Going into Thursday’s opening round of the 126th U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, all the talk was about the expected high winds that were going to whip through the eastern end of Long Island.
Then Mother Nature threw in a curveball.
Yes, the conditions were quite blustery on the classic William Flynn design hosting its sixth U.S. Open and fifth in the last 40 years. But when thick morning fog rolled in shortly after the opening tee shots, reducing visibility to the point that playing championship golf was impossible, the horns blew. The suspension, which began at 7:05 a.m. EDT, pushed everything back two hours.
Wyndham Clark, the 2023 champion, was the day's standout performer. Through 15 holes, he sat at 6-under par — including an eagle on the par-5 fifth — before darkness suspended play. If he pars his final three holes, it would be the second-lowest round in Shinnecock history, behind Tommy Fleetwood's final-round 63 in 2018.
Eight players finished Round 1 under par, with 17 total in the red when play was suspended due to darkness at 8:35 p.m. Among the notable scores: Rory McIlroy (69) made an eagle and two late bogeys in a rollercoaster round, while Dustin Johnson made four straight birdies before a double bogey left him at 2 under with a hole to finish. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, seeking the career Grand Slam, struggled to a 2-over 72.
Three players with Oklahoma ties each carded 68s: Sam Stevens (Oklahoma State), Max McGreevy (University of Oklahoma) and current Sooner amateur Ryder Cowan, whose score matched the best ever by an amateur at Shinnecock. Two-time champion Bryson DeChambeau was also at 1 under through 16 holes.
Fifty players will return Friday morning to complete their first rounds, with all second-round tee times pushed back 15 minutes. While winds are expected to ease slightly, history suggests the course won't get much easier — only three players have ever finished under par for 72 holes across the venue's five previous U.S. Opens.
WHAT'S NEXT
Round 1 will resume with 50 players on the course at 6:35 a.m. on Friday. Round 2 starting times have been pushed back 15 minutes. The Top 60 golfers (and ties) will advance to Saturday's third round.
NOTABLE
- The only players to lead a U.S. Open by 4+ strokes at the conclusion of the first round are Olin Dutra (4 shots in 1932) and Tommy Armour (5 shots in 1933). Neither player went on to win, finishing T-4 and T-7, respectively.
The last player to lead any major championship by 4+ shots at the conclusion of the first round was Justin Rose at the 2021 Masters. He ended up in seventh place. In fact, 10 players in history have led a major by at least 4 shots at the end of the first round --- only two went on to win (Craig Wood at the 1941 Masters and James Barnes at the 1925 Open Championship).
- The average score in the early wave of players was 73.87, while the late wave players were averaging more than a stroke less, at 72.67, when play concluded Thursday evening.
Twenty-four of the last 27 U.S. Open champions were either leading or were within four shots of the lead at the conclusion of Round 1. Each of the last five champions were either leading or were within two shots of the leader at the end of Round 1.
James Nicholas, a Korn Ferry Tour member from Scarsdale, N.Y., had the honor of hitting the opening tee shot. Nicholas is a Yale University alum who briefly played football at the Ivy League school before focusing on golf. Nicholas is also credited with the first birdie of the championship, which came from 49 feet on the third hole.
Jon Rahm has a chance to post the first bogey-free round at Shinnecock since the 2004 U.S. Open. He currently has two birdies and 11 pars. He is facing a 72-yard third shot on the par-5 fifth hole.
Keith Mitchell became the seventh player in U.S. Open history to shoot a 29 for nine holes, and the second to achieve it at Shinnecock Hills (Neal Lancaster on the second nine in 1995). What’s remarkable is that Mitchell, who started on No. 10, opened with a 6-over 41 on the back nine, then turned around and shot 29 with four birdies and an eagle 3 on the par-5 fifth. He closed his round with a 9-footer at the 9th hole. He’s also the first player in championship history to play nine holes in the 20s and nine holes in the 40s during the same round.
There were no bogey-free rounds in the morning wave with Ben James, a member of two victorious USA Walker Cup Teams (2023, 2025), going the longest without a blemish (15 holes). In the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, not a single bogey-free round was registered. James, a Connecticut native, turned professional last week after starring at the University of Virginia for the past four years.
Professional Jackson Suber is the lone Ole Miss Rebel in this week’s field. Among those supporting from the gallery on Thursday was former Mississippi guard Sean Tuohy, who is better known for his role in the Blind Side (movie and book). Sean (played by Tim McGraw in the movie) and Leanne (played by Sandra Bullock) “adopted” Michael Oher, a football player who went on to play at Ole Miss and eventually in the NFL with the Baltimore Ravens.
Viktor Hovland wore a black ribbon on his golf hat on Thursday to honor the recent passing of Norwegian National Team coach Hans Åberg, who had played a prominent role in the country’s development of elite players since 2019.
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