Wyndham Clark profits from the taming of Shinnecock, McIlroy level

When the sun came out again on Friday, it was inevitable that a few of the game’s best would take advantage.

Wyndham Clark celebrates after a birdie on the 12th hole during the second round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y., Friday, June 19, 2026.(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Officials for the United States Golf Association got spooked by the meteorologists. Their doom and gloom forecast for the eastern end of Long Island called for extreme winds, and the purveyors of the US Open reacted, hoping to negate any negative fallout.

Their response was to slow down the Shinnecock Hills greens, put the pins in accessible positions, add a bit of water to the greens, and then let the wind blow a gale.

Instead it was barely a wimper.

Well, the wind was up for a good part of the first two days of the US Open here, but hardly to the levels expected. And when the sun came out late Thursday afternoon and again on Friday, it was inevitable that a few of the game’s best would take advantage.

While the venerable course was hardly a pushover, Wyndham Clark managed to traverse it in just 133 strokes over the first two rounds to finish at 7 under par.

When you consider that the winning 72-hole score here eight years ago was 1 over par, that’s pretty impressive.

The 2023 US Open champ has seen a career resurgence over the past month and managed to take a four-shot lead into the weekend over Matt Fitzpatrick, Xander Schauffele and Sam Stevens.

“I truly believe if the USGA wanted to have some fun and with the wind coming through and firm up the greens, I mean, over-par will win this golf tournament again, sitting at whatever with all these guys under par,” Schauffele said. “I do believe this course can be that way.

“Really the cliche you grind on every single shot really matters when you think of it. When someone tells you even-par is going to win, you are, like, oh, well, that's kind of crazy. It goes without saying. You try to focus as much as you can for the six hours you're out there, five and a half hours you're out there to really hit every shot, whether it's a driver, a 2-foot putt with full attention.” 

Clark took advantage of some calmer conditions late Thursday after a morning fog delay to shoot 6-under-par 64 and then followed up with a 69 Friday morning to forge his advantage.

Fitzpatrick, the 2022 U.S. Open champion, shot 70, Schauffele – the two-time major winner in 2024 – had 66 and Stevens, who has never won on the PGA Tour, a 69.

Collin Morikawa shot 65 to finish five shots back. Justin Thomas was in a grow at 1 under par.

Clark’s four-shot advantage at the U.S. Open is the largest through 36 holes since 2018, also at Shinnecock, when Dustin Johnson led. Brooks Koepka went on to win that week.

And he’s riding a hot streak that saw him win last month for the first time in more than two years.

“There was definitely a lot of uncertainty last year, even if I played good going into the weekend, just because I didn't really believe I could keep playing good just because I hadn't seen it, versus now regardless of where my game is at, I feel like good things are going to happen, and I can continue to play good,” Clark said.

“Momentum is a huge thing in golf, and I feel like I have it right now. Just keep it going. Keep pushing that momentum ball down the hill.” 

Clark dealt with the fallout from anger management issues last year, twice involved in high-profile incidents where he lost his cool. He threw a club at the PGA Championship, destroyed a locker at the U.S. Open, and suffered the fallout from it.

His game didn’t respond until last month, when he shot a final-round 60 to capture the CJ Byron Nelson, his first win since the 2024 Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He also contended at the Memorial, where he was third, and again last week at the Canadian Open, where he tied for 11th.

But few saw these kinds of scores coming, and don’t be surprised if the USGA attempts to put a little fire into the course over the weekend.

“I find the course very hard, to be honest,” Shane Lowry said missing the cut. “It’s as easy as we could have played in the last two days now.

“A very stressful golf course, and a hard course to come play, and put yourself out there in a pedestal in front of the world. You’re there for the taking when you’re out there. So I find it pretty hard.” 

Many did. Both Bryson DeChambeau, who shot 75 on Friday, and Jon Rahm, who shot 78, missed the 36-hole cut. Five-time major winner Brooks Koepka was also headed for a missed cut.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler sat even par alongside Masters champion Rory McIlroy when play concluding Friday evening.