The China Mail - Brutal Shinnecock winds blow away US Open contenders

A two-hour fog delay came only 30 minutes into the round and gave way to overcast skies and whipping winds that roared across the 7,440-yard Long Island layout, known for fast greens and dense rough.

Sweden's Ludvig Aberg, a back-nine starter chasing his first major title, sank a birdie putt from just inside 30 feet at the first hole to seize the solo lead at two-under par.

One stroke adrift were Americans Patrick Reed, Sam Burns, JB Holmes, Ben James and Sam Stevens plus Norway's Kristoffer Reitan.

Back-nine starter Aberg made a seven-foot birdie putt at 13, a 10-foot par putt at 14 and a 30-foot birdie putt at 15 to share the lead as he made the turn.

Burns made a six-foot birdie putt at the par-three 11th and a seven-foot birdie putt at the 13th to join the co-leaders.

Organizers kept green speeds below maximum and watered greens between waves to help balls stay on the putting surfaces amid the gusting breezes.

Brutal winds and high green speeds had groundskeepers watering greens between groups at the 2004 and 2018 US Opens at Shinnecock in a bid to keep the course playable, with many complaining that organizers had "lost the course."

Two adrift on level par was a pack that included second-ranked Rory McIlroy plus England's Tommy Fleetwood and Tyrrell Hatton.

McIlroy sank an 11-foot birdie putt at the par-three 11th and added a 25-foot birdie putt at the 12th to seize the lead before falling back with bogeys at 13 and 16.

Hatton was on level par when he fired an approach at 18 that was blown into a bunker after hitting a grandstand.

Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler, seeking a victory to complete a career Grand Slam, found the right rough on the way to a bogey at four, answered with a four-foot birdie putt at five but missed the green with his approach and made bogey at six.

American Brooks Koepka, chasing his sixth major title on the same course where he won the 2018 US Open, made two birdies to share the lead only to fall back with a three-putt double bogey at eight.

Gusting winds forced Koepka to back off a par putt at the seventh before sinking it.

The 36-year-old American is fighting an ulnar nerve issue that numbed his left ring finger and pinky and forced him to withdraw from last week's PGA Canadian Open.

A field of 156 chased a record top prize of $4.5 million from a record $22.5 million purse.

- Scott's run hits 100 -

Adam Scott, the 2013 Masters winner, made his 100th consecutive major start, joining Jack Nicklaus as the only men to achieve the feat.

The 45-year-old Australian missed the green and made bogey at the par-three second and was one-over through seven holes.

Top-ranked Scheffler, a two-time Masters winner, captured last year's British Open and PGA Championship to give himself a first chance at the career Slam at Shinnecock on Sunday, his 30th birthday.

McIlroy's only US Open title in 2011 at Congressional was his first major success but he has finished in the top 10 at the US Open in six of the past seven years, with runner-up efforts in 2023 and 2024.

S.Davis--ThChM