RORY MCILROY’S FIRST eagle at a US Open in nine years helped him to an under-par start, but Wyndham Clark surged to a four-stroke lead when darkness halted the first round at blustery Shinnecock Hills.
The 32-year-old American started on the back nine and answered a bogey at the par-three second hole with back-to-back birdies and a three-foot eagle putt at the par-five fifth to reach six-under par.
Clark, a former US Open champion who says he’s seeking redemption for smashing a locker at Oakmont after missing the cut at last year’s championship, parred six and seven before play was halted.
Not since 1933 has a player led the US Open by four strokes after 18 holes, which Clark can achieve when he concludes the round on the eighth and ninth holes on Friday morning.
Sharing second on two-under par 68 in the clubhouse were amateur Ryder Cowan and fellow Americans Sam Stevens and Max McGreevy.
Four major winners were still on the course at two-under – Spain’s Jon Rahm after 13 holes, Americans Dustin Johnson and Gary Woodland after 15 holes, and England’s Matt Fitzpatrick after 16 holes.
Among those five strokes back sharing ninth in the clubhouse on 69 was six-time major winner McIlroy.
Shane Lowry, a late starter on a fog-delayed first day, began brightly with a 22-foot birdie putt at the 10th, but soon missed a short opportunity to tie the lead.
His challenge was rocked when finding the fescue on No.16, his seventh hole, before missing a two-footer to complete a double bogey. Added to bogeys on 13, 2, and 3, he will resume on four over after finishing 14 holes.
McIlroy’s highlight was a 396-yard drive and pitching wedge to 11 feet to demolish the 597-yard fifth hole, playing downwind, which made him the first player to get to three under in testing conditions.
The last time he had carded a three on a par-five was at Erin Hills in 2017, but the omens were not good on that occasion as he went on to miss the cut, although that prospect looked less likely here.
However, he could not maintain his position and a sloppy finish saw him card back-to-back bogeys. At the time he holed his last putt, just 12 players were under par and McIlroy was one off the lead.
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McIlroy was paired with Ryder Cup colleagues Tommy Fleetwood and Ludvig Aberg, and that team dynamic seemed to make a difference.
Aberg, who was two under through 12 holes, also finished one under with Fleetwood’s four birdies cancelled out by a quartet of bogeys for a level-par 70.
Masters champion McIlroy, seeking his first US Open title since he opened his major account in 2011, had a brilliant start with two birdies in his first three holes after starting on the back nine.
He holed a 10-foot putt at the short but perilous 11th, and then followed that up from a bit further out at the par-five next.
However, he bogeyed the 13th after missing the green and dropped another shot after having to hack out the rough at the 620-yard 16th and not being able to reach the green in three, even with his power.
He hit his approach to three feet at the third to get back to one under, and produced a brilliant up and down for par at the next after flaying his approach right and seeing it take a huge bounce off the road.
Then, McIlroy’s superior power came to the fore at the long fifth but his approach play let him down late on.
The forecasted 36mph wind gusts didn’t quite materialise but the 23mph steady breeze continued to make things difficult after play had been suspended for two hours just 30 minutes in due to poor visibility from early-morning fog.
Players were recalled having initially been held for 30 minutes out on the course, and play finally resumed at 9.05am local time, meaning later starters faced having to complete their rounds on Friday morning.
Former US Open champion Graeme McDowell briefly shared the early lead. The 46-year-old rolled in a 24-foot birdie putt at the 10th and sank a birdie putt at the par-three 11th from just inside nine feet.
But he took a bogey at 13 after needing two shots to escape the left rough, found more difficulty on 16 for another, and his putting cost him for three consecutive bogeys around the turn to slip to three over. Three more saw him close with a six-over 76.
Three-time major winner Pádraig Harrington, the oldest player at 54, described the delay as “a little awkward because you’re up so early and I just want to go back to bed”.
“The wind has tamped down. We would actually love to play even if I couldn’t see where the ball is going. We just want to get out there. Everybody is anxious to get going and see what happens.”
Once it got going, the Dubliner suffered with seven bogeys in his first 11 holes before stabilising for a 77, one shot worse than McDowell.
A field of 156 are chasing a record top prize of $4.5 million (€3.9m) from a record $22.5 million (€19.6m) purse.
The pace was slow, with the strong breeze causing players to take their time over shots which often meant those behind faced long waits to play.
The wind picked up to help clear the fog and provide players with a major challenge over the 7,440-yard (6,800m) Long Island layout, where organizers kept green speeds below maximum and planned to water greens between waves to help the balls stay on the putting surfaces amid the gusting breezes.
Brutal winds and high green speeds had groundskeepers watering greens between groups at the 2004 and 2018 US Opens at Shinnecock in a bid to keep the course playable, with many complaining that organizers had “lost the course.”
Thick fog at the US Open. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
- Scott’s run hits 100 -
Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler, a two-time Masters winner, captured last year’s British Open and PGA Championship to give himself a first chance at the career Slam at Shinnecock on Sunday, his 30th birthday. He opened with a two-over 72.
Australian Adam Scott, the 2013 Masters winner, made his 100th consecutive major start in the group just ahead of Scheffler’s trio, posting a 73.
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McIlroy under par, but Clark in command at darkness-halted US Open
LAST UPDATE | 19 Jun
RORY MCILROY’S FIRST eagle at a US Open in nine years helped him to an under-par start, but Wyndham Clark surged to a four-stroke lead when darkness halted the first round at blustery Shinnecock Hills.
The 32-year-old American started on the back nine and answered a bogey at the par-three second hole with back-to-back birdies and a three-foot eagle putt at the par-five fifth to reach six-under par.
Clark, a former US Open champion who says he’s seeking redemption for smashing a locker at Oakmont after missing the cut at last year’s championship, parred six and seven before play was halted.
Not since 1933 has a player led the US Open by four strokes after 18 holes, which Clark can achieve when he concludes the round on the eighth and ninth holes on Friday morning.
Sharing second on two-under par 68 in the clubhouse were amateur Ryder Cowan and fellow Americans Sam Stevens and Max McGreevy.
Four major winners were still on the course at two-under – Spain’s Jon Rahm after 13 holes, Americans Dustin Johnson and Gary Woodland after 15 holes, and England’s Matt Fitzpatrick after 16 holes.
Among those five strokes back sharing ninth in the clubhouse on 69 was six-time major winner McIlroy.
Shane Lowry, a late starter on a fog-delayed first day, began brightly with a 22-foot birdie putt at the 10th, but soon missed a short opportunity to tie the lead.
His challenge was rocked when finding the fescue on No.16, his seventh hole, before missing a two-footer to complete a double bogey. Added to bogeys on 13, 2, and 3, he will resume on four over after finishing 14 holes.
McIlroy’s highlight was a 396-yard drive and pitching wedge to 11 feet to demolish the 597-yard fifth hole, playing downwind, which made him the first player to get to three under in testing conditions.
The last time he had carded a three on a par-five was at Erin Hills in 2017, but the omens were not good on that occasion as he went on to miss the cut, although that prospect looked less likely here.
However, he could not maintain his position and a sloppy finish saw him card back-to-back bogeys. At the time he holed his last putt, just 12 players were under par and McIlroy was one off the lead.
McIlroy was paired with Ryder Cup colleagues Tommy Fleetwood and Ludvig Aberg, and that team dynamic seemed to make a difference.
Aberg, who was two under through 12 holes, also finished one under with Fleetwood’s four birdies cancelled out by a quartet of bogeys for a level-par 70.
Masters champion McIlroy, seeking his first US Open title since he opened his major account in 2011, had a brilliant start with two birdies in his first three holes after starting on the back nine.
He holed a 10-foot putt at the short but perilous 11th, and then followed that up from a bit further out at the par-five next.
However, he bogeyed the 13th after missing the green and dropped another shot after having to hack out the rough at the 620-yard 16th and not being able to reach the green in three, even with his power.
He hit his approach to three feet at the third to get back to one under, and produced a brilliant up and down for par at the next after flaying his approach right and seeing it take a huge bounce off the road.
Then, McIlroy’s superior power came to the fore at the long fifth but his approach play let him down late on.
The forecasted 36mph wind gusts didn’t quite materialise but the 23mph steady breeze continued to make things difficult after play had been suspended for two hours just 30 minutes in due to poor visibility from early-morning fog.
Players were recalled having initially been held for 30 minutes out on the course, and play finally resumed at 9.05am local time, meaning later starters faced having to complete their rounds on Friday morning.
Former US Open champion Graeme McDowell briefly shared the early lead. The 46-year-old rolled in a 24-foot birdie putt at the 10th and sank a birdie putt at the par-three 11th from just inside nine feet.
But he took a bogey at 13 after needing two shots to escape the left rough, found more difficulty on 16 for another, and his putting cost him for three consecutive bogeys around the turn to slip to three over. Three more saw him close with a six-over 76.
Three-time major winner Pádraig Harrington, the oldest player at 54, described the delay as “a little awkward because you’re up so early and I just want to go back to bed”.
“The wind has tamped down. We would actually love to play even if I couldn’t see where the ball is going. We just want to get out there. Everybody is anxious to get going and see what happens.”
Once it got going, the Dubliner suffered with seven bogeys in his first 11 holes before stabilising for a 77, one shot worse than McDowell.
A field of 156 are chasing a record top prize of $4.5 million (€3.9m) from a record $22.5 million (€19.6m) purse.
The pace was slow, with the strong breeze causing players to take their time over shots which often meant those behind faced long waits to play.
The wind picked up to help clear the fog and provide players with a major challenge over the 7,440-yard (6,800m) Long Island layout, where organizers kept green speeds below maximum and planned to water greens between waves to help the balls stay on the putting surfaces amid the gusting breezes.
Brutal winds and high green speeds had groundskeepers watering greens between groups at the 2004 and 2018 US Opens at Shinnecock in a bid to keep the course playable, with many complaining that organizers had “lost the course.”
- Scott’s run hits 100 -
Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler, a two-time Masters winner, captured last year’s British Open and PGA Championship to give himself a first chance at the career Slam at Shinnecock on Sunday, his 30th birthday. He opened with a two-over 72.
Australian Adam Scott, the 2013 Masters winner, made his 100th consecutive major start in the group just ahead of Scheffler’s trio, posting a 73.
- Additional reporting by Press Association.
– © AFP 2026
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