It could be argued the 2026 US Open Championship contains the strongest field of the season with all of the game's very best having qualified for Shinnecock Hills.
Scottie Scheffler tops the list, and he's out to claim the Career Grand Slam just over a year after Rory McIlroy did likewise at The Masters.
Scheffler is the bookmakers' favorite to reign supreme on Long Island as well, with his main rivals largely being those who accompany him in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Ranking.
He doesn't feature in the names the Golf Monthly betting panel have picked out to win the US Open, however, but you'll have to cross over to see who we did choose. If you're looking for out-and-out picks to win, check out Bazza's Best Bets for the US Open.
Either way, beyond the group of leading talent are a number of names who are certainly capable of providing an upset on their day. Some of them may have even won a Major before...
Below, we've picked out two names who hold odds of over +4000 (40/1) that we believe possess all the right ingredients to be labeled an outside shout. A pair of sleeper picks each, if you will.
Check out who they are and let us know who you're backing to win the US Open in 2026 in the comments box below...
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US Open Sleeper Picks 2026
Patrick Reed is having a phenomenal season so far and is well on his way to securing a return to the PGA Tour courtesy of a pair of wins on the DP World Tour.
His Major stock is on the rise again also, with three consecutive top-12 finishes in his last three. His best ever US Open finish came at Shinnecock Hills in 2018, perhaps because you need to possess a superb short game to contend. He certainly has that, but he is also fairly accurate off the tee and ranks 11th for SG: Tee To Green.
Reed has played two tournaments since the Joburg Open in early March - The Masters and the PGA Championship. This will be the third, at the US Open, so he is clearly prioritising Majors as he pursues a PGA Tour return.
I don't mind that at all. It's a strategy that seems to be working for him so far, so I expect him to be close on Sunday.
Patrick Cantlay (+5000 To Win)
Cantlay has been really consistent since The Masters, with two top-10s and two top-20s in five starts. His missed cut at Oakmont last year was his first at the US Open, but he was third the year before and I believe he has the steady sort of game that will eventually lead to success in this event.
He ranks 10th for SG: Tee To Green this season and has eight PGA Tour wins across his career, so I think he is great value at the price.
Gotterup is ranked 11th in the world and one of just three men to have won multiple times on the PGA Tour in 2026, but those wins were back in January and February so he is definitely a sleeper who comes into the week under the radar.
He was T10th at the PGA Championship last month and had a great Open Championship to finish third. In fact, his worst result is 24th in the last four Majors so don't be surprised to see the big-hitting man from New Jersey in contention.
If he can get himself into the tournament with a solid start then he definitely has the game to be right there come the end.
After six consecutive Major missed cuts, Cameron Smith made quite a statement last month at Aronimink to finish T7th alongside Xander Schauffele. He followed that with a T16th at LIV Korea and a T5th at LIV Andalucia.
The 2022 Open champion has undoubtedly fallen off since joining LIV Golf but there are lots of signs that he is getting back closer to his best. He has experience of playing Shinnecock Hills, albeit only two rounds in 2018, and has a best US Open finish of 4th in 2023.
When he's on, he's a joy to watch and his short game as well as his experience should come in very handy this week.
Picking an outsider with a legitimate chance of winning was ridiculously tough this week. Put plainly, I don't think an outsider will win. But if there's one man who might be capable, it's Patrick Reed.
The American's game fits the profile required with his world-class approach game and putting ability, and a 4th-place finish here in 2018 shows he likes the layout. The only issue - and it is a fairly big one - is that Reed has only played both Majors in the past three months as far as competitive golf goes.
Whether he can pick up where he left off again remains to be seen, but it's slim pickings as far as outsiders go, so I'm willing to roll the dice.
Picking Viktor Hovland is a bit like playing Russian Roulette because his upside is Major contender but his downside means he's arguably just as capable of missing a cut. But I'm choosing to be optimistic in a field where legitimate outsider shots are very slim, in my opinion.
Nevertheless, Hovland finished third last year and has produced excellent numbers in terms of SG: Approach in 2026. He was also third in Canada last week, suggesting he might have found something at the perfect time.
If the good form from Canada with his putter can be maintained for the week, I'm reasonably hopeful for an each-way finish. If Hovland chips well, too, it could even be his breakthrough week...
In all honesty, I was stuck between Reed and Wyndham Clark for my outside pick, but I’ve opted for the former because of his Major record and previous course form.
Reed finished solo fourth in 2018 at Shinnecock Hills, firing a two-under final round in the process. What’s more, in 2026, the American produced two top-12 finishes at The Masters and PGA Championship, while also winning twice on the DP World Tour.
Admittedly, he hasn’t played much, if any, competitive golf since the PGA Championship, but I’m hoping this is a sign Reed is well rested going into the US Open.
