The U.S. Open is consistently one of the best professional golf tournaments held each season.
From qualifying events, to the difficult setup, to playing on some of the best courses in the United States, it makes for some of the best golf all year. And next weekend, the best golfers in the world will compete for the coveted U.S. Open Champion title at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club.
If the last six years are any indication of how the 2026 iteration of the event will play out, it’s sure to be full of fascinating storylines and drama. Here are the six U.S. Opens of the 2020s ranked by course, drama, winner, and more.
6. 2023, Wydham Clark at LACC
American Wydham Clark won the 2023 U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club North Course with a final score of 10 under par, which is the lowest score at a U.S. Open in the 2020s by four strokes. Clark’s 271 total was the second-lowest all-time at a U.S. Open, which is one of the reasons why I put his win at the bottom of this list. U.S. Opens, in my opinion, should be more difficult than LACC played that week in June 2023.
I also placed this at the bottom of the list due to the controversy surrounding the championship’s final stretch. Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy took a controversial drop from an embedded lie in the ridge of a bunker on the 14th hole as he sat just one shot behind Clark. Clark sparked outrage on social media after his tee shot on No. 18 went wide right and still landed in the wide fairway. People online wanted Clark to be penalized for that shot, but he just used the course to his advantage. While I didn’t have a problem with Clark’s tee shot, the outrage on social media soured my lasting impression of the tournament, despite it being one of the best weeks of the year.
5. 2020, Bryson DeChambeau at Winged Foot
While the U.S. Open has historically been played in late June, the weekend of Father’s Day, the 2020 iteration of the event was held in September because of COVID-19, with no fans. No fans took away from the overall feeling of the event. No random shouts from people on the tee box. No players interacting with the young kids that look up to them. No applause after an incredible shot. The atmosphere wasn’t there.
However, American Bryson DeChambeau’s final round at Winged Foot Golf Club is still so impressive. He started the final round two shots behind Matthew Wolff, and by the end of Sunday, DeChambeau held a six-stroke lead. DeChambeau shot a 3-under-par 67 during the final round, which was three shots better than anyone in the field. It was impressive, but without anyone stepping up to challenge DeChambeau, it fell a little flat.
4. 2022, Matthew Fitzpatrick at The Country Club
For a major championship, or any golf tournament, to stick out to me, there has to be some level of back-and-forth between at least two players. Runaway victories can get boring, which is why I put England’s Matthew Fitzpatrick’s win in 2022 at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, ahead of Bryson DeChambeau’s win in 2020.
Fitzpatrick started the final round tied with American Will Zalatoris after surging to the top of the leaderboard in the third round. American Scottie Scheffler recorded four birdies in the first six holes of the final to put himself in contention, which made way for a three-way race for the title. Fitzpatrick made a clutch par on No. 18 to keep his one-shot lead over Zalatoris and Scheffler at The Country Club, where he also won the U.S. Amateur Championship in 2013.
3. 2025, J.J. Spaun at Oakmont
The 2025 U.S. Open delivered one of the most iconic moments in recent major championship history. The lasting image of the event in my head is American J.J. Spaun throwing his putter in the air in the pouring rain after draining his 19.5-meter birdie putt on the final hole to seal the win. Even thinking about it gives me chills.
Other than the final putt, there are a few more aspects of the 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club that made the week special. Spaun won with a final score of 1 under par, which was the only final score under par for the week. The weather was unpredictable during the final round. Sunshine, overcast, lightning, pouring rain, Oakmont saw it all. Spaun was also the underdog compared to all the players chasing him that Sunday afternoon, so his joy after making that final putt was so much sweeter to watch.
2. 2024, Bryson DeChambeau at Pinehurst
Bryson DeChambeau’s win at the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst Resort, Course No. 2, was perhaps one of the most dramatic major championships in recent memory. It was also the most heartbreaking for many fans, especially the Rory McIlroy supporters.
McIlroy had won four major championships ahead of the 2024 U.S. Open, but his last was in 2014. Over the last 10 years, he’d come close to breaking his drought, but it never happened. McIlroy started the final round four strokes back of DeChambeau, but the Northern Irishman took a two-shot lead on the back nine. It looked as if it was McIlroy’s time. However, he recorded three bogeys in the final four holes, while DeChambeau cruised to his second major victory.
The McIlroy vs. DeChambeau rivalry has continued at major championships. Sometimes it feels like Good vs. Evil. Right vs. Wrong. PGA Tour vs. LIV Golf. But it’s the type of rivalry golf needs. And while 2024 was a heartbreaker for McIlroy, he got the best of DeChambeau at the 2025 Masters Tournament to complete the career grand slam just a few months later.
1. 2021, Jon Rahm at Torrey Pines
After the bleak year that 2020 brought with the COVID-19 pandemic, 2021 was refreshing. Fans were reintroduced to the course, and it felt like a unifying time after 2020.
I’m not always the biggest fan of major championships making stops at courses where PGA Tour events are regularly held, but I think the United States Golf Association did a good job of setting up Torrey Pines Golf Course South Course for the U.S. Open.
Aside from the refreshing nature of the 2021 U.S. Open, it also delivered drama. Spain’s Jon Rahm started the final round tied for sixth place at 2 under par, which was three shots behind the leaders who sat at 5 under par. Rahm started his final round with two birdies on Nos. 1 and 2. He bogeyed No. 4, but added another birdie on hole 9. Then, he closed the round with back-to-back birdies on Nos. 17 and 18 to take a one-shot lead over South African Louis Oosthuizen to capture his first major championship.
