{"id":3065,"date":"2026-06-19T07:33:58","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T07:33:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3065"},"modified":"2026-06-19T07:33:58","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T07:33:58","slug":"wyndham-clark-seizes-on-changing-nature-of-shinnecock-to-lead-us-open-after-windy-first-round","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3065","title":{"rendered":"Wyndham Clark seizes on changing nature of Shinnecock to lead US Open after windy first round"},"content":{"rendered":"
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SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. \u2014 Whatever dread Wyndham Clark felt when he saw the tee times and the forecast for the US Open gave way to hope Thursday, and he still hadn\u2019t even arrived at Shinnecock Hills.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Pingree and Charles will compete for Maine governor and Dunlap gets Democratic nod for US House<\/a><\/p>\n

Morning fog led to a two-hour delay, and Clark had a feeling his late afternoon start would be an advantage as the wind began to subside with the setting sun. Good golf was still required, and Clark displayed every bit of that before he was stopped only by darkness.<\/span><\/p>\n

By then, the former US Open champion rode a birdie-birdie-eagle stretch to 6-under par through 16 holes and a four-shot lead.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cEverything was kind of clicking,\u201d said Clark, who came into the US Open playing as well as anyone. \u201cWe were definitely fortunate with the wind laying down. Overall a good round.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

The USGA set up a different golf course at Shinnecock Hills \u2014 slower, more receptive greens and reasonable pin positions \u2014 to keep it playable in strong wind. But when the wind subsided late in the day, Clark looked like he was playing in a different US Open.<\/span><\/p>\n

No one ever has gone lower than 66 in an opening round at Shinnecock Hills. Clark can go two shots lower if he can finish with two pars when he and 49 other players return Friday morning.<\/span><\/p>\n

He led by four over seven players, one of them Oklahoma junior Ryder Cowan, another one the surprisingly resurgent Dustin Johnson. Four of them were former US Open champions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rory McIlroy thought he had made a fine effort with a 69 in gusts that topped 30 mph in the middle of the day, when the scoring average was well above 74. The afternoon started tough until the wind kept subsiding, and players began taking aim at flags. The afternoon wave was playing at least a stroke easier than the early starters who faced relentless wind.<\/span><\/p>\n

Shinnecock was still a brute of a test, but the red numbers on the white scoreboard was an unfamiliar site for this course. When play was suspended by darkness, 17 players were under par.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cowan birdied his last hole for a 68 to join former Sooner Max McGreevy and former Oklahoma State player Sam Stevens of those who finished the round. Stevens was the only one of that trio who faced the harsh wind of the morning wave.<\/span><\/p>\n

Johnson, in his final year of being exempt from the U.S. Open he won at Oakmont in 2016, ran off four straight birdies and was tied with Clark after 13 holes. But Johnson failed to get up-and-down for birdie on the easy par-5 fifth, where Clark made eagle. And then Johnson three-putted from short range for double bogey on the sixth to fall four shots behind.<\/span><\/p>\n

Scottie Scheffler, who needs the US Open to complete the career Grand Slam, battled all day and relied heavily on his short game to salvage a 72. It was his 10th consecutive US Open round without breaking par, but at the time it left him only four shots out of the lead.<\/span><\/p>\n

Clark, who won the U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club three years ago, changed the look of the leaderboard with his late flourish. He was to return Friday morning to complete the round, then head out for the second round in wind expected to be not as strong as the full blast from Thursday.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI would say when I got my tee times on Tuesday, I was like, \u2018Oh, could be a tough draw,\u2019\u201d Clark said. \u201cThat two-hour fog delay was very helpful, and it was really nice it laid down. So it definitely helped those last six, seven holes we played.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Morocco has a plan \u2018to play the final,\u2019 but first has to overcome Scotland\u2019s physicality<\/a><\/p>\n

His golf wasn\u2019t too shabby, either. Clark started on No. 10 and opened with two quick birdies. He went out in 32 to get his name atop the leaderboard. And after missing an 8-foot birdie putt on No. 1 and failing to save par from a bunker on the long par-3 second, he took off.<\/span><\/p>\n

He hit wedge to 5 feet on No. 3 for birdie, made a 20-foot birdie putt on the next and then from 207 yards with some wind at his back, he hit his second on the par-5 fifth to 3 feet for eagle.<\/span><\/p>\n

When Johnson faltered, Clark had plenty of breathing room \u2014 and a quick turnaround.<\/span><\/p>\n

The wind was so strong and the conditions so severe that it took Scheffler\u2019s group nearly three hours to complete nine holes. There was a question the round could have finished even without the fog delay.<\/span><\/p>\n

Johnson was joined by three other US Open champions \u2014 Matt Fitzpatrick (2022), Gary Woodland (2019) and Jon Rahm (2021) \u2014 at 2 under, with all still having holes to play.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rahm, who had a chance in the final hour at the PGA Championship, was bogey-free and reached 2 under by making a 60-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th hole.<\/span><\/p>\n

Stevens overcame a double bogey to start his round \u2014 a hole that took him over two hours to play because of the fog \u2014 and strung together six birdies for his 68.<\/span><\/p>\n

Related: <\/span><\/span>Yan Liu of China shoots 66 in chilly and windy conditions to take LPGA Tour lead<\/div>\n

\u201cThe greens haven\u2019t been too firm, the fairways haven\u2019t been too firm, so I\u2019ve really felt like it\u2019s pretty scorable,\u201d said Stevens, who had only his second sub-70 round in his fourth U.S. Open. \u201cObviously, it\u2019s difficult, but overall it\u2019s an awesome place. I think the setup is great right now.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

For half of the opening round, the USGA appeared to have the ideal test. Coming off two Opens at Shinnecock when the course got out of control, it slowed greens to 10\u00bd on the Stimpmeter \u2014 rare for any major, much less the US Open \u2014 and keep plenty of water on the putting surfaces.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was all due to the wind, which did not disappoint. The sustained wind approached 25 mph, and gusts were even stronger. And if that wasn\u2019t enough, it shifted directions in the middle of the day.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was tough around here without wind, and then it was blowing pretty hard \u2014 really hard,\u201d Keegan Bradley said after a 70. \u201cThe USGA did a great job setting the course up because if the greens were any faster or firmer, we might not be playing right now.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But they played, it became more ideal with each passing hour late in the afternoon.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Letting Patrice Bergeron know his No. 37 is being retired was a team effort by the Bruins<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Clark was 6-under par through 16 holes and carries a four-shot lead into Friday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3064,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3065","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport"],"yoast_head":"\nWyndham Clark seizes on changing nature of Shinnecock to lead US Open after windy first round - Boston Relocation Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3065\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Wyndham Clark seizes on changing nature of Shinnecock to lead US Open after windy first round - 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