Key events
It's been a long day and Friday will be, too.
An intriguing start to the 126th US Open. Would anyone have predicted a -6 leading score?! Will Shinnecock Hills bite back? Will Wyndham Clark maintain the pace in the second round? Join Dave Tindall tomorrow lunchtime for the resumption of action and I'll be with you later in the day.
Wyndham Clark leads by four shot at close of play
The first round is not quite complete at the end of the first day's play, but we got more action in than was once expected. The 2023 US Open champion, America's Wyndham Clark, leads by four and he'll return in the morning to play the final two holes of his first round.
-6: Clark (16*)
-2: Stevens (F*), Cowan (F*), McGreevy (F), Fitzpatrick (16*), Johnson (15*), Woodland (15*), Rahm (13*)
More debate on the 5th. Rahm and his caddie decide not to rush and mark his ball.
It does look very dark as Matt Fitzpatrick finds the green at his penultimate hole, the 8th. He marks it and will open tomorrow with an 11 foot birdie putt.
The hooter goes and players can opt to finish the hole they are on. Clark is on the par-3 7th and has found sand. Jon Rahm has teed off on the par-5 5th and found the hay. On TV, David Howell and Laura Davies are bickering amiably about whether they'd complete a hole or walk in. Clark plays his bunker shot and leaves it 3 feet from the pin. He wants to complete the hole. His playing partners are marking their putts ready to return in the morning. Clark holes for a par and that's the day finished for him.
The round won't finish today – maybe one more hole? Wyndham Clark looks set to grab the first round lead early tomorrow, though. It would be the fifth solo lead of his PGA Tour career and his record in such circumstances is oddly poor. He eventually finished: T34 in the 2020 Phoenix Open, T7 in the 2022 Canadian Open, T16 in the 2025 Phoenix Open and T22 in the 2025 Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Wyndham Clark not only saves par at 15, he very nearly holed his pitch for birdie. Dustin Johnson's run has ended, however. He can't save par from sand – and he then three putts woefully from 4 feet. A double bogey out of nowhere.
Clark now leads by three shots and Matt Fitzpatrick is solo second. But the Englishman has his feet in a bunker and the ball is out of it at knee height. His awkward poke at the ball leaves him with a 12 foot par putt which he can't make.
Suddenly Clark leads by four!
Max McGreevy has joined Sam Stevens and Ryder Cowan in the clubhouse on -2. Four birdies and two bogeys for the 31-year-old Oklahoma-born player who has won in Japan but not on the PGA Tour.
Ryder Cowan completes a round of 68. It's the joint lowest score ever recorded by an amateur at Shinnecock Hills in the US Open. It was also a fine effort after he slipped up midway through the day. He joins Sam Stevens as the clubhouse leader on -2.
Daylight update: the action will probably continue for another 20 minutes. Wyndham Clark will want to eke out every hole he can because he's in the zone and the conditions are possibly as good as they will be all week.
His approach at 6 needs to be played into the setting sun, and it leaks right and long. A tricky par save coming up.
Many hours ago, Rory McIlroy was -3 and it was easy to believe that if he could par his way in he'd lead by the end of the day. It wasn't to be, however. He missed the green on those final two holes and made bogey both times. It was still deemed a decent start. Clark is changing the storyline.
Wyndham Clark makes his eagle putt. But Dustin Johnson cannot complete an up-and-down for birdie. We have a solo leader and he is flying. How low can he go?
-6: Clark (14*)
-4: Johnson (14*)
-3: M. Fitzpatrick (14*)
-2: Stevens (F*), McGreevy (17), DeChambeau (14*), Woodland (14*), Rahm (10*)
Oh my word. At the par-5 5th the field is struggling to hit the green – and then Wyndham Clark takes dead aim at the flag. His 197-yard approach has left him 3 feet for an eagle-3.
You might say that he is smashing it. 12 months ago, of course, he was caught smashing something else. Namely, the lockers at Oakmont – old wooden ones, beloved by the members. It was a chastening moment and this is some way to improve his reputation.
The Matt Fitzpatrick fightback continues. He opened with two bogeys in his opening three holes, but back-to-back par breakers at 16 and 17 righted the ship. His 74 foot eagle putt at 5 comes up 15 feet short, but he drains it for birdie – a third on the front nine. He's now -3.
Can Bryson DeChambeau follow him in for birdie? He only has 5 feet and he makes it. He's now -2.
Big opportunity coming up for Bryson DeChambeau. He's made a terrible mess of this year's major championships, missing the weekend in both, but he always had too much quality and pride to let that situation fester. And he's a pure boom or bust merchant: his last 10 majors have reaped seven top 10s – and three missed cuts.
He's currently -1 through 13 holes and is playing the front nine. At the 597-yard 5th his drive went 381 yards and he has 207 yards to the pin. The approach looked good, but it catches a swale and is swept off the back of the putting surface. He's a funny sausage, twitching away as he hangs over the shot – and then that inelegant but so powerful swipe at the ball.
The Wyndham Clark-Dustin Johnson group is on fire. Clark drains a birdie from 23 feet, Dustin Johnson follows him in from half that distance, and the third man, Gary Woodland, gets to -1 with his own par breaker. Clark and Johnson are now -4 for the week and two strokes clear. They're stealing a march on the morning starters.
Further to Dustin Johnson's major championship woes – TV's Nick Dougherty says that DJ hasn't opened a major with an under-par round for three years.
There's an odd dynamic outside the ropes. In places, there are pockets of spectators in evidence. At other times, it feels quiet. And then, occasionally, there is nothing but the loud voice of someone pickled in hospitality.
Dustin Johnson has good and bad memories of Shinnecock Hills. He was the four-shot halfway leader in 2018, but faded to third at the weekend. In recent times, he's gone 11 major championship starts since his last top 20.
-3: Johnson (12*), Clark (12*)
-2: Stevens (F), Conners (13), M. Fitzpatrick (13*), Rahm (10*)
The 3rd hole is 497 yards. Dustin Johnson thrashed a 400-yard drive, flipped a wedge close and tapped in for a third consecutive birdie. Playing partner Wyndham Clark did the same thing, give or take 7 yards on the drive, for a bounce-back birdie. They now lead the championship on -3.
The steady Canadian Corey Conners makes it a six-way tie at the top on -2. Laura Davies on TV predicts the next hour and a half will be full of birdies. It has the feel of a late Thursday or Friday at the Open, when the wind drops and moves are made.
It's a very unusual leaderboard, but two things seem clear. Firstly, 14 of the top 20 are afternoon starters (and conditions might be easing so there appears to have been a draw bias). And secondly, 15 of the top 20, including all five leaders, started on the 10th tee.
-2: Stevens (F), M. Fitzpatrick (12*), Johnson (11*), Clark (11*), Rahm (9*)
15 players on -1
Dustin Johnson is defying his recent major championship record. He played the back nine first and in level-par 35. Back-to-back birdies to start the front nine have him in a five-way share of the lead because Wyndham Clark has been tripped up by the 2nd, and Matt Fitzpatrick, playing the course the same way, has opened the front nine birdie-par-birdie to join them, Jon Rahm and the clubhouse leader Sam Stevens.
“Be right,†says Jon Rahm as he eyes up his third shot to the par-4 18th. He does that classic golfer's thing – the head still, the pose held, the eyes darting up and down. And it's not for show. The ball lands past the pin and spins back towards it like a tidy lag putt. He'll have 4 feet to save his par.
Jon Rahm is on 18 (his 9th). He has missed the fairway and also missed the five yards of first cut. He's about two feet in the hay, and it is thick. It took the hangers on until he reached them to even find the ball, and it needs all of his strength to scuttle it down the fairway.
After his round, Rory McIlroy spoke about his experience at Shinnecock Hills in 2018. He missed the cut that week, a third US Open missed cut in a row. “I needed to change my mindset,†he said today. “I got to the Travelers Championship the next week and I felt much more in my comfort zone. I remember thinking to myself, I've got this backwards – I should be in my comfort zone at Shinnecock and not here. I remember flying back from Dubai at the end of 2018, and deciding to keep a journal. I wrote in it that, from 2019, I'm going to build my game to compete at the major championships and excel at the toughest tests that we have.â€
His US Open results since then? 9-8-7-5-2-2-19.
We might have two more hours of action, by the way. The threat of high wind seems to have been averted so it's all about the quality of daylight. State of play:
-3: Clark (9*)
-2: Stevens (F), Rahm (8*)
16 players on -1
Xander Schauffele has gone from hay to hay to rough at the 9th. His tee shot found fescue, and so did his second. His third, from a horribly clinging lie, produced something of a yelp and even a giggle from the two-time major champion. “Please stay in the rough,†he asked rather plaintively. It does and he pops the ball up in the air to 5 feet. An agricultural long game, but it worked. The putt misses, though, and he drops back to level-par.
Jon Rahm makes birdie from 62 feet at 17. He had to wait because of some merry cheers from the hospitality units, but he stayed calm and rolled the double breaker into the centre of the cup. He's -2 and looks focussed, calm – and menacing for the field.
The Australian Jason Day has had to withdraw. He made a practice swing on the 1st tee and felt his back go. It's a long-standing issue for him, forever flaring up. He looked tender as he was taken away on a buggy. Hopefully, the driver takes the bumps carefully.
Wyndham Clark has pounced. He drains a 21-foot birdie putt in 18 to turn in -3 and grab the solo lead. His form is undoubtedly superb with his last three results reading: winner of The CJ Cup, one shot outside a play off in the Memorial and T11 in the Canadian Open (when T3 with 18 holes to play). He was also, of course, the US Open champion at LA Country Club three years ago.
Ryder Cowan got that ruling in a greenside bunker and he couldn't save par. He's now back to -1 and we have only two men on -2. It does remain tight, however. There are 13 players on -1. And no less than 38 within two shots of the lead.
DP World Tour referee Mats Lanner gives Ryder Cowan a ruling on 4. For many of a certain vintage, Lanner and his Swedish compatriots Ove Sellberg and Anders Forsbrand were thrillingly exotic. That was the 1980s – the glory days of the then-European Tour.
The Dane Niklas Nørgaard is ticking along nicely. He's -1 through 13 holes and has just missed a 7 foot putt to get to -2. He won the 2024 British Masters at The Belfry. That result helped him win a PGA Tour card but he lost it last year – and he doesn't have one top 20 finish in his last 15 starts.
He seems a nice fellow. I asked him for a brief chat at Wentworth in 2024 and his manager said no on his behalf. When the manager turned away, Nørgaard came up to me, shrugged in his manager's direction and happily chatted away for 10 minutes.
You may wish to look away now. Billy Horschel opened with back-to-back birdies. After a par at 3, he added a bogey at 4. No bother, that happens. Especially in a US Open. But his experience on the 5th will hurt. Really, really hurt. His drive landed in scrubland. His second shot found the fairway and his third was also on the fairway, just 36 yards from the hole. But he didn't find the green with his fourth shot. Or his fifth. His sixth did the job. And then he two-putted. A triple bogey-8. Ouch.
At the other end of the leaderboard, Repetto Taylor's compatriot John Rahm has made a bold start. But he misses a 7 foot birdie look at 15 and remains -1. He already looks a danger for the field and he was, remember, second in the PGA Championship last month.
Yikes. Spain's Rocco Repeto Taylor is +10 through 12 holes. He's made five pars, but his four bogeys and three double bogeys have mounted up. It's a tough gig for a fellow who has just one top 10 on the DP World Tour. Let's hope he can summon some Rocco Mediate vibes – the man who, remember, pushed Tiger Woods to an 18-hole play-off in 2008.
Matt Fitzpatrick coaxes his birdie putt at 17 into the hole. He's now back to level-par after a couple of early hiccups.
Reality strikes for Ryder Cowan. He can only scratch a bogey onto his card at the 251-yard par-3 2nd. It's his 11th and he falls back into a share of the lead on -2.
-2: Stevens (F), Cowan (11*), Clark (6*), Schauffele (6)
Four players on -1
The Bristolian twang of Matt Fitzpatrick's caddie Dan Parratt is caught by TV. The pair are discussing the tee shot at the 185-yard 17th and, as a Bristolian might say, “She's a good club.†Fitzpatrick has 14 feet for birdie. He's +1 after making a birdie at the par-5 16th.
The USGA has a history of being playful with the first and second round groups – and they're at it again this year. They've put the Frenchmen Adrien Saddier and Ugo Coussaud with the American Jackson Van Paris. That's a fun group. 12 years ago another three-ball – Kevin Stadler (USA), Brendon De Jonge (Zimbabwe) and Shane Lowry – fell flat. They were nicknamed ‘The Heavyweights' by Stadler's caddie. “When I saw it, I was pretty annoyed,†said Lowry. “I think it's very cheeky of the USGA to do what they've done. I don't think it's fair to the three of us. It's a mockery, to be honest.†Stadler called it “a little mean and insensitiveâ€.
The “French†group are playing well. They played the back nine first, with Saddier and Van Paris completing it in level-par and Coussaud +1. Tres bien.
Here's Scottie Scheffler on his +2 start earlier today: “It was a really challenging day. If you told me when I was staring at my (6 foot) par putt on 9 that I would post 2-over today, I would definitely have taken it at the time. Overall, it was a good battle. Get some rest, and we'll see how the course changes over the next day.â€
Ryder Cowan very nearly extends his advantage at the 1st (which is his 10th). He had 49 foot 5 inch putt to the cup, it travelled 49 feet 8 inches, and it finished 1 inch away. Nice par, though. Terrific start for the amateur.
Wyndham Clark knocks in a 14 foot par putt at 15 to stay at -2. The American changed his putter a month ago. He immediately felt able to take advantage of the good form he had been showing with his long game and promptly won The CJ Cup.
Justin Rose, of course, is a past champion of the US Open (in 2013). But he's struggled with the USGA-set test in recent years, missing the cut in five of the last six editions.
Alas, Matt Fitzpatrick's birdie putt slips by. Fellow Englishman Justin Rose, however, drains a 29 foot birdie putt at 13 to atone for a bogey at 10, his first hole of the day.
Sometimes the biggest threat in golf is not putting, but putting your foot in your mouth. Matt Fitzpatrick was alive to it ahead of the Masters, saying that the ideal mindset is high confidence and low expectation. Well, he was alive enough to say that – and then he talked of fancying his chances. Wack, wack, oops. This week, he told the press: “I don't particularly like playing birdie-fests.†He's now +2 through five, but he has an 11 foot birdie opportunity coming up at 15.
Thanks Dave. I've just noticed that Justin Thomas has opened with three bogeys in his first four holes. The Kentucky man has a terrible recent record in his national championship, missing the cut in his last three starts, carding 73-81, 77-74 and 76-76.
He's got a fight on his hands to avoid making it four missed weekends in a row.
With an amateur leading the 126th US Open, I'll make way for Matt Cooper to guide you home. Can Ryder Cowan keep it going or will the raft of major champions bubbling under just beneath him show their class as the afternoon goes on?
Amateur star Ryder Cowan now leads on his own at -3. The 21-year-old hails from windy Oklahoma so perhaps that explains his surprise position at the top of the leaderboard. He's reached -3 after compiling red circles at 12, 14 and 17.
Back at 12, Jon Rahm drains a 25-footer to move to -1. Also on that number is links-loving Scotsman Robert MacIntyre after chipping in from off the green at 3. Could he go one better after finishing runner-up at Oakmont 12 months ago?
LIV's other big superstar, Bryson DeChambeau, has had a curious year in the majors, missing the cut in both The Masters and PGA. But in his previous eight he'd pieced together a win, two seconds, a fifth, a sixth and a 10th so surely we've been in blip territory so far in 2026. It seems that way as here at Shinnecock he's now stalking a 12-foot putt to take the lead. The arms stiffen and point down in that unique putting style of his but the stroke lacks sufficient pace and it's only a par. Still, Bryson is a wounded animal in the majors and is definitely a dangerman in the one that's given him the most success.
