Wyndham Clark turned Shinnecock Hills into a scoring exhibition on Thursday, racing to 6 under through 16 holes before darkness suspended the first round of the 126th U.S. Open. He leads by four shots.
The day started with a two-hour fog delay, which pushed tee times back and prevented much of the afternoon wave from finishing the first round. The delay also flipped the wave advantage. The wind tormented the entire early wave but slowed in the afternoon, leaving the course susceptible to scoring.
RELATED: Fog Delay, Gusty Winds and Slowed Greens Greet Opening Round at Shinnecock Hills
Clark took full advantage. He started his round with birdies on Nos. 10 and 11, then kept the momentum going all afternoon. His best shot of the day came on the par-5 5th when he stuffed his second to 3 feet to set up a kick-in eagle. Clark finished his day with a quality up-and-down for par from the bunker short and left on the tough 7th, and he will try to make two pars on the 8th and 9th to close out his round in the morning. If he does, he will have the largest first-round lead in a U.S. Open since Tommy Armour led by five in 1933.
“Everything was kind of clicking,” Clark said. “We were definitely fortunate with the wind laying down. Overall a good round.”
Rory McIlroy briefly grabbed the spotlight in the morning wave. McIlroy grabbed sole possession of the lead with an eagle on the par-5 fifth, reaching 3 under through 14 holes, but he closed with consecutive bogeys on Nos. 8 and 9 after failing to convert greenside up-and-down opportunities. He finished at 1 under 69, a stark contrast to the 80 he shot in the first round the last time the U.S. Open was held at Shinnecock in 2018, which ended in a missed cut. After winning the Masters in April, McIlroy is chasing his seventh major title this week at Shinnecock.
“I think with the conditions today, anything under par or anything around even par is a good score,” McIlroy said. “It was a day to really just keep yourself in the tournament and not shoot yourself out of it, which is exactly what I did eight years ago here. I didn’t feel like I hit two bad iron shots on the last two holes and put myself in pretty difficult spots and wasn’t able to get it up-and-down, but overall, a really good day.”
For Bryson DeChambeau, a 1 under 69 was a strong opening round. The two-time U.S. Open champion missed the cut at both the Masters and the PGA Championship earlier this season.
The pre-tournament favorite, Scottie Scheffler, had a difficult day. Battling wind and fog, he had five bogeys and a double bogey on No. 8, finishing at 2 over par. Scheffler is attempting to become the seventh player in history to complete the career Grand Slam.
“It was a really challenging day,” Scheffler said. “If you told me when I was staring at my par putt on the ninth that I would post two over today, I would definitely have taken it at the time. Overall, it was a good battle.”
RELATED: USGA, R&A Delay Golf Ball Rollback, Will Explore Alternative Distance Solutions
Defending champion J.J. Spaun had a day to forget. Spaun finished at 7 over par and will be on the bubble entering Friday’s cut.
The par-3 7th hole proved to be the most punishing on the course. The field found the green in regulation less than 30% of the time, far and away the lowest mark of any hole on the day. “I hit like a 6-iron. You almost don’t realize how good of a shot,” Tommy Fleetwood said after his round. “Yeah, it’s a very, very tiny spot, and when the wind is working, the way that the green is sloping as well, you obviously know that left bunker and left is OK.”
The amateur story of the day belongs to Ryder Cowan. A rising senior at the University of Oklahoma, Cowan earned his spot in the field by making it out of a 3-for-2 playoff at the 36-hole qualifier in Florida. He turned in at 3 under before finishing at 2 under 68, the best round from an amateur in four decades.
Clark returns Friday morning to finish his final two holes before beginning Round 2.
2026 U.S. Open Leaderboard
1. Wyndham Clark (6 under)
T-2. Sam Stevens (2 under)
T-2. (a) Ryder Cowan (2 under)
T-2. Max McGreevy (2 under)
T-2. Matt Fitzpatrick (2 under)
T-2. Dustin Johnson (2 under)
T-2. Gary Woodland (2 under)
T-2. Jon Rahm (2 under)
Notables
T-9. Rory McIlroy (1 under)
T-9. Bryson DeChambeau (1 under)
T-18. Tommy Fleetwood (Even)
T-29. Justin Thomas (1 over)
T-49. Scottie Scheffler (2 over)
T-72. Brooks Koepka (3 over)
T-124. Viktor Hovland (6 over)
T-133. J.J. Spaun (7 over)
Round 1 suspended due to darkness. Clark has two holes remaining.
