The 2026 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills began two hours late on June 18 due to dense fog delaying the start, with winds gusting over 30 mph throughout the day [1, 2]. Only six early starters managed to break par on the challenging 7,440-yard course as the strong winds tested the players [1, 3].

Rory McIlroy started his round on the 10th hole and quickly made two birdies within his first three holes [1, 2]. He finished with a 1-under-par 69, one shot behind the early leader, Wyndham Clark [s1-s6]. McIlroy's round included bogeys on the 13th and 16th holes, and back-to-back bogeys on the 8th and 9th to close out his day [s1-s4,s6].

McIlroy also recorded an eagle on the par-5 5th after a 396-yard drive and a pitching wedge from 192 yards, highlighting one of his strong shots during the round [2, 4]. Reflecting on the conditions, he praised the USGA for slowing the green speeds after past criticism, saying, "Greens are pretty slow and quite receptive. I think they need to be at this point. It’s a challenging golf course already, and you put 30mph winds on top of it, it tests the best players in the world pretty well... They’ve set the course up for that, at least today" [3].

In contrast to his opening round 80 at this venue in 2018, which saw him miss the cut, McIlroy said he had rebuilt his mindset and game since then. "The big thing I needed to change was my mindset. It hasn’t looked as if I’ve done a rebuild of my game, but it has felt like it in terms of the way I approach the game and the value I place on certain shots and certain skills within the game," he said [3]. He added that "laying back in this championship is always the smart choice," noting the severe penalties for missed shots around the greens and aiming to avoid costly errors [5].

Wyndham Clark surged to a four-stroke lead late in the round by making eagle and birdies on the back nine, before play was halted due to darkness [3, 6]. Historically, only 9% of rounds played in previous U.S. Opens at Shinnecock Hills have been under par, illustrating the difficulty players face on this course [1, 3].

The second round is set to continue under similarly challenging conditions, with players aiming to improve their standings after a tough opening day.