Wyndham Clark seized command of the 126th U.S. Open with a 36-hole score of 133, the lowest ever recorded at Shinnecock Hills, to carry a four-stroke lead into the weekend. The 2023 champion completed his weather-delayed opening round of 64 early Friday morning, then ground out a one-under-par 69 in strengthening winds, curling in a 33-foot birdie putt at the 18th to close. Clark, who publicly apologised this week for a locker-room outburst after missing the cut at Oakmont last year, described the finish as “a great way to end the round” and acknowledged the fight required on a day when his ball-striking was less precise.

A pack of major champions assembled in pursuit. England’s Matt Fitzpatrick, the 2022 winner, scrambled to a 70 and shared second place at three under with Americans Xander Schauffele (66) and Sam Stevens (68), and South Korea’s Tom Kim (67). Collin Morikawa, a two-time major winner, fired a 65 to sit alone in sixth at two under, while world number one Scottie Scheffler moved to even par with a 68. From a European vantage point, Fitzpatrick’s resilience offered a counterweight to Rory McIlroy’s abrupt fade. The Northern Irishman turned in 33 and stood three under before the wind and his own distance control unravelled his round: he went long on three consecutive greens, made three bogeys, and compounded the damage with a double bogey from a bunker at the 15th. His one-over 71 left him seven shots adrift, though he insisted Shinnecock’s difficulty meant “you still have a chance if you’re seven back.”

The afternoon exposed the course’s hardening edges. Dustin Johnson, who had pulled within a stroke of Clark early in his second round, suffered a quadruple-bogey eight at the 15th and dropped eight shots in four holes to sign for a 77 and fall to three over. Jon Rahm, the 2021 champion, missed a short birdie putt at the ninth and unleashed an audible obscenity before bogeying five straight holes on the back nine en route to a 78 that sent him home before the cut. Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau and JJ Spaun also failed to survive.

For Australia, the day delivered a historic low. Cameron Smith, Adam Scott, Lucas Herbert and Min Woo Lee all missed the cut, marking the first time since 1959 that no Australian will feature on the weekend of a U.S. Open. Scott, in his 100th consecutive major start, finished at eight over. The wipeout resonated deeply in a nation accustomed to contending at golf’s hardest test. With Clark holding a four-shot cushion but Shinnecock’s firm, wind-whipped greens promising volatility, the weekend shapes as a test of nerve for the leader and an opportunity for the cluster of major champions stacked behind him.