U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP 2026

June 21, 2026

Keith Mitchell

Shinnecock Hills Golf Club

Flash Interview

THE MODERATOR: Keith Mitchell, even par-70. It looks like you'll come up just a bit short this go around, but what are some of your takeaways from this week?

KEITH MITCHELL: I wasn't short on myself after the start. 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 round.

You can always look at winning a tournament, but I think I won the week after the start.

Q. What was the pep talk after the start?

KEITH MITCHELL: Well, I was hitting it very well and putting it well, and I call it getting Shinnecocked out there. You just hit it over the green on 10, hit it over the green on 11 and there's nothing you can do.

Then the putt on 14 was -- it looks like it's uphill but it's straight downhill and I three-putted. Long story short, I got over par quick. But I didn't hit as many bad shots as it necessarily was showing in my score. Once I got some momentum, I felt like I just rode it all the way to the end.

The pep talk was more just like questioning how hard the U.S. Open is, how hard this golf course is. Even when you hit good shots, you don't even know what to do. Fortunately enough, I started not missing it in the worst place possible on every hole and started to get a little bit of momentum.

Q. What have the last two weeks been like between qualifying and here? This is your best finish in a major.

KEITH MITCHELL: It's been a wild ride. The 36-hole qualifier, I've got to give a shout-out to my buddy Bobby Wyatt who caddied for me because my caddie, Brad Schneider, actually qualified for final qualifying. He made it through locals. So he couldn't caddie for me in the sectionals last Monday.

I shot 3-under the first round and was getting smoked, and he gave me a little putting tip at the turn and shot 8-under the next round. Played good the last two weeks thanks to that.

But qualifier, Canada, here, now -- you might know more than I; am I in next week, do you know? It's close? That's just my schedule this year. It's waiting until Sunday night to know where you're going next.

Q. You won't have to qualify for next year's U.S. Open; how does that feel?

KEITH MITCHELL: That's exciting.

Q. You mentioned the boost each week and a strong finish here. What is the impact for the confidence level going forward for the rest of the season?

KEITH MITCHELL: 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.

I've never -- like I 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 T4 is a win in my book.