Sunday. The U.S. Open is staged at a variety of courses, set up in such a way that scoring is very difficult, with a premium placed on accurate driving. As of 2024, the U.S. Open awards a $21.5 million purse, the largest of all four major championships.
In the beginning, the tournament was dominated by experienced British players until 1911, when John J. McDermott became the first native-born American winner. American golfers soon began to win regularly and the tournament evolved to become one of the four majors. Since 1911, the title has been won mostly by players from the United States. Since 1950, players from only six countries other than the United States have won the championship, most notably South Africa, which has won five times since 1965. A streak of four consecutive non-American winners occurred from 2004 to 2007 for the first time since 1910. These four players, South African Retief Goosen (2004), Michael Campbell (2005), Geoff Ogilvy (2006) and Argentina Ángel Cabrera (2007), are all from countries in the Southern Hemisphere. Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell (2010) became the first European player to win the event since Tony Jacklin of England in 1970; three more Europeans won in the next four editions, making it only three American wins in the 11 tournaments from 2004 to 2014.
U.S. Open play is characterized by tight scoring at or around par by the leaders, with the winner usually emerging at around even par. A U.S. Open course is seldom beaten severely, and there have been many over-par wins (in part because par is usually set at 70, except for the very longest courses). Normally, an Open course is quite long and will have a high cut of primary rough (termed "Open rough" by the American press and fans); undulating greens (such as at Pinehurst Resort in 2005, which was described by Johnny Miller of NBC as "like trying to hit a ball on top of a VW Beetle"); pinched fairways (especially on what are expected to be less difficult holes); and two or three holes that are short par fives under regular play would be used as long par fours during the tournament (often to meet that frequently used par of 70, forcing players to have accurate long drives). Some courses that are attempting to get into the rotation for the U.S. Open will undergo renovations to develop these features. Rees Jones is the most notable of the "Open Doctors" who take on these projects; his father Robert Trent Jones had filled that role earlier. As with any professional golf tournament, the available space surrounding the course (for spectators, among other considerations) and local infrastructure also factor into deciding which courses will host the event.
About half of the field is made up of players who are fully exempt from qualifying. The current exemption categories are:
The exemptions for amateurs apply only if the players remain amateurs as of the tournament date, except for the U.S. Amateur champion. On August 5, 2019, the USGA announced a rule change stating a player may turn professional and still retain his U.S. Open exemption. Note that this tournament typically takes place after the collegiate season has ended, so players may turn professional immediately after their last collegiate event (typically the end of the NCAA final of their senior year) in order to maximize the number of FedEx Cup points they may score before the August cutoff to avoid qualifying school.
Before 2011, the sole OWGR cutoff for entry was the top 50 as of two weeks before the tournament. An exemption category for the top 50 as of the tournament date was added for 2011, apparently in response to the phenomenon of golfers entering the top 50 between the original cutoff date and the tournament (such as Justin Rose and Rickie Fowler in 2010).
Through 2011, exemptions existed for leading money winners on the PGA, European, Japanese, and Australasian tours, as well as winners of multiple PGA Tour events in the year before the U.S. Open. These categories were eliminated in favor of inviting the top 60 on the OWGR at both relevant dates. Starting with the 2012 championship, an exemption was added for the winner of the current year's BMW PGA Championship, the European Tour's equivalent of The Players Championship.
Potential competitors who are not fully exempt must enter the Qualifying process, which has two stages. Firstly there is Local Qualifying, which is played over 18 holes at more than 100 courses around the United States. Many leading players are exempt from this first stage, and they join the successful local qualifiers at the Sectional Qualifying stage, which is played over 36 holes in one day at several sites in the U.S., as well as one each in Europe, Canada, and Japan. Most sectional qualifiers are held on the Monday of the week prior to the U.S. Open. Field sizes and qualifying spots on offer vary from site to site; in recent years, the USGA has placed events near scheduled PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour stops to better accommodate touring pros who did not qualify through an exemption. There is no lower age limit and the youngest-ever qualifier was 14-year-old Andy Zhang of China, who qualified in 2012 after Paul Casey withdrew days before the tournament.
Irwin won the 1990 U.S. Open after accepting a special exemption. In 2016, a special exemption was extended to former champion Retief Goosen (2001, 2004). In 2018, a special exemption was extended to former U.S. Open champions Jim Furyk (2003) and Ernie Els (1994, 1997). The last special exemption was granted to three-time champion Tiger Woods to play in 2024.
In line with the other majors, winning the U.S. Open gives a golfer several privileges that make his career much more secure if he is not already one of the elite players of the sport. U.S. Open champions are automatically invited to play in the other three majors (the Masters, The Open Championship (British Open), and the PGA Championship) for the next five years. They are also automatically invited to play in The Players Championship for the next five years, and they are exempt from qualifying for the U.S. Open itself for 10 years.
Winners may also receive a five-year exemption on the PGA Tour, which is automatic for regular members. Non-PGA Tour members who win the U.S. Open have the choice of joining the PGA Tour either within 60 days of winning, or prior to the beginning of any one of the next five tour seasons.
Finally, U.S. Open winners receive automatic invitations to three of the five senior majors once they turn 50; they receive a five-year invitation to the U.S. Senior Open and a lifetime invitation to the Senior PGA Championship and Senior British Open.
The top 10 finishers at the U.S. Open are fully exempt from qualifying for the following year's Open, and the top four are automatically invited to the following season's Masters.
Players who make the cut but have no status on the PGA Tour and are not exempt by any other means earn entry into the second stage of PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament.
Since 2018, the USGA adopted a two-hole aggregate playoff format, after consulting fans, players and media partners. Sudden death will still be played if the playoff ends tied.
| Plum, Pennsylvania | ||||||||
| Pinehurst, North Carolina | ||||||||
| Los Angeles, California | ||||||||
| Brookline, Massachusetts | ||||||||
| San Diego | ||||||||
| Mamaroneck, New York | ||||||||
| Pebble Beach, California | ||||||||
| Shinnecock Hills, New York | ||||||||
| Erin, Wisconsin | ||||||||
| Plum, Pennsylvania | ||||||||
| University Place, Washington | ||||||||
| Pinehurst, North Carolina | ||||||||
| Ardmore, Pennsylvania | ||||||||
| San Francisco | ||||||||
| Bethesda, Maryland | ||||||||
| Pebble Beach, California | ||||||||
| Farmingdale, New York | ||||||||
| San Diego | ||||||||
| Plum, Pennsylvania | ||||||||
| Mamaroneck, New York | ||||||||
| Pinehurst, North Carolina | ||||||||
| Shinnecock Hills, New York | ||||||||
| Olympia Fields, Illinois | ||||||||
| Farmingdale, New York | ||||||||
| Tulsa, Oklahoma | ||||||||
| Pebble Beach, California | ||||||||
| Pinehurst, North Carolina | ||||||||
| San Francisco | ||||||||
| Bethesda, Maryland | ||||||||
| Bloomfield Hills, Michigan | ||||||||
| Shinnecock Hills, New York | ||||||||
| Plum, Pennsylvania | ||||||||
| Springfield, New Jersey | ||||||||
| Pebble Beach, California | ||||||||
| Chaska, Minnesota | ||||||||
| Medinah, Illinois | ||||||||
| Rochester, New York | ||||||||
| Brookline, Massachusetts | ||||||||
| San Francisco | ||||||||
| Shinnecock Hills, New York | ||||||||
| Bloomfield Hills, Michigan | ||||||||
| Mamaroneck, New York | ||||||||
| Plum, Pennsylvania | ||||||||
| Pebble Beach, California | ||||||||
| Ardmore, Pennsylvania | ||||||||
| Springfield, New Jersey | ||||||||
| Toledo, Ohio | ||||||||
| Cherry Hills Village, Colorado | ||||||||
| Tulsa, Oklahoma | ||||||||
| Duluth, Georgia | ||||||||
| Medinah, Illinois | ||||||||
| Mamaroneck, New York | ||||||||
| Plum, Pennsylvania | ||||||||
| Pebble Beach, California | ||||||||
| Ardmore, Pennsylvania | ||||||||
| Chaska, Minnesota | ||||||||
| Houston | ||||||||
| Rochester, New York | ||||||||
| Springfield, New Jersey | ||||||||
| San Francisco | ||||||||
| St. Louis, Missouri | ||||||||
| Bethesda, Maryland | ||||||||
| Brookline, Massachusetts | ||||||||
| Plum, Pennsylvania | ||||||||
| Bloomfield Hills, Michigan | ||||||||
| Cherry Hills Village, Colorado | ||||||||
| Mamaroneck, New York | ||||||||
| Tulsa, Oklahoma | ||||||||
| Toledo, Ohio | ||||||||
| Rochester, New York | ||||||||
| San Francisco | ||||||||
| Springfield, New Jersey | ||||||||
| Plum, Pennsylvania | ||||||||
| Dallas | ||||||||
| Bloomfield Hills, Michigan | ||||||||
| Ardmore, Pennsylvania | ||||||||
| Medinah, Illinois | ||||||||
| Pacific Palisades, California | ||||||||
| Ladue, Missouri | ||||||||
| Beachwood, Ohio | ||||||||
| 1942–1945: Cancelled due to World War II | ||||||||
| Fort Worth, Texas | ||||||||
| Beachwood, Ohio | ||||||||
| Gladwyne, Pennsylvania | ||||||||
| Cherry Hills Village, Colorado | ||||||||
| Bloomfield Hills, Michigan | ||||||||
| Springfield, New Jersey | ||||||||
| Plum, Pennsylvania | ||||||||
| Ardmore, Pennsylvania | ||||||||
| Glenview, Illinois | ||||||||
| Queens, New York | ||||||||
| Toledo, Ohio | ||||||||
| Edina, Minnesota | ||||||||
| Mamaroneck, New York | ||||||||
| Olympia Fields, Illinois | ||||||||
| Plum, Pennsylvania | ||||||||
| Columbus, Ohio | ||||||||
| Worcester, Massachusetts | ||||||||
| Bloomfield Hills, Michigan | ||||||||
| Inwood, New York | ||||||||
| Glencoe, Illinois | ||||||||
| Chevy Chase, Maryland | ||||||||
| Toledo, Ohio | ||||||||
| West Newton, Massachusetts | ||||||||
| 1917–1918: Cancelled due to World War I | ||||||||
| Minneapolis | ||||||||
| Springfield, New Jersey | ||||||||
| Midlothian, Illinois | ||||||||
| Brookline, Massachusetts | ||||||||
| Buffalo, New York | ||||||||
| Wheaton, Illinois | ||||||||
| Philadelphia | ||||||||
| Englewood, New Jersey | ||||||||
| South Hamilton, Massachusetts | ||||||||
| Philadelphia | ||||||||
| Lake Forest, Illinois | ||||||||
| South Hamilton, Massachusetts | ||||||||
| Golf, Illinois | ||||||||
| Springfield, New Jersey | ||||||||
| Garden City, New York | ||||||||
| South Hamilton, Massachusetts | ||||||||
| Wheaton, Illinois | ||||||||
| Baltimore, Maryland | ||||||||
| South Hamilton, Massachusetts | ||||||||
| Wheaton, Illinois | ||||||||
| Shinnecock Hills, New York | ||||||||
| Newport, Rhode Island | ||||||||
| State totals – preceding courses are in that state |
| Division totals – Divisions as defined by U.S. Census Bureau |
| Region totals – each is composed of 2 or 3 divisions |
| Total U.S. Opens |
| +Col. 4 shows larger region which contains entity in col. 1 !scope="col" | Course/State/Region !scope="col" | No. !scope="col" class="unsortable" | Years hosted !scope="col" | Geog. sort |
The 18th state to host the tournament was Washington in 2015, followed by the 19th state, Wisconsin, in 2017.
There is an extensive records section on the official U.S. Open website.
In 2020 and 2021, early round NBC cable coverage was carried on Golf Channel. Beginning with the 2022 tournament this coverage was moved to USA Network, as part of an expansion of its sports programming amid the closure of NBCSN. Golf Channel also presents rolling coverage of the sectional qualifiers, billed as Golf's Longest Day. Beginning with the new contract, the final hour of network coverage for the first and second rounds moved exclusively to Peacock. In August 2025, NBCUniversal and its impending spin-off Versant renewed their rights to the U.S. Open and other USGA tournaments from 2027 through 2032.
Coverage was previously televised by NBC and ESPN through 2014. NBC's first period as rightsholder began in 1995; ABC held the broadcast rights from 1966 through 1994.
In Australia, from 2015 Fox Sports Australia is the exclusive broadcaster of the U.S. open until 2018.
| 1896, 1986, 1995, 2004, 2018 |
| 1972, 1982, 1992, 2000, 2010, 2019 |
| 1929, 1959, 1974, 1984, 2006, 2020 |
| 1999, 2005, 2014, 2024 |
| 1934, 1950, 1971, 1981, 2013 |
| 1948 |
| 1972, 1982, 1992, 2000, 2010, 2019 |
| 1927, 1935, 1953, 1962, 1973, 1983, 1994, 2007, 2016, 2025 |
| 1924, 1937, 1951, 1961, 1985, 1996 |
| 1999, 2005, 2014, 2024 |
| 1896, 1986, 1995, 2004, 2018 |
| 1972, 1982, 1992, 2000, 2010, 2019 |
| 1913, 1963, 1988, 2022 |
| 2023 |
| 1934, 1950, 1971, 1981, 2013 |
| 1999, 2005, 2014, 2024 |
| 1927, 1935, 1953, 1962, 1973, 1983, 1994, 2007, 2016, 2025 |
| TBD |
| 1972, 1982, 1992, 2000, 2010, 2019 |
| TBD |
| TBD |
| 1999, 2005, 2014, 2024 |
| TBD |
| 1927, 1935, 1953, 1962, 1973, 1983, 1994, 2007, 2016, 2025 |
| 1934, 1950, 1971, 1981, 2013 |
| 1924, 1937, 1951, 1961, 1985, 1996 |
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