Winners and Losers From First Round of the 2026 U.S. Open: Wyndham > Wind

A look at the best (and worst) moments and rounds from the first day of the U.S. Open at Shinnecock.

Clark will enter Friday with a four-stroke lead in the 2026 U.S. Open. | Warren Little/Getty Images

The 126th U.S. Open kicked off Thursday at the famed Shinnecock Hills Golf Club and it didn’t disappoint—well, except for that two-hour fog delay moments after play began very early in the morning.

While the horn sounded at 8:25 p.m. ET and a few groups weren’t able to finish their first round due to darkness, there was plenty of exciting—and surprisingly low-scoring—golf played in Southampton. While Scottie Scheffler struggled a bit in his opening round and Rory McIlroy closed out a solid round with back-to-back bogeys, there are a number of big names at the top of a very crowded leaderboard led by former U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark.

Let’s take a look at some players who shined on Thursday, and some others who didn’t have the starts that they were hoping for.

Winner: Wyndham Clark

Exactly three years ago today on June 18, 2023, Clark celebrated winning the U.S. Open—his first major win—at The Los Angeles Country Club. On Thursday, he certainly looked the part of a former U.S. Open champ, sitting six-under par through 16 holes. (He’ll finish his first round on Friday morning.) Clark will enter Friday with a four-stroke lead. If he can officially end his round with a four-stroke lead, he’ll become just the third golfer in U.S. Open history to enter the second round with a four-stroke cushion, joining Olin Dutra (1932) and Tommy Armour (1933).

Loser: Shinnecock Hills Golf Club

We expected more from you, Shinnecock.

All week long, the biggest storyline leading up to the U.S. Open was the golf course itself and its unfriendly conditions. Golfers quaked in their boots just thinking of the windy conditions that were awaiting them on Thursday. But the course wasn’t so scary, after all. Through Thursday’s action, 28 players are sitting at even par or better. That number was five after one round at the 2018 U.S. Open, the last time it was held at Shinnecock.

Winner: Sam Stevens

Stevens put together a great first round at Shinnecock, shooting a two-under 68 to start the U.S. Open. | Erick Rasco / Sports Illustrated

Chances are really good that when you were making your U.S. Open picks before the start of the championship you didn’t spend one second thinking about Sam Stevens. And rightfully so, as the 29-year-old PGA Tour player is far from a household name. But then he went out Thursday and shot a two-under 70 in the early wave to put himself right in the mix heading into Friday’s second round. Stevens’ great round is even more surprising when you look at how he finished in the four tournaments leading up to Shinnecock: 70th, T65, T42 and a missed cut at the Memorial two weeks ago. Stevens had six birdies on his round to go along with two bogeys and a double bogey. Will he be in contention on Sunday? Probably not. But he’ll never forget how he played on Thursday.

Loser: Rory McIlroy

Yes, it’s hard to call McIlroy a loser after his one-under 69 but this is more about what could have been for the No. 2 player in the world rather than his final score. McIlroy had it to three-under through 16 holes and seemed ready to make a statement but then he bogeyed the par-3 17th and par-4 18th. He’s still right near the top and should be a factor over the weekend, but if he falls short, he’ll likely look back to how he finished his opening round.

Winner: Rickie Fowler’s shoes

A closer look at Rickie Fowler’s Puma shoes from the first round of the U.S. Open. | Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Fowler might not have a major to his name, but he always leads the tour in fashion. He brought it again in Thursday’s first round with a pair of Puma shoes that feature the corporate-described colors of “poison pink” and “bright aqua.” Fowler had himself an eventful day in those shoes with four birdies, three bogeys and one double-bogey to hit the showers with a solid one-over 71.

Loser: Brooks Koepka’s shirt

Koepka shot a 38 on the back nine to finish his first round with a three-over 73. | Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Look, if you’re going to swing, swing big. That’s exactly what Koepka did Thursday with his pink-and-white striped Nike shirt. Respect. But sometimes big swings lead to misses ... and social media jokes. As X user @tkcaddie brilliantly pointed out, Koepka’s shirt looked exactly like Jerry Seinfeld’s prized suede jacket from a Season 2 Seinfeld episode. Koepka, who is battling a hand injury, fired a three-over 73 with a double bogey on 18.

Winner: James Nicholas

Nicholas is another smaller name in the field and has spent the past two years on the Korn Ferry Tour. But after winning a U.S. Open qualifier to get into the championship, he had the honor of playing in the first group out in the morning at 6:35 a.m. Nicholas, who is from New York CIty, shot a one-over 71 and is in a good position to make the cut on Friday. The PGA Tour shared a great video of his very early morning that began with a warmup session as the sun was coming up.

3:55 a.m. alarm for James Nicholas before hitting the first tee shot @USOpenGolf!

Spend the morning with the NY native at Shinnecock. pic.twitter.com/E9MqkuZAVx

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 18, 2026

Loser: J.J. Spaun’s title defense

Spaun is the defending champion after winning in dramatic fashion last year at Oakmont. His quest for a second straight U.S. Open win, however, took a big hit Thursday thanks to his 7-over 77. Spaun, who didn’t have a single birdie in the first round, will now have to fight on Friday just to make the cut.

Loser, then winner: Keith Mitchell

Mitchell had one of those days that golfers know all too well: one minute you can do nothing right, the next you’re thinking you’ve mastered the game. The PGA Tour veteran, who has never won a major championship, started his day on the 10th hole and kicked off his round by shooting a six-over 41 on the back nine. After the turn, Mitchell got hot and fired a six-under 29 on the front to rally for an even-par 70 on the day. While he’s probably wondering what the heck happened to his game over his first nine holes, he is still very much in the mix going into Friday. Plus, he made some history at Shinnecock.

A tale of two nines 😳

Keith Mitchell becomes the first player ever to shoot 29 on the front nine at Shinnecock and records just the seventh 9-hole score of 29 in U.S. Open history. pic.twitter.com/jdxYkTBbVX

— U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 18, 2026

Loser: Cameron Smith 

The LIV Golf star has struggled at the majors the past few years but turned things around at the PGA Championship last month when finished tied for seventh. Smith was unable to keep the momentum going Thursday at Shinnecock, however, as he shot a five-over 75 that included a triple-bogey six on the par-3 7th hole.

---