The 126th U.S. Open will be held at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, which will host the major for the sixth time in its history. While there’s still ample waiting ahead—including the qualifiers from “Golf’s Longest Day”—the field is largely set in stone, with players eyeing a spot alongside Corey Pavin (1995), Retief Goosen (2004), and Brooks Koepka (2018), among others, as previous champions at Shinnecock. And while that will be one of the goals, there are some records that every golfer would hope to break and earn a place in history. With 15 days to go before the U.S. Open, we’re looking at 15 such records that still stand.

1. Oldest Champion

At the 1990 U.S. Open, 45‑year‑old Hale Irwin (45 years, 15 days) defeated Mike Donald in a playoff to earn his third U.S. Open title, becoming the oldest winner of the prestigious major. Multiple winners have come close to toppling Irwin’s long-standing record for the oldest champion, including Tom Kite (42; 1992) and Payne Stewart (42; 1999). This year’s field features multiple 40-plus golfers, including Justin Rose (45), Graeme McDowell (46), and Padraig Harrington (54). Any of them could yet steal Irwin’s record. Irwin’s victory was significant for one more reason.

The following week, he won the Buick Classic. At that time, he was the only seventh player to win a PGA Tour event the week after capturing a major. Since then, only Ernie Els has won a tournament the week after winning the U.S. Open, while Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh have won a tournament after the PGA Championship. Scottie Scheffler matched the feat when he won the RBC Heritage after the 2024 Masters.

2. Youngest Champion

Only one player under 20 has ever claimed the U.S. Open, and only nine winners have been under 22. The former record belongs to Johnny McDermott, who won in 1911 at the age of 19 years, 9 months, and 14 days. He might have made the record even younger, but he fell short in a playoff the previous year. Meanwhile, Jordan Spieth is the youngest U.S. Open winner since 1923, lifting the trophy at age 21 in 2015.

Multiple players, including amateurs Mason Howell (18) and Hamilton Coleman (18), have a chance to break the record. Remember, Francis Ouimet (20; 1913) and Bobby Jones (21; 1923) were both amateurs when they captured the title. That brings us to the next record.

3. Amateur Champion

In the annals of the U.S. Open, only five amateurs have pulled off the feat of winning the major. Francis Ouimet (1913), Jerry Travers (1915), Chick Evans (1916), Bobby Jones, and Johnny Goodman. Among these golfers, only Jones has won the major multiple times (1923, 1926, 1929, and 1930). Meanwhile, Johnny Goodman’s win at the 1933 U.S. Open marked the last time an amateur conquered this major. This season’s field includes seven amateurs. Each of them has a chance to end the 93-year-old dry spell. 

4. Wire-to-wire Champion

There have been 17 wire-to-wire winners in the U.S. Open history. Nine of those players led start to finish but shared the lead after one or more rounds. Eight of them, however, were outright leaders en route to a win, including Tiger Woods who did it twice (2000 and 2002). Walter Hagen was the first outright wire-to-wire champion back in 1914. A century later, Martin Kaymer became the last to pull off the feat in 2014. It remains to be seen if anyone can do it again.

5. Rookie Winner

Five players have managed the rare feat of winning the U.S. Open in their debut. After Horace Rawlins, winner of the inaugural U.S. Open, Fred Herd (1898), Harry Vardon (1900), George Sargent (1909), and amateur Francis Ouimet (1913) won on their debut. Indeed, it’s been 113 years since Ouimet’s fairy-tale win. Players have come close to joining this exclusive club, including Ludvig Aberg in 2024, but a 3-over final round tossed him to T12.

6. Three-peat 

There have been seven back-to-back champions in U.S. Open history. But Willie Anderson was the first and still the only one to win three times in a row (1903-1905). John McDermott followed as the next back-to-back champion, capturing the title in 1911 and 1912. Had he not fallen short in a playoff in 1910, he would have joined Anderson’s exclusive three-peat club. The most recent to win back-to-back was Koepka in 2017 and 2018.

7. Best Final Round Comeback

Arnold Palmer holds the record for the greatest U.S. Open comeback after 54 holes. On Sunday morning at the 1960 U.S. Open, Palmer sat seven strokes behind the leader and was tied for 15th, yet he went on to win his only U.S. Open title. Palmer is the only golfer to have registered a final-round seven-stroke come-from-behind triumph in the major’s history.

8. Lowest Winning Score

At the 2011 U.S. Open, Rory McIlroy fired rounds of 65, 66, 68, and 69. That aggregate of 268 stands as the lowest winning score in tournament history. The previous record (272) was first set by Jack Nicklaus (1980), then shared by Lee Janzen (1993), Woods (2000), Jim Furyk (2003), and Brooks Koepka (2017). Wyndham Clark came closest to toppling McIlroy’s record after posting 64-67-69-70 (270) at the 2023 U.S. Open.

9. Highest Winning Total

At the 1901 U.S. Open, Willie Anderson defeated Alex Smith in an 18-hole playoff to claim his first of four U.S. Open titles. That win, however, came with rounds of 84-83-83-81, amalgamating into a monstrous 331, plus an additional 85 in the playoff. Since 1946, Julius Boros (1963) posted the second-highest winning total at 293.

10. Largest Margin of Victory

In the early 2000s, Tiger Woods was at the absolute peak of his powers, so it came as a little surprise that he posted a staggering 15-stroke margin of victory at the 2000 U.S. Open. That stands as the largest in any of the four majors.

Willie Smith, winner of the 1899 U.S. Open, had held this record for nearly a century with his 11-stroke win. Martin Kaymer came closest to toppling Woods’s record in 2014 (8 strokes), though he fell short. Way short.

11. Largest 54-hole Lead

This record belongs to… yes you guessed it right, Woods yet again. In the opening round of the 2000 U.S. Open, he posted a 65, leading by one stroke. In the second round, he stretched that lead six strokes. In the third round, he carded a 71 and ballooned his advantage to 10 strokes. By R4, as mentioned above, he stretched that cushion to a monstrous 15 strokes. Meanwhile, Mike Brady in 1919 became the first golfer to suffer the ignominy of losing the largest 54-hole lead (five strokes).

12. Lowest Round(s)

Xander Schauffele and Rickie Fowler recorded the event’s lowest round with a 62 on Thursday at the 2023 U.S. Open. Before that landmark, the record stood at 63, held in place by six players: Johnny Miller (1973), Nicklaus (1980), Tom Weiskopf (1980), Vijay Singh (2003), Justin Thomas (2017), and Tommy Fleetwood (2018). Schauffele and Fowler also equaled the lowest score in any men’s major championship round, matching Branden Grace’s 62 at The Open 2017.

13. Lowest Score in Relation to Par

The record for the lowest winning score relative to par sits at 16-under, achieved by McIlroy and Koepka. McIlroy captured the tournament in 2011 at 16-under on a par-71 course. Koepka joined McIlroy in 2017, matching that same 16-under benchmark to tie the record.

14. Highest score on a single hole

At the 1938 U.S. Open, Ray Ainsley made a 19 on a single hole. It remains the ugliest single-hole score ever recorded in U.S. Open history. He hit the embankment by the creek at Cherry Hills. He tried to hack it out of the water before finally getting out. Ainsley is said to have quipped to Associated Press journalist Russ Newland that, “There’s more than one way to become famous.”

It also stands as the highest known score in any of the four majors. Oh, and it also ranks among the most painful meltdowns in PGA Tour history. Needless to say, it’s fine if this record remains unbroken!

15. Most Runner-up Finishes

Phil Mickelson bears the misfortune of being one of the game’s greatest players to never complete the Grand Slam, largely due to his many close calls at the U.S. Open. In fact, Mickelson holds the record for most runner-up finishes here, having finished second a painful six times. His five-year exemption from the U.S. Open, earned by winning the 2021 PGA Championship, expired last year.

As per reports, he did not attempt to qualify for this season’s U.S. Open. Since the USGA hasn’t announced a special exemption for Mickelson, it is unlikely he will play this season. Not to mention, he has largely been absent from pro golf this season.

Well, now that sums up our list of some of the greatest and some not-so-great U.S. Open records.