Wyndham Clark shot 6-under par for 16 holes to lead in the suspended first round of the U.S. Open on Thursday at Southampton, N.Y.
Clark, the tournament’s 2023 champion, is up by four strokes at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, where play was halted because of darkness. Earlier, the competition was off schedule following a morning suspension of play.
Sam Stevens, Max McGreevy and amateur Ryder Cowan finished 2-under 68s, while Dustin Johnson, Gary Woodland, England’s Matt Fitzpatrick and Spain’s Jon Rahm all are at 2 under with holes to play to complete the opening round.
Clark went birdie-birdie-eagle across a three-hole stretch after making the turn. He began on the backside.
Cowan was a major storyline for much of the day. The 21-year-old from Edmond, Okla., held the late-afternoon lead and made it through 10 holes before his first bogey. He completed his junior year for the University of Oklahoma this spring.
Johnson was a co-leader in the early evening, but a double-bogey on his 15th hole of the day (No. 6) sent him tumbling down the leaderboard.
Stevens shot 68 to hold the lead among golfers in the round’s early wave. Two-time reigning Masters champion Rory McIlroy was in first place for a portion of the afternoon before bogeys on the final two holes.
Stevens began the round with a double-bogey on the 10th hole but recovered and had a seven-hole stretch bridging the backside and frontside at 4 under.
McIlroy, who’s from Northern Ireland, began on the backside and then got rolling on the frontside, boosted by an eagle on the par-5 fifth hole. He fell back with bogeys on Nos. 8 and 9, the latter coming after a greenside chip left a par putt that he was unable to convert.
McIlroy won the 2011 U.S. Open at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md.
Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg, who was in McIlroy’s playing group, shot 69. Aberg was without a birdie for the final eight holes.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler shot 72, dinged by a double-bogey on No. 8. Also, Australia’s Adam Scott shot 73 as he began his 100th consecutive major.
Sam Burns, who was a contender in recent weeks on the PGA Tour, posted birdies on two of the first four holes. He ended up at 71 for the day. Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell birdied the first two holes and didn’t maintain that, finishing at 76.
With only 18 golfers beginning their rounds, play was suspended because of fog and winds. At that point, there had been seven bogeys and no birdies recorded.
With adjustments, some golfers in the afternoon wave were slated to tee off as late as 4:42 p.m., so that made finishing the first round unlikely.
–Field Level Media
