Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy are all found on the exclusive list of US Open champions.So too, apparently, is Dave Portnoy.The US Open returns to Shinnecock Hills in 2026, and those in the field are hoping to join an illustrious list of championsGettyPortnoy claims to have won the US Open at Shinnecock in 2018GettyThe Barstool Sports founder is an avid golfer and has generated a serious following for his content around the sport.That content, occasionally, grants him the kind of access that the average fan could only dream of.Take, for example, his exploits at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club back in 2018 — which led to Portnoy declaring himself a ‘US Open champion’ after shooting a three-under 67.But there was, as you may have already guessed, a catch.How did Dave Portnoy ‘win the US Open?’Eight years ago, the Barstool star teed it up at the notoriously difficult links-style club, following a characteristic debate with a colleague.“So Riggs and I got in a huge debate a couple weeks ago on Barstool Radio,” Portnoy said in 2018.“The question at hand was whether I could win the US Open with unlimited mulligans.“For me, the answer was a no brainer. Of course I would. That’s not even me bragging.“That’s just me knowing what I’m capable of and knowing what unlimited mulligans actually means.“I’d 100% birdie every par 3 and then par everything else. That’s -4 a day. Riggs projects the winner at Shinnecock this year will shoot -4 for the entire tournament.Shinnecock Hills is regarded as a tough course and will host the US Open in JuneGetty“The ENTIRE TOURNAMENT. That means I’ll win by roughly 12 strokes. Easy peasy.”Armed with more than 100 balls, his Barstool-branded clubs and unlimited mulligans (do-overs), Portnoy then took a trip to Southampton, New York, to take on Shinnecock Hills at the invitation of the US Golf Association.“The good folks at the USGA caught wind of our argument and have generously offered to let me play Shinnecock,” he revealed at the time.“When I said I’d win with unlimited mulligans, I assumed that for the first two rounds I’d play from dawn to dusk to achieve my perfect score of -4 per day.”In reality, Portnoy was offered six hours each day to finish, according to the video later shared on Barstool’s YouTube account.But ‘El Pres’ took it all in his stride.Portnoy had six hours to complete his round at ShinnecockBARSTOOLHow many mulligans did Dave Portnoy need at Shinnecock?He first hit the driving range, before taking to the links.On hole 1, Portnoy used three mulligans from the tee box, and eventually made par with just the 22 do-overs.He made his way through his round, with birdies at his third, ninth and 18th holes to finish three-under 67.By Barstool’s official counter, Portnoy used a total of 360 mulligans.Portnoy used three mulligans on the tee of hole 1BARSTOOLHe racked up plenty of do-overs during his roundBARSTOOLHe then bragged about his ‘minus 4’ score in the face of Riggs, who constantly corrected his total to three under over a contentious outing on hole 5, which saw the group kicked off the hole over time constraints.Still, that didn’t stop Portnoy from boasting about his effort in a social media post that evening.“Today was a great victory for #TeamPortnoy, 4 under 66,” he wrote.“EXACTLY what I said. From the Tips. Finished with a birdie on 270 par 3. I didn’t do it for me. I did it for my legacy.”Portnoy claimed he ‘won big’ after finishing under par at ShinnecockBARSTOOLThe Barstool founder also bragged of his effort at the end of their YouTube video, which has been viewed just shy of one million times.“I proved that if you’re an okay golfer, solid contact and unlimited mulligans, you could win the US Open,” he concluded.“And by the way, the projected winner is gonna be minus four. So like I said, I would not only win the US Open, I would win it by 12 strokes.“I won big.”Eight years on, and the US Open returns to Shinnecock Hills on June 18.In 2026, the likes of Scottie Scheffler, Bryson DeChambeau and Masters champion McIlroy will head to Southampton as tournament favorites, and will be looking to out-do Portnoy’s heroic ‘four-under’ effort.Stay up to date on all things golf across our talkSPORT platforms – subscribe to our YouTube channel for the latest news, opinion, exclusive interviews and our daily unfiltered, unscripted show ‘The S* Word, from 8am ET.