U.S. Open 2026: Keith Mitchell's wild week ends with an extraordinary tournament record
Keith Mitchell didn’t win the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, but he’s walking away with one of the more memorable even-par weeks in history.
The man affectionately known as “Casmere Keith” for his smooth fashion sense, Mitchell shot a 41 in his first nine holes of the tournament, but came back with the seventh 29 in U.S. Open history shoot a remarkable even-par 70. That turned out to be Mitchell’s number for the week, as he went on to score three more 70s to become the first player ever in U.S. Open to record even par in each of the four rounds.
That is an incredible achievement, both because of the brutish nature of Shinnecock and the fact that thousands of rounds have been posted in the 126 years of the national championship.
Going into the week, Mitchell, 34, had never finished better than 20th in a major, and he’d only made the cut in half of his starts (7 of 14) in the big four. He had to reach only his third U.S. Open this year through 36-hole Final Qualifying.
On Sunday, he ended up being in contention going into the back nine but made bogeys at 10 and 17 to shoot his fourth 70 and ultimately finish T-4 at 280, four strokes back of winner Wyndham Clark. The finish automatically qualifies Mitchell for next year’s U.S. Open at Pebble. Beach.
“I might have not won, but I felt like I achieved a lot more than potentially I thought I was going to after about two hours into the [first]] round,” Mitchell said on Sunday. “… I think I won the week after that start.”
For the tournament, Mitchell’s rounds got more consistent with each day. In round 1, he had four birdies and bogeys each to go with one eagle and one double bogey. In round 2, it was four birdies and four bogeys; round 3, three and three; and round 4, two and two.
As much as Clark was lauded for his putting, Mitchell led the field for the week on the greens, gaining 1.77 strokes.
On Saturday, he said, “This week I’m making some putts for par. I’ve tended to play better on harder golf courses for some reason … you have to be very disciplined, and I feel like I’ve done that this week, and my putter has been performing better than usual.”
With his only tour win coming in the 2019 Honda Classic, Mitchell has consistently made cuts in 16 starts this year and posted two top-six finishes. His world ranking at No. 100 figures to rise nicely after this week.
“I would say the confidence in my physical ability had always been there, but the last three days the confidence in my ability to perform has gone up a little bit,” Mitchell said. “My best finish in a major by far, might be the best finish of the year, actually, and it’s at this kind of place.
“I’ve never necessarily believed that I was … I don’t know, if it’s good enough, but was able to accomplish something this big, and for me right now, a T-4 is a win in my book.”
There will be one more memory of Mitchell this week. It was the video of him finishing his round on Thursday, a bewildered look on his face and his hair flying in the wind.
“It’s the most accurate meme of all time,” he said. “I felt exactly how I looked.”
