U.S. Open Round 2: Wyndham Clark Grinds to a Four-Shot Lead as Big Names Go Home

Wyndham Clark did not have his best stuff Friday at Shinnecock Hills. He still leaves the second round with the biggest number on the board and a four-shot cushion.

After a morning spent finishing his record 64, Clark turned around and shot a 1-under 69 to reach 7-under 133, the lowest 36-hole total in a U.S. Open at Shinnecock. That beats the 134 posted by Phil Mickelson and Shigeki Maruyama in 2004. Four players share second at 3-under 137: Xander Schauffele (66), Matt Fitzpatrick (70), Sam Stevens (69) and Tom Kim (67). Collin Morikawa is five back after a 65.

Grinding Instead of Gliding

Clark's second round looked nothing like his first. He opened with eight straight pars, then three-putted the ninth for bogey. The engine finally turned over at the 12th and 13th with back-to-back birdies, the second one a 29-footer, and for a moment the lead stretched to four.

Then the driver went sideways. Clark sprayed tee shots at 14, 15 and 16 and somehow got through that stretch only 1 over. At the last, he rolled in a 33-footer for birdie to put a bow on a round that could easily have been a 72.

"I didn't feel like I had my best, and I still am leading as of right now," Clark said afterward, per the AP. He also admitted he thought he could get to double digits under par this week.

The emotional layer is hard to ignore. Clark shot 74-74 and missed the cut at Oakmont a year ago, and his reaction to that week cost him a lot of goodwill. He acknowledged Friday that he has taken plenty of criticism since, called it deserved, and said he hopes to show fans a different version of himself.

The Chase Pack Has Hardware

The four names at 137 make this a very uncomfortable four-shot lead. Schauffele, who has made the cut in all 10 of his U.S. Open starts and never finished worse than T14, posted a 66. He did not sugarcoat the week. "It's a brutal week," Schauffele said.

Fitzpatrick, the 2022 champion, salvaged an even-par 70 with two birdies in his last three holes. Kim's 67 included a 3-under 32 on the back nine. Stevens, who has now made the cut in all four of his U.S. Open starts, added a 69 to his opening 68 and is right in the mix.

Morikawa's 65 vaulted him to 138. Behind him, Sam Burns, Justin Thomas, Harry Higgs and Sahith Theegala are at 1-under 139.

Scheffler Steadies, McIlroy Wobbles

Scottie Scheffler finally broke par at a U.S. Open again. His 68 was a tidy one: he missed only two fairways and hit his last 10 greens, climbing to even-par 140. Rory McIlroy is right there with him, but his 71 came with a scare, three straight bogeys to start his back nine. Gary Woodland also sits at 140 after a 73.

Dustin Johnson could not keep Thursday's magic going. A 77 dropped him to 143, though he will be around for the weekend.

A Penalty and a Comeback

The strangest storyline of the day belonged to Joaquin Niemann. In the first round, Niemann threw a club and was hit with a two-stroke penalty, turning the sixth hole into an 11. Friday, Niemann fired a 65 to make the cut. According to the AP, it was the first time in 97 years that someone made a 10 or worse at the U.S. Open and still played the weekend.

Big Names Head Home

The cut fell at 4-over 144, the lowest ever in a U.S. Open at Shinnecock, and 72 players made it, including five amateurs. A lot of star power did not. Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka all missed. Rahm followed a bogey-free 68 with a 78. Defending champion J.J. Spaun is out, and so are Graeme McDowell, Shane Lowry, Padraig Harrington and Adam Scott, who was playing his 100th consecutive major.

The amateurs who survived make a fun list: Ryder Cowan, world No. 1 Jackson Koivun, 17-year-old Miles Russell, Marek Fleming and Eric Lee. Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick also became the first brothers to play a U.S. Open weekend since the Molinaris in 2021.

The Weekend Question

The scoring average was 72.24, gentle by U.S. Open standards, and 10 players finished 36 holes under par. That is not likely to last. Shinnecock's history adds another twist: in the last four U.S. Opens played here, the 36-hole leader did not win.

Clark has momentum and a cushion. The players behind him have majors, form and plenty of holes left. Saturday will tell us which of those matters more.

Catch up on Thursday in our Round 1 recap. Full scoring is on the official PGA TOUR leaderboard (opens in a new tab), and the USGA's second-round report (opens in a new tab) has more.

Sources: PGA TOUR, USGA (usopen.com), AP, AFP. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.