2026 U.S. Open: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson among biggest names not competing in the major this week at Shinnecock
It’s time for the U.S. Open, which is back at Shinnecock Hills outside of New York City this week.
All eyes, of course, will be on Scottie Scheffler and his quest to claim the career grand slam with a U.S. Open victory. Back-to-back Masters champion Rory McIlroy and several other big names from LIV Golf, including PGA Championship runner-up Jon Rahm, are expected to be in the mix, too.
But, of course, there are several notable golfers that are sitting this major out.
Here’s a look at some of the biggest names who did not make the trip to New York this week.
Tiger Woods
Tiger Woods may be back in the United States, but he’s still away from the game.
Woods was involved in a rollover crash and arrested in Florida earlier this year after he collided with a pickup truck and rolled his Range Rover. There were no injuries, but Woods was arrested and charged with DUI with property damage and refusal to submit to a lawful test. He has since entered a plea of not guilty.
Woods then stepped away from golf to seek treatment, which he reportedly did in Switzerland in recent months. Woods was spotted back in Florida on Friday. He has missed both the Masters and the PGA Championship this season as a result.
It’s unclear when Woods will attempt to play competitively again, though he’s not played much at all in recent years. Woods ruptured his Achilles and underwent a back surgery in 2025. He did return to play in the TGL indoor final in March.
Woods has won the U.S. Open three times in his career, first in 2000 and again in 2002. He last won in 2008 at Torrey Pines, when he beat Rocco Mediate in a wild 19-hole playoff despite a major leg injury.
Phil Mickelson
Phil Mickelson is also not playing competitive golf right now while dealing with what he’s described as a personal family health matter.
Mickelson has competed in just a single LIV Golf event this season, and he announced before the Masters that he was stepping away. He did not get into specifics.
Mickelson was initially listed in the PGA Championship field last month, but he quickly withdrew and said he “unfortunately” couldn’t play. It’s unclear when he’ll be able to return.
Mickelson was also reportedly expelled from his Southern California golf club earlier this year after he allegedly made “nonconsensual and inappropriate physical contact” with a female employee before a round. Mickelson’s team described it as a “misunderstanding” that has been cleaned up, and said he “continues to attend to a family health matter.”
Mickelson has never won the U.S. Open in his career, though he’s come close several times. He’s finished in second on six separate occasions, most recently in 2013, though Mickelson has missed the cut at the last five outings. It is the last tournament he needs to claim the career grand slam. His previous five-year exemption into the U.S. Open, which he earned for his 2021 PGA Championship win, has also expired. So if Mickelson wants to play in the U.S. Open again, he’ll have to earn his spot like everybody else.
Max Homa
Max Homa came so close to a return trip to the U.S. Open.
Homa tried to qualify for the major championship during Golf’s Longest Day earlier this month, and he made it into a playoff at a qualifier in Canada. He had a 12-footer on the first playoff hole, but the putt just barely lipped out. That took him out of the running.
Homa, who reached as high as No. 5 in the Official World Golf Rankings, has won six times on the PGA Tour in his career, most recently at the 2023 Farmers Insurance Open. He’s missed the last two U.S. Opens, and he missed the cut in both 2023 and 2024, though Homa did pull out a T9 finish at the Masters earlier this year. That was, however, his only top-10 finish on the season.
Marco Penge
While not the biggest name in golf, Marco Penge is the highest-ranked player in the world that is not teeing it up this week in New York.
Penge withdrew from the U.S. Open last week due to lingering health issues. He suffered a viral infection in November, and has been dealing with ear, neck and nervous system problems ever since. He missed the cut at the PGA Championship earlier this season, and was hit with a sinus infection that led to vertigo symptoms shortly before that major.
Penge, at No. 48 in the OWGR, has yet to win on the PGA Tour but has three DP World Tour wins to his name — all three of which came in 2025. He last won the Open de Espana in November, and he finished T4 at the Valspar Championship in March for his best Tour outing of the year. It’s unclear when Penge will get to play again.
Tony Finau
Tony Finau is out of yet another major.
Finau missed both the Masters and the PGA Championship earlier this season, which ended a streak of 33 straight major appearances. He tried to qualify for the U.S. Open earlier this month, but missed out by two strokes at Springfield Country Club (Ohio). If he can’t find a way into the British Open, it’ll mark the first season of his career that he failed to play in at least one major.
Finau is currently at No. 109 in the OWGR. He’s got two top-10 finishes in his last six U.S. Open outings, and he was in the final group at the U.S. Open the last time it was at Shinnecock in 2018. Finau ended up finishing fifth that year, six shots back from winner Brooks Koepka.
