Scottie Scheffler insists that winning a career Grand Slam "has never been a motivating factor" for him as he prepares to compete at the U.S. Open.

A win at Shinnecock Hills this week would make Scheffler the seventh golfer in history to achieve a career Grand Slam, after Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.

His recent track record at the event suggests it is a strong possibility, having secured a top-10 finish in four of his last five U.S. Open appearances.

The American is already a four-time major champion, winning The Masters in both 2022 and 2024 before adding both the PGA Championship and The Open Championship to his collection last year.

This week's tournament presents him with his first chance to complete the Grand Slam, with his best finish at the event being second in 2022.

But despite all eyes being on him, Scheffler is refusing to put the pressure on himself.

"Would it be a dream to win the U.S. Open? Of course, but at the end of the day, the Grand Slam has never been a motivating factor for me," Scheffler said in his pre-tournament press conference.

"I always just wanted to be the best version of myself, and that got me this far.

"When it comes to this golf tournament, I'm going to step on the first tee and remind myself I've done everything I possibly could to play well.

"Now it's just a matter of going out there and trying to execute and going back to enjoying the competition, versus feeling like you have to win for some reason.

"If I finish second this week, it's almost like, 'Hey, you failed in your first chance to win the career Grand Slam'. Is finishing second a failure?

"If I win this tournament, that would be amazing, but then I show up the next week, and it's like, 'OK, now Scottie's won the Grand Slam, he's won all these golf tournaments. Now, where do we go from here?'"

Tee times for the first two rounds of the 126th U.S. Open are here.

Notable groupings:
• Rory McIlroy, Ludvig Åberg, Tommy Fleetwood
• Scottie Scheffler, J.J. Spaun, Mason Howell
• Brooks Koepka, Cameron Young, Chris Gotterup
• Justin Rose, Jordan Spieth, Jon Rahm

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— U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 16, 2026

McIlroy heads to the U.S. Open 15 years on from his maiden major win at the tournament.

This will be his 70th appearance at a major championship. While he has been a model of consistency recently – finishing in the top 10 in six of his last seven U.S. Open appearances – his last missed cut at the event came during the 2018 edition at Shinnecock Hills.

He is prepared for the course this time around, though, claiming a patient strategy will be the key to getting over the line.

"If you can get your ball to the middle of the greens here and just putt to the corners wherever the flags are going to be, that's never going to be a bad strategy," McIlroy told the media.

"That's the strategy that I've employed at the US Open over the past few years, and that's served me well. It hasn't gotten me the trophy, but it's gotten me pretty close a few years.

"I definitely feel like I've become a lot better of a U.S. Open player by trying to really stay patient throughout the week and not taking on too much."