2026 U.S. Open, Round 2 recap: McIlroy, Scheffler seven shots behind Clark at Shinnecock

History does not favor the 36-hole leader recently at the U.S. Open. Can Wyndham Clark defy the trend?

Golf Channel

Dylan Wu’s back to back birdies have gotten him inside the projected cut line of +4 at Shinnecock Hills.

Wu opened his final nine with bogeys on three of four holes.

Here’s the moment of truth:

No pressure on you, Dylan Wu!

Mike Tirico just told viewers on the second round live coverage on NBC Sports that there’s a mathematical chance the cut line moves to 3 over. It all depends on Dylan Wu’s final hole at Shinnecock Hills.

Stay tuned!

Let’s not forget where we are.

That’s the attitude Scottie Scheffler will have entering the weekend at Shinnecock Hills.

With a course as threatening as this one, the world No. 1 has to feel half-way decent about staying in contention with a 2-under 68 on Friday.

He is at even through 36 holes at the 2026 U.S. Open, seven shots back of leader Wyndham Clark.

As it stands now more than a dozen players are T-10 at even. Scheffler got there thanks to a bogey-free second nine that included a birdie on the par-5 No. 5.

Scottie Scheffler is not the only one celebrating a birthday Sunday: Tom Kim is also blowing out the candles on June 21.

The friends share a birthday that happens to coincide with the final round of this year’s U.S. Open. While Scheffler entered as the favorite and still sits inside the top five of DraftKings odds entering the weekend, it is Kim who sits T-2 with a hole left to play at Shinnecock thanks to a bogey-free back nine that has been highlighted by birdies at 10, 12 and 16.

If he can birdie the par-4 18th, he’ll be solo second and three shots off Wyndham Clark’s lead. If he pars, Kim will be tied entering Saturday with Matt Fitzpatrick, Sam Stevens, and Xander Schauffele.

Miles Russell is not the only amateur making noise late Friday at Shinnecock.

Auburn’s Jackson Koivun, playing in his last event as an amateur, just birdied to get to 3 over on the tournament and give himself some room to breathe on his final three holes.

Koivun is a shot above the projected U.S. Open cut line.

Teenager Miles Russell has made it to the weekend at Shinnecock Hills, carding a 1-over 71 late Friday afternoon.

The projected cut line remains +4 as of 7:08 p.m. ET.

Ryder Cowan is guaranteed to be the low amateur entering the weekend at Shinnecock Hills. Cowan is T-12 in the clubhouse after shooting 2-over 72 in Round 2. He’s at even through 36 holes, while Russell enters the weekend at 3 over.

Auburn’s Jackson Koivun is still finishing his second round. At 4 over, he’s looking to make the U.S. Open cut.

Marek Fleming and Eric Lee are also amateurs who are in the clubhouse at 4 over. They would make it to the weekend if the projected cut holds.

Wyndham Clark is in at 7 under, four strokes ahead of Xander Schauffele and Matt Fitzpatrick.

That much has been known for the better part of two hours as fans wait to see where the cut line crystalizes before the final 36 holes at Shinnecock Hills are played.

Joining Schauffele and Fitzpatrick in a three-player tie for second is Sam Stevens who just signed a 1-under 69 card for his second round.

He started the U.S. Open yesterday with a double bogey on his first hole and has climbed his way back into contention.

Stevens is in the clubhouse over Collin Morikawa, who sits at 2 under after the first two rounds.

Sam Burns and Tom Kim are also T-5 as of 6:30 p.m. ET but are still on the course.

And to give the leaderboard even more of a spine: Justin Thomas is in the clubhouse at 1 under after making the weekend at the U.S. Open for the first time since 2022.

Take one step forward. Now take two back.

If Rory’s second round at Shinnecock could be described as any other than a rollercoaster, then that those dueling commands probably best encapsulate it.

From T-2 down to T-8 — back up to T-5, McIlroy’s seen a share of pretty every spot on the top 10 of the leaderboard other than the No. 1 spot that Wyndham Clark has had on lock down since teeing off Thursday in Southampton.

McIlroy opened his back nine as colorfully as a player could. In case you missed it: Three straight bogeys at 10, 11 and 12.

Those have now been followed by consecutive birdies. The best of which is embedded above. You can see what Rory thought of the putt after it trickled into the cup.

A bogey-free front nine helped launch Harry Higgs up the U.S. Open leaderboard on Friday afternoon. He stayed there with a steady hand on the back nine — despite it proving to be more turbulent.

The 34-year-old SMU alum was almost not here.

Playing as one of five alternates this week, Higgs is in the clubhouse at 1 under after 36 holes at Shinnecock Hills.

Despite carding a 64-66 at Gaston Country Club on Golf’s Longest Day, he left North Carolina without officially qualifying for the 2026 U.S. Open thanks to finishing in fourth place in a five player playoff.

He did secure himself as the qualifying site’s “Alternate 1" though and that was good enough to get him in the field ahead of Round 1 on Thursday in Long Island.

Higgs entered the second round at T-30 after an opening round 1-over 71.

In the clubhouse at 2 over, Spencer Tibbits also appears to be headed for the weekend at the U.S. Open as an alternate with Higgs.

Tommy Fleetwood’s 2026 Shinnecock experience has been mostly trading bogeys and birdies.

But the world’s No. 6-ranked player has had his fair share of highlights, including this chip shot at the par-3 11th.

Fleetwood would go on to birdie the next hole — his second in the last four — and now sits T-8 at 1 under.

How much can change in an hour?

Rory McIlroy went from U.S. Open challenger to suddenly heading in the wrong direction — possibly a troubling one.

The world No. 2 par saved at No. 9 to card a 33, and it’s a good thing he did because he’s gone three straight bogeys at 10, 11 and 12 at Shinnecock Hills.

Once four strokes back of Wyndham Clark on the leaderboard, McIlroy is now seven off the lead with six holes to play Friday.

The world No. 2 wishes he had this approach shot back.

McIlroy was coming off a strong finish on the front nine that included a pair of birdies and a brilliant par save on the par-4 9th.

He went on to the bogey first hole on his back nine after the errant second shot. He’s back to T-8 on the leaderboard after being T-2 with the likes of Xander Schauffele and Matt Fitzpatrick who are in safely at three under.

Justin Thomas is in the clubhouse with a 2-under 68 on Friday, and with it he has secured a spot in the weekend at Shinnecock Hills.

He’s also snapped a streak of three straight missed cuts at the U.S. Open.

The two-time PGA Championship winner is seeking first U.S. Open win and sits T-11 as of 4:30 p.m. ET

Rory McIlroy is tied with a half dozen of other players for second place at Shinnecock Hills.

The two-time Masters champ birdied for the second time in four holes with this tremendous putt on the par-3 eighth hole.

Wyndham Clark remains in control with a four shot lead in the clubhouse at 133 over two rounds in Southampton.

This 75-foot putt from Harry Higgs on the par-3 11th would make you think he was an illusionists. Wait, where did the ball just go?

Xander Schauffele’s second round at Shinnecock is notable for numerous reasons, most important to him — it leaves him in contention for his first U.S. Open championship entering the weekend.

The two-time major winner was unbelievable on Friday hitting 16 out of 18 greens in regulation. For context, Schauffele has done that 13 times at majors since the beginning of 2019

Schauffele spoke to reporters after his 4-under 66. Here’s what he had to say:

08:11

Embrace the chaos: Schauffele loves U.S. Open madness

Some people wilt under U.S. Open conditions. Xander Schauffele thrives. He’s again in the mix to win the third leg of the career Grand Slam through two rounds at Shinnecock Hills.

Congrats to 17-year-old Miles Russell for making us blog about him twice in one hour — and both for good reasons.

Take a look at the latest from Russell on the 15th hole at Shinnecock ...

Bryson DeChambeau is in the clubhouse at 5 over after carding a Friday 75, and he is in jeopardy of missing the cut line for the first time in his career at three straight majors.

The two-time U.S. Open winner got in at par after his first round in Southampton but had went double bogey on back-to-back holes at Shinnecock’s punishing first nine. Per DataGolf.com, the projected cut line a little after 3 p.m. ET was +4.

Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard has more on DeChambeau’s costly second round here.

Bryson DeChambeau misses three straight major cuts for first time in career

For the third consecutive major, Bryson DeChambeau’s week will end on Friday with another missed cut and even more Grand Slam questions.

• Rex Hoggard,

• Rex Hoggard,

Friday charge?

He’s also just one back of Ryder Cowan, who is currently the low amateur, in the clubhouse at even par.

McIlroy rolls in an 11-footer to remain at 1 under and not dig an early hole.

Wyndham Clark said WATCH THIS:

The current U.S. Open leader holds the 36-hole record at Shinnecock and closed out the 18th with a beautiful birdie to finish the second round with a bang!

William Mouw, within three of the lead, has this happen to him on the par-5 16th and makes double bogey.

His lead momentarily cut to one, Clark birdies the par-4 12th to get back to 6 under, four clear of Xander Schauffele (through 11) and Sam Stevens (tees off at 1:07 p.m. ET).

Matt Fitzpatrick and Dustin Johnson have slipped to 1 under.

As soon as Dustin Johnson got within one of the lead in the 126th U.S. Open, he made a double — on a 154-yard hole.

DJ hit his tee shot into the front greenside bunker, had his second shot roll off the green and into an adjacent greenside bunker, got it out to 9 feet, then two-putted.

Norway’s Viktor Hovland:

Denmark’s Niklas Norgaard:

Getty Images

Dustin Johnson, who hasn’t had a top-20 in a major since the 2023 U.S. Open, birdies the par-4 10th to reach 4 under. He’s one back of leader Wyndham Clark (who won in ’23).

After eight straight pars to start Round 2, Clark missed a 3-foot save on the par-4 ninth to drop to 5 under. His lead is now two shots over Matt Fitzpatrick, Dustin Johnson and Corey Conners.

This birdie got the two-time PGA champion into red figures and he added another birdie at the 16th, his seventh hole of the round.

Thomas is at 2 under, four off the lead.

Wyndham Clark is still at 6 under and still leads by three.

A long shot from a sandy area. Kudos, Fitz.

The rising senior at Oklahoma University has a birdie and a bogey over his opening nine holes in Round 2 and is tied for fifth at 2 under, four off the lead.

Bryson DeChambeau made a lengthy putt to save bogey on the final hole of his first round Friday morning. But three holes into Round 2, he had to mark a double square.

DeChambeau doubled the par-4 third to drop to 2 over for the championship, tied for 44th.

The USGA released the following statement Friday morning: “Joaquin Neimann was assessed two penalty strokes for throwing a club on the 6th hole during Round 1. This act was determined to be serious misconduct under Rule 1.2b.”

Niemann officially made an ’11' on the par-4 sixth, where he hit two tee shots out of bounds. The Chilean shot 8-over 78 in Round 1.

Joaquin Niemann gets two-shot penalty for throwing club at U.S. Open

Joaquin Niemann was assessed a two-stroke penalty in the first round of the 126th U.S. Open for throwing a club on the sixth hole.

• Rex Hoggard,

• Rex Hoggard,

Johnny Keefer holed this approach shot on the par-4 eighth, his 17th hole. He also parred the ninth for a 1-over 71.

The 2021 U.S. Open champion hit only nine of 18 greens in regulation in his two-day opening round. But he didn’t make a bogey. Rahm parred his final 10 holes and is only four back with Round 2 starting about a half-hour after Round 1 concluded.

DeChambeau is back in action for Round 2.

LIVE SCORES from Shinnecock Hills.

The 2016 champ had eight birdies, two bogeys and a double. Two of those birdies came Friday morning.

Johnson finished third at Shinnecock in 2018, part of four top-4 finishes in a five-year stretch.

Clark parred his final two holes Friday morning. His 6-under 64 is the best opening round in a Shinnecock Open. It’s also his second opening 64 in the championship. The other? LACC in 2023, which he won.

The 2019 U.S. Open champ is T-2, three off the lead with one to play in his opening round.

He did a lot of hacking from the rough on the par-4 ninth, but made a 26-footer for a ‘5' to shoot even-par 70.

Looking at some of the quick turnarounds for those still wrapping up Round 1 (ET):

7:45AM: DeChambeau, Hovland, Fitzpatrick
7:56AM: Clark, DJ, Woodland
8:07AM: JT, Matsuyama, Schauffele
8:29AM: Rose, Spieth, Rahm

Matt Fitzpatrick and Dustin Johnson each picked up a shot upon the resumption to reach 3 under. They are now three back of leader Wyndham Clark.

The horn blew at 6:35 a.m. ET to restart play.

Chief championships officer John Bodenhamer joined “Live From the U.S. Open” to discuss the USGA’s strategy moving forward.

The “Live From” crew discusses Wyndham Clark’s start at Shinnecock.

There were a lot of happy former champions after Day 1 at Shinnecock Hills. None happier than 2023 winner Wyndham Clark.

Wyndham Clark, past champs among those smiling after long day at soft Shinnecock

When the horn blew for darkness Thursday evening at Shinnecock Hills, the first page of this U.S. Open leaderboard read more like the silver trophy up for grabs this week. There was also clubhouse co-leader Sam Stevens.

• Brentley Romine,

• Brentley Romine,