Todd Hitch knows what it takes to win the U.S. Open. This year, he had to do it all over again.
Hitch took the Main Event at the 2026 U.S. Open Sporting Clays Championship on Sunday at Game Unlimited in Hudson, Wisconsin, finishing with 192x200. The result made him the champion for the second consecutive year.
He also picked up $20,000 for the win. Mike Luongo, another member of Team Remington, finished one target back at 191x200 and earned $10,000.
More than 1,000 shooters competed during the Aug. 11-16 championship, which brought many of the sport’s top competitors to Game Unlimited. The courses, designed by Pete Melloy and his staff, gave them plenty to work through without relying on unusual or overly difficult targets.
For Hitch, the key was simple enough to describe and harder to carry out: stay with the target and don’t give away shots.
“It’s a mental challenge,” Hitch said. “The only thing you want to keep in mind is keeping your focus on the bird and executing the shot at all the stations.”
Hitch said the targets were fair, but there wasn’t much room for an off day.
“The targets were good. There wasn’t anything over the top, but nothing was a gimmie, so my goal was to minimize my mistakes for my part and hit as many targets as possible.”
That strategy held up across the week.
Hitch won Super Sporting, too, shooting 97x100 against a field of 826. He also won the Beretta Gold Cup with a combined score of 383x400 from the Main Event, FITASC and Super Sporting. A total of 532 shooters entered the Gold Cup.
Luongo gave Hitch his closest challenge in the Main Event. He finished the final course with a 67-of-68 score, ending just one target behind Hitch. It was Luongo's best finish of the year.
Madison Sharpe added another podium finish for Team Remington, taking second in the Lady Main at 179x200.
Hitch shot Remington Premier Nitro Sporting Clays ammunition in the Main Event, using a 1⅛-ounce load of No. 8 shot at 1,300 fps.
For Hitch, the load gave him confidence when targets stretched out.
“It holds such a good pattern at 40 to 50 yards,” he said. “Because of its pattern density, I have such confidence in that load to break every target on the course.”
Luongo used Premier STS 1⅛-ounce No. 7½ shot at 1,200 fps during his runner-up finish.
By the end of the week, Hitch had collected the Main Event title, the Super Sporting championship and the Gold Cup. Just as important, he said, was how he shot along the way.
“It was an exceptional tournament for me personally,” Hitch said. “I had a top three finish in almost every event I competed in and made very few technical or mental errors.”
One year after winning the U.S. Open for the first time, Hitch returned to Wisconsin and did it again.
The full 2026 U.S. Open results are available through Score Chaser.
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