Scottie Scheffler dropped to three over after a double bogey on the eighth. Fog delayed the start of first-round play at the 126th US Open by two hours. Those shifts left top names fighting 35mph gusts and scrambled the PGA Leaderboard.
Fog Halts Play at Shinnecock Hills
Play was held up for two hours at Shinnecock Hills, pushing early groups deeper into a day forecast to feature high winds. The stoppage compressed the opening window and sent players back onto a course where gusts of 35mph were sweeping across Long Island, making everyday targets far harder to reach.
Scottie Scheffler Drops to Three
Scheffler, the world number one, made a double bogey at the eighth and fell back to three over for the tournament. Rory McIlroy was on course in the same conditions, and established names found the scoring fragile: JJ Spaun stood at three over for the tournament and Mason Howell was also three over.
Conditions and Small Victories
Scoring swung hole to hole. Patrick Reed posted a front-nine 34 during the round. Tyrrell Hatton holed a 21-foot birdie to move back to one over par, the sort of single-hole swing that mattered under gusting wind. A live broadcast voice captured the visual scene: "You could study the flags scattered across the property."
Another on-course line cut to the human detail: "Or you could just look at Tommy Fleetwood's 90s-inspired trousers." The same report added, "The wide-leg cut trousers have been fluttering magnificently all afternoon, providing a real-time visualisation of the 35mph gusts sweeping across Long Island." Those images tracked directly with the leaderboard volatility — one loose shot could erase a front-nine 34 or a hard-won birdie.
Late waves will arrive under the same compressed window. Rai was scheduled for 20:14, M Fitzpatrick for 20:25 and both Rose and Rahm for 21:09, meaning evening tee times are stacked into the gust-prone period created by the two-hour delay.
Commentary captured the intent of having a stern test: "I love it when the golf is tough. You can see the players smashing up normal courses every week. The majors should be a step up" — a line that framed why the delay and wind mattered beyond inconvenience. What followed on the PGA Leaderboard were clustered scores and a premium on single-hole rescue shots and long pars.
How much did the two-hour fog delay shift the rest of the tee times and scoring conditions for the players still to come?
