The grueling journey to the U.S. Open wrapped up on Monday with an exhausting 36-hole marathon known as “Golf’s Longest Day.” Making it through this brutal, one-day test is a massive achievement, and this year’s results showed that age is just a number when it comes to elite talent. Three top golfers heading to Shinnecock Hills via the final qualifier are:

Miles Russell

17-year-old Miles Russell earned a spot in the U.S. Open. The young left-hander is currently the number 10 amateur golfer in the world and took the fourth and final spot. Russell’s first round was where he carded 71, but in the second round, he shot 7 birdies to score 67. And through all of those ups and downs, his caddie was Charlie Woods.

“Yeah, it was awesome. We kept it so light. It’s the first time I’ve had a buddy on the bag instead of a real caddie, and I really liked it,” Miles said soon after the qualification. “You know, just walking down the fairway and not talking much golf, just having a fun time. It was super special.”

🤔 golf trivia

This Should Be an Easy One, Right?

01/10

On Which Hole Jordan Spieth’s Ball Got Stuck Under a Trashcan?

14th 15th16th 17th

Oops, bogey!

But don’t worry, there’s still the back 9 to prove your high golf IQ

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The competition was tough at the BallenIsles Country Club, with golfers like Luke Clanton and Matt Kuchar also there. Aside from Russell, Canadian pro Ben Silverman and two amateurs, Giuseppe Puebla and Ryder Cowan, also earned spots.

The big question heading into the U.S. Open is whether Charlie will be on Miles’s bag. When asked about it, the lefty noted that while it is a major tournament, he still offered a promising hint, saying, “We’ll see what he’s doing.”

Neal Shipley

Neal Shipley was at Oakmont last year as a fan, but this year, he will take the field as a competitor. He earned his spot playing in the U.S. Open Qualifier at the Springfield Country Club. The 25-year-old confessed that he has had a horrid season so far. He has made only 3 cuts in 13 appearances. That’s an average of 23% cuts made. At Shinnecock, he will need to be much better.

Surprisingly, Shipley put on an excellent show to ward off any threat. Playing 36 holes on Monday, he shot an 8-under par to tie alongside Zac Blair at the top of the leaderboard. With five qualifying spots to play for, he had done enough to make the field for the 2026 U.S. Open. Now he has a week to prepare before he makes his second appearance in the major after finishing at T26 in 2024.

Billy Horschel

Springfield Country Club in Ohio had five spots open for the U.S. Open. Billy Horschel needed one of them to finally move past the disappointments of last year, an event he had qualified for and where his apparel partner, Ralph Lauren, even had something special planned.

Unfortunately, he was sidelined from the major last year due to an injury. This year, he was set to miss out on the trip to Shinnecock Hill due to a lack of qualification. Fortunately, Horschel was able to overcome the obstacles. Horschel finished one stroke below Shipley and Blair, tied for third.

Giving a special shout-out to Ben Kohles, who has had five long days of golf. He won the 2026 BMW Charity Pro-Am on Sunday, celebrated with his daughters for a while before rushing out of South Carolina to fly to Maryland. After 72 holes of grueling tests in the Korn Ferry Tour across four days and traveling over 600 miles, he played 36 holes on the longest day in golf and finished second to also qualify for the major next week.