Wyndham Clark builds four-shot lead before U.S. Open is suspended

Wyndham Clark carried a four-shot lead into Friday morning after play was suspended at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, where darkness halted the opening round at 8:25 p.m. ET. Clark was 6 under through 16 holes and still had two holes left to finish before returning for the second round at the 126th U.S. Open in Southampton, New York.

The pause mattered almost as much as the leaderboard. Heavy fog had already forced an earlier two-hour stoppage, and strong wind shaped the day before the USGA tried to soften Shinnecock’s bite with a different course setup, including wider fairways and more conservative conditions. By late afternoon, as the wind eased, scoring opened up and Clark built a cushion that did not exist when the day began.

That left the chase pack trying to make sense of a course that played in waves. Rory McIlroy opened with a one-under 69, while Scottie Scheffler signed for a 72 as he continued his pursuit of the career Grand Slam. McIlroy came in already having completed the Grand Slam with his Masters victory earlier in 2025, and Scheffler remained in the hunt for the same career milestone.

Clark’s position still comes with a warning label. Shinnecock Hills has a history of turning U.S. Opens into survival tests, and the last time the championship was held there, in 2018, Brooks Koepka won and no player finished under par for the week. That memory hangs over any lead at the course, especially when scoring conditions can change from hour to hour and a player must return the next morning to finish a round before the pressure of a second one begins.

For Clark, the overnight delay preserves a lead that already looks substantial, but it also extends the test. He must complete his final two holes on Friday morning, then turn around for another full round on a course that can look tame one hour and brutal the next. At Shinnecock, the gap on the board never tells the full story for long.