2026 Golf Majors Odds: U.S. Open & The Open Favorites To Win

Aronimink returns to major-championship rotation for the first time in 64 years. The Donald Ross parkland course in the Philadelphia suburbs was fully restored by Gil Hanse in 2018, reclaiming the original contoured greens, bunkering, and tree-line strategy that the membership had softened over the decades. The par-70 routing demands precise iron play into Ross's famously sloped, elevated greens — miss short-side and par becomes a serious task. The course last saw a major in 1962 when Gary Player won the PGA here at age 26.

• Elevated, heavily contoured Donald Ross greens that reject off-line approaches
• Tree-lined tee shots that narrow corridors late in the swing plane
• A demanding stretch of par-4s between 450 and 500 yards
• Minimal water hazards; misses are punished by fescue and bunkering
• Post-restoration firmness that rewards ground-game approach shots

Cleatz take: Aronimink rewards the kind of ball-striking Scheffler, Schauffele, and Morikawa have been producing for two years. With the restoration emphasizing Ross's original defenses, expect approach play from 150–200 yards and elite putting on subtle slopes to separate the field.

Birkdale hosts The Open for the 11th time, making it the most frequent venue other than St Andrews. The routing threads between enormous sand dunes that form natural amphitheatres around greens and tees — a feature that defines spectator experience at the Championship but also shields the fairways from the worst of the Irish Sea wind. That makes Birkdale fairer than many Open venues; fewer blind shots and fewer bad bounces mean elite ball-strikers can assert themselves here. Jordan Spieth's 2017 win — including the recovery from the practice range at the 13th — is the most recent Open memory at the course.

• Fairways routed through, not over, the dune system — clearer sightlines than most links
• Less exposure to crosswind than St Andrews or Royal St George's
• Pot bunkers severe enough to cost a full shot from the sand
• Firm, fast greens that demand precise spin control on wedges
• A back-nine stretch where momentum shifts can be dramatic

Cleatz take: Birkdale's dune-sheltered fairways favor ball-strikers over pure links artists — which is why Spieth, Harrington, and O'Meara have won here. Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood (a Southport native), and Scheffler top the model picks. The wildcard is always weather: a single day of horizontal rain completely re-sorts this leaderboard.