King of the Course is BACK!
$1 million in bonus bets will be split and distributed to users who opted in and placed an outright winner bet on the player records the most birdies or better through the first two rounds of this week’s golf major.
Who will get off to a great start on Thursday and take the early lead as DraftKings’ King of the Course? Follow along below!
How to Play King of the Course
- Opt in to receive your King of the Course token in the Promotions page
- Make an outright winner bet on DraftKings Sportsbook and apply your token (minimum $5 bet)
- If the golfer you wagered on with your token applied records the most birdies or better through the first two rounds of the tournament, win a share of $1 million in bonus bets
For more information on this promo, click here!
King of the Course Live Updates
King of the Course Payouts announced! (11:30 a.m., Saturday)
Dustin Johnson and Collin Morikawa have been officially announced as the Kings of the Course this week! The 774 bettors who placed their tokens on the two players will each earn $1,292 in Bonus Bets. Congrats to the winners and thanks for following along this week!
Dual Crown (8:36 p.m. ET)
Despite some late contenders, the crown remains with Dustin Johnson and Collin Morikawa. The two had 10 par-breakers each at the end of round two, splitting the King of the Course crown.
Stay tuned for payout details.
Can Tom Kim tie? (7:47 p.m. ET)
Kim is up to eight par-breakers, meaning he’ll need back-to-back birdies or better for the final two holes of round two. It’s a difficult feat, but a three-way tie for King of the Course is still in play.
Dustin Johnson and Collin Morikawa hold the lead (6:27 p.m. ET)
With Johnson and Morikawa done with Round 2, they could only wait for the round to finish for to see if they maintained the lead for King of the Course. Sam Stevens was one par-breaker off with a few holes to go, but he did not earn a birdie or better on any of the last six holes.
The round isn’t over, but Stevens is now out of contention. The next player to focus on is Tom Kim, who has seven par-breakers through 12 holes in this round. Plenty more golf to go, and plenty more chances for some late risers.
Sam Stevens closes to within one birdie of the leaders (4:38 p.m. ET)
While Dustin Johnson and Collin Morikawa still have the shared lead in the King of the Course contest on DraftKings, Sam Stevens just made back-to-back birdies and is up to nine birdies or better. Morikawa and Johnson have 10 par-breakers, so Stevens just needs one more birdie in his remaining six holes to tie them and two to take the lead.
Stevens had six birdies in Round 1, including one on the stretch still ahead of him in Round 2. He has also moved up into a tie for second on the tournament leaderboard, joining a chase pack of golfers currently four strokes behind the -7 pace set by Wyndham Clark.
Lucas Herbert joins Harry Higgs in hot pursuit (3:55 p.m. ET)
Harry Higgs picked up another birdie to get to seven on the tournament with seven holes to play. He is now within three par-breakers of the leaders in the King of the Course contest. However, Higgs was just passed by a hard-charging Lucas Herbert, who has four birdies in his first seven holes of the second round.
Hebert had four birdies in Round 1 as well, so he’s up to within two birdies of the leaders, Collin Morikawa and Dustin Johnson. With 11 holes left, the 30-year-old Aussie has a real chance of catching the leaders if he can continue his momentum. Since he has struggled on his non-birdie holes, though, Herbert is still only T50 and barely inside the cut line.
Harry Higgs heating up (3:20 p.m. ET)
Harry Higgs birdied three of his first six holes to get off to a fast start in Round 2. He also had three birdies in Round 1, so he’s up to six birdies with nine holes to go. He still has some work to do before he chases down our co-leaders at 10 birdies or better, but he has a chance if he can catch fire on the back nine.
Higgs moved into the top five for the tournament as well, moving to -2, which is good enough for T4 right now alongside Collin Morikawa and Max Greyserman, five strokes off the pace set by Wyndham Clark.
Stay tuned this afternoon to see if anyone can make a run at Clark or chase down Johnson and Morikawa for the King of the Course title.
Ben Kohles can’t catch the leaders (2:30 p.m. ET)
Ben Kohles wasn’t able to find a birdie in his final four holes and finished the day with nine birdies or better for the tournament. He’s joined by Joaquin Niemann, Robert MacIntyre and Wyndam Clark just one par-breaker behind the co-leaders for DraftKings King of the Course.
Dustin Johnson and Collin Morikawa have 10 birdies or better through two rounds and are both in the clubhouse with the lead.
With the afternoon wave underway, one name to watch is Sam Stevens, who had six birdies in Round 1 and started his second round with a birdie to get to seven four the tournament. He still has 14 holes remaining, including both par-5s as he looks to get three more birdies to match Johnson and Morikawa.
Wyndham Clark finishes Round 2 (1:30 p.m. ET)
After finishing his second round with a birdie on No. 18, Clark is alone atop the leaderboard at the third major championship of the season. He went -6 in Round 1 and -1 in Round 2, which is good enough for a -7 total and a four-stroke lead as he calls it a day. He had six birdies or better in Round 1 and three birdies or better in Round 2.
Even though he’s on top of the tournament leaderboard, he still trails Dustin Johnson and Collin Morikawa on the King of the Course leaderboard. Johnson and Morikawa, who are also done for the day, each have 10 birdies and will share King of the Course honors if no one catches them.
DJ back on top (1:00 p.m. ET)
After going double-bogey, bogey, bogey, par, quad-bogey, Dustin Johnson seemed like he might tumble all the way past the cut line. However, the veteran bounced back with a birdie on No. 16, moving him back into a tie with Morikawa for the top spot on the King of the Course leaderboard.
Morikawa finished his round and has 10 birdies or better through two rounds, setting the mark that Johnson just matched.
Joaquin Niemann has nine birdies or better and still has two chances to catch up as well. Ben Kohles is also lurking with nine birdies, and he still has four holes remaining, including a great birdie chance at the par-5 No. 16.
Morikawa gets one more birdie (12:37 p.m. ET)
Collin Morikawa birdied hole No. 16 for his seventh birdie of Round 2, which moves him one ahead of both Dustin Johnson and Joaquin Niemann on the King of the Course leaderboard. He bogeyed hole No. 17, but still has one more chance to add another birdie. Johnson and Niemann also still have a few holes remaining to try to match Morikawa as the pace-setter for the later wave of the second round.
Three kings? (12:07 p.m. ET)
After Dustin Johnson held the lead on the King of the Course leaderboard for most of the day by himself, there’s now a three-way tie for the top spot.
Joaquin Niemann caught Johnson with his seventh birdie of the second round, which he made on hole No. 13, giving him five more holes to the outright lead.
Moments later, Collin Morikawa made his sixth birdie of the second round to also move into the tie with Johnson, with three holes remaining in his second round.
Johnson has five holes remaining as well, so it will be exciting to see if any of them can pick up a 10th birdie and take over the solo lead before the afternoon wave tries to chase them down. As Niemann and Morikawa are showing, though, there are plenty of birdie chances out there on Shinnecock Hills if you konw where to attack.
Xander rising (11:55 a.m. ET, Friday)
Xander Schauffele has made four birdies through the first 13 holes of his second round and has climbed into second place alone behind only Wyndham Clark. He has seven birdies or better in his two rounds but is quickly running out of time to catch our leader, Dustin Johnson, who has nine birdies or better.
Second round underway! (11:30 a.m. ET, Friday)
After the first round of the third major championship was wrapped up early on Friday morning, the second round began right away. As we get close to noon, the early wave of the second round is nearing a close and we’re starting to get a clear picture of who’s in contention to be King of the Course.
Right now, Dustin Johnson has the lead on the King of the Course leaderboard with nine birdies or better, while his fellow LIV Golf member Joaquin Niemann right behind him with eight birdies or better. Niemann is tied with Collin Morikawa and Robert MacIntyre just one par-breaker behind DJ. Further back but within striking distance, Gary Woodland, Ben Koles and William Mouw each have seven birdies or better.
With so many golfers still on the course and many yet to begin their second round, there’s still a long way to go before we crown the King of the Course, but Johnson’s eight birdies from Round 1 set the pace and should keep him in the mix, especially if he can build on that momentum in Round 2.
First round suspended due to darkness (8:32 p.m. ET)
The first round did not finish due to a delay earlier in the day. Right before the horn blew, Dustin Johnson put an iron shot close to the hole, but decided to putt the ball in the morning instead. He will have a chance to take the outright lead in King of the Course first thing in the morning. As things stand, we have the same three players tied for the lead after Thursday’s action.
Three tied at the top (8:01 p.m. ET)
Dustin Johnson had a chance to take the outright lead with a short birdie putt, but missed. Wyndham Clark was in close for eagle, and did not miss. We now have three players tied for the lead in King of the Course. Clark, Dustin Johnson and Sam Stevens have all recorded six birdies or better. In other news, Matt Fitzpatrick knocked down another birdie, his fifth of the day.
Clark and Johnson add another (7:33 p.m. ET)
This is unreal play from Wyndham Clark and Dustin Johnson, who are playing together. Johnson is now tied with Sam Stevens at the top of the King of the Course leaderboard with six birdies or better. Clark also added another birdie, who now has five on the day and is one off the lead. Clark and Johnson lead the tournament at -4.
Dustin Johnson is on fire (7:13 p.m. ET)
Not a sentence I thought I would type in 2026. Make that three straight birdies for the former champ. Johnson now co-leads the tournament at -3, and has five birdies on the day. He is only one behind our leader Sam Stevens, and has plenty more holes to play. Meanwhile, Wyndham Clark has knocked in another birdie to get himself in the group of four birdies or better.
Matt Fitzpatrick and Dustin Johnson are on a role (7:05 p.m. ET)
Fitzpatrick has now birdied four of his last six holes, and sits with four birdies on the day, only two behind Sam Stevens. The afternoon wave is making their move. Former champion Dustin Johnson just birdied his last two holes to get in a tie for the lead with his fourth birdie. Preston Stout, Dustin Johnson and Matt Fitzpatrick are the closest to Stevens who are out on the course at the moment.
Wyndham Clark knocks down another (6:29 p.m. ET)
Clark has been red-hot lately, and he’s off to a great start at Shinnecock Hills. Clark is -3 through nine holes with three birdies, and now leads the tournament. Let’s see what he can deliver on the back nine.
Another amateur in the conversation (6:09 p.m. ET)
Well, it’s a good day to be an amateur in the third major of the season. Preston Stout has played nine holes, and birdied four of them to put himself only two birdies behind Sam Stevens. He still has nine holes to play, watch out. In terms of the tournament leaderboard, we have four players tied at -2, with two of those being amateurs.
Matt Fitzpatrick enters the mix (5:52 p.m. ET)
Fitzpatrick got off to a rough start, with bogeys on two of his first four holes. He turned things around though, with two birdies in a row to get himself back to even through eight holes.
Amateur leads the way (5:19 p.m. ET)
Yes, you read that right. Amateur golfer Ryder Cowan sits atop the leaderboard. He has three birdies through nine holes and is on pace to match the King of the Course leader Sam Stevens at six birdies or more. There are a few other big names who have also started well, such as Bryson DeChambeau, Xander Schauffele and Aaron Rai who all have two birdies on the front nine.
Aaron…Again? (4:23 p.m. ET)
Aaron Rai won the season’s previous major championship, beating Jon Rahm by three strokes at Aronimink. The Englishman has picked up where he left off in the first four holes of this tournament, climbing into a four-way tie for the lead alongside Stevens, amateur Ryder Cowan, and Wyndham Clark, with 10 other players at -1. Stevens is the only player in the clubhouse at -2, and five are in the clubhouse at -1.
Stevens’ six birdies are still enough for the lead in the KOTC chase, as McIlroy, Rodgers, Dumont de Chassart, Mitchell, and Gotterup are all already in the clubhouse. No player currently on the course has more than two birdies.
Sam Stands Alone (3:50 p.m. ET)
Not too much has changed near the top of the leaderboard, but Rory McIlroy bogeyed each of his final two holes to fall back to a massive tie for second at 1-under behind Stevens. There are 12 players currently tied at -1 because the afternoon wave has started, but among them, only McIlroy and Ludvig Åberg are in the clubhouse.
Stevens also stands atop the KOTC leaderboard with six birdies. There are five players with five birdies or better: McIlroy, Patrick Rodgers (who finished with a plus-2 72), Adrien Dumont de Chassart (71), Keith Mitchell (70), and Chris Gotterup (75). Shinnecock Hills giveth and it taketh away.
Traffic on Long Island! (3:17 p.m. ET)
Rory McIlroy bogeyed the par-four eighth hole to drop back into a tie for the lead at -2 with Sam Stevens (who’s in the clubhouse) and Ben James, who’s through 14 holes. Elsewhere on the course, Keith Mitchell shot a 29 on the back nine to bring it back to a tie for eighth at even par.
Sam Stevens still has the KOTC lead, having made six birdies in his round of 68. Mitchell, with five birdies or better, is second in the chase right now, and several players, ranging from McIlroy at -2 to Kaito Onishi at +3, have four red numbers on their card.
Luck of the Irish (2:50 p.m. ET)
Though he found the bunker off the tee at the seventh hole, Rory McIlroy still leads at -3, as one of six players under par. He’s seeking his first victory in this tournament since 2011, though he finished as the runner-up in both 2023 and 2024.
Sam Stevens is holding steady as the KOTC leader, finishing his round as the leader in the clubhouse with six birdies, two more than any other player (for now).
Hear The Roars! (2:17 p.m. ET)
After a monstrous drive on the fifth hole (396 yards, the longest of the day), Rory McIlroy stuck it close and converted an eagle, and he leads the tournament at -3. Ludvig Åberg. For now, his lead is one stroke over Sam Stevens. There are now only four players under par.
For now, the KOTC chase is still Stevens’, as he’s the only player with five red numbers on his card, but a litany of players, including McIlroy and Åberg, have four birdies or better.
Sammy Strokes! (1:49 p.m. ET)
Stevens has moved into a tie for the lead with Åberg at -2! There are only four men under par, with Åberg and McIlroy clearly bigger names than Stevens and Ben James, but both Åberg and McIlroy have found the fescue on recent holes. 67 of the 78 players who have teed off are over par.
Stevens’ fifth birdie of the day brought him into the solo lead in the KOTC race, but he’d better watch out for Keith Mitchell! After a difficult front nine, Mitchell made the first eagle of the tournament at the par-five fifth to climb back to +1. He has three birdies and an eagle for the day to sit tied for second in the KOTC race with Mitchell.
King James! (1:21 p.m. ET)
Only one man is at two-under-par amid difficult conditions, as Ludvig Åberg’s birdie on 1 (his 10th hole of the day) vaulted him into the solo lead, with a group of four chasing at -1. Some big names, including Rickie Fowler and Rory McIlroy, are two strokes back at E, and Scottie Scheffler (+3) is struggling.
James Nicholas has joined Stevens atop the KOTC leaderboard after making his fourth birdie of the day on the 15th hole. The former Yale football player also has a bogey and two doubles on his card, so he’s outside the top 10, but bogeys don’t matter in King of the Course.
Solo for Stevens (12:55 p.m. ET)
It’s been a pretty quiet early afternoon for scoring, given the difficult weather conditions. As a result, the tournament lead is still at -1, with Stevens, Kristoffer Reitan, and Ben James now joining Burns, Åberg, and Reed.
Stevens stands alone atop the King of the Course leaderboard right now, as the birdie he made on 3 (his 12th hole of the day) to climb into a share of the lead was his fourth of the day.
Sam I Am (12:23 p.m. ET)
Burns and Åberg have now both dropped back a stroke, so it’s an five-way tie atop the leaderboard at -1. Patrick Reed is also among that group. Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy are one behind.
But it’s a different Sam that leads the way in the King of the Course chase; Sam Stevens, who’s in a tie for sixth at even par, has three birdies to go along with a bogey and a double bogey. He’s tied with James Nicholas, who also has a bogey and a double bogey to sit at even par.
Burns on Fire (11:53 a.m. ET)
This Thursday began with a weather delay, but the long lay-off clearly hasn’t mattered so far for Sam Burns and Ludvig Åberg, who share the lead at -2, with each having played six holes. Six other players, including six-time major champion champion Rory McIlroy, are at -1, with more than half the field yet to tee off.
There haven’t been a ton of birdies, given the penal rough conditions and the extremely windy weather along the Long Island Sound, but the par-five fifth hole has been the easiest so far, yielding six birdies, 15 pars, and two bogeys.
