US Open, second round leaderboard
-7 W. Clark (USA); -3 M Fitzpatrick (UK), T Kim (Korea), X Schauffele (USA), S Stevens (USA)
Selected: -2 C Morikawa (US); -1 J. Thomas (USA); level A Fitzpatrick (UK), R McIlroy (NI), S Scheffler (USA). +1 A Rai (English), J Rose (English), L Aberg (Sweden), T Fleetwood (English). +2 T. Hutton (English); +4 R. McIntyre (Scotland)
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Weather once again reigned supreme at Shinnecock Hills as Windham Clark built a healthy four-stroke lead at halftime at the U.S. Open.
Scottie Scheffler called gusty winds the “biggest challenge” and Rory McIlroy pointed out that “the tied games and scores played in the windiest conditions show that” after the world’s top two teams finished the second round with a championship-caliber record, seven behind Clark.
Of course, this is one of the dangers of playing outdoor sports where start times are spread out over the day. The average score changed from 73.87 points on Thursday morning to 71.97 points for early starters on Friday.
Clark, the 2023 champion, took advantage of playing the first round in relatively calm conditions late Thursday and the second round early Friday morning, and was among those to post a 69 following an opening round 6-under 64.
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England’s Matt Fitzpatrick, the 2022 US Open champion, is also in the draw and is one of Clark’s closest challengers with a 70 at 3 under. He is followed by two-time major champion Xander Schauffele.
But the wind wasn’t the only culprit, given that two players in the draw for McIlroy and Scheffler’s team (South Korea’s Tom Kim and American Sam Stevens) are also co-seconds in the back four.
McIlroy also looked like the player with the best chance of taking Clark’s lead, making two birdies in his first eight holes to reach 3 under, but a combination of poor shots and strong winds threw him off course in the final nine holes.
The stormy conditions weren’t as extreme as Thursday, when wind gusts of 40 mph blasted the Long Island course in New York state.
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But those were enough penalties to bother Scheffler, who clearly struggles with his putting.
“With so many pitches on the green, it’s very difficult to play in the wind. It’s also difficult to judge the speed of a putt when the wind is blowing hard,” he says.
Mr. Clark aims to restore his reputation
Windham Clark missed the cut at last month’s PGA Championship (Getty Images)
Both early and late, Clark was the player who best coped with both the weather and the notoriously tricky Shinnecock Hills layout.
The course was played fairly on Friday, with championship organizer United States Golf Association acknowledging that conditions have been substandard at past U.S. Opens held at the course and closely monitoring conditions.
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Clark then navigated the course brilliantly, making a 33-foot birdie putt on the final hole and becoming the first player to reach 7 under after 36 holes at the Shinnecock U.S. Open.
The 32-year-old, who won the U.S. title at Los Angeles Country Club in 2023, suffered an infamous meltdown in the Oakmont clubhouse after missing out on the U.S. Open 12 months ago, when he smashed his locker.
As a result, he was suspended by the Pennsylvania club until he underwent anger management therapy and paid for repairs.
And while he has made amends off the track, this weekend he is in a position to make some kind of public “atonement” on the track.
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“I’ve had a lot of sadness since last year, which is natural. The unfortunate part is that it’s not me, what happened last year,” he said.
“It was a terrible incident and I hope we can win back some old fans and some new fans.
“I really feel like I can show people that I’m fun and outgoing and fierce and competitive and love the game and respect the game and that I just had a bad moment.
“I really felt like I could get into double digits, but the great thing is I didn’t feel like I gave my best. So far I’m still in the lead. Hopefully I can have an A match at the weekend.”
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Clark, who established a healthy advantage on Friday and also broke the clubhead of his driver at the PGA Championship before the locker room incident, at least now appears to have full control over his emotions.
He also showed he’s more than capable of playing the pantomime villain on the tee when he wowed the home fans in a USA hockey jersey at last week’s RBC Canadian Open.
“We’re only three places away from second place.”
Those following Clark will be relieved to know that the previous six half-time leaders have failed to win the title.
And it’s the largest 36-hole difference at a U.S. Open since Dustin Johnson won by four holes last time at Sinek Hills in 2018, when Brooks Koepka was the winner.
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And it’s one of the toughest courses on the planet, where you can lose a shot in an instant, as former U.S. Open champion Johnson learned the toll when he hit a quadruple-bogey 8 on the par-4 15th.
Fitzpatrick was the only former champion under par, and the Briton put together a typically tenacious round with two birdies in the final three holes to return to his starting spot for the day.
McIlroy also looked like he was in great shape with a birdie on the 8th hole to reach 3 under par, but his play with a wedge cost him dearly.
On the 10th, 11th, and 12th holes, where the wind was the strongest, he misjudged his shot and the ball landed behind the green, resulting in three consecutive bogeys.
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The 37-year-old responded with back-to-back birdies, but his chip fell into the bunker on the 15th hole and he hit a double-bogey six.
“Even par going into the weekend is not terrible. We’re only three behind second place, but clearly Windham has built a bit of a lead,” he told Sky Sports.
Three bogeys on the back nine halted the progress of his partner Tommy Fleetwood, who was just 1 over. Fleetwood shot a 63 in the final round to take second place here in 2018 after starting six points behind eventual champion Koepka.
Scheffler, who is trying to become the seventh player to complete a career Grand Slam, shot a 2-under 68 to tie McIlroy.
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The American shaved off sometimes frustrating numbers despite hitting 12 of 14 fairways and 15 of 18 greens. His putting ranked 61st in strokes gained, but his weaknesses hampered his ability to move up the leaderboard.
Fitzpatrick’s younger brother Alex also shot level par in his US Open debut, while fellow countryman and newly crowned PGA Champion Aaron Rye shot a 67 to join Justin Rose and Ludwig Aberg at 1 over.
Tyrrell Hatton came from behind by one stroke, and Scotland’s Robert McIntyre just finished the second round with a 74.
However, two-time U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau failed to qualify for his third straight major, and Jon Rahm missed the weekend after hitting six in five holes on the back nine.
