Wyndham Clark completed his first round on Friday, carding a 6-under 64 early in the morning. It was just one stroke shy of Tommy Fleetwood’s course record at Shinnecock. However, during the cut day, Clark’s group, featuring 2016 U.S. Open champion, Dustin Johnson and 2019 U.S. Open winner Gary Woodland, faced a warning from USGA officials.

According to a tweet from Golf.com, former caddie-turned-broadcaster John Wood said on a live telecast that USGA officials asked the group to improve its pace on the ninth after they were five minutes behind schedule. They were asked to speed up, and their group was already catching up. Interestingly, Clark made his first bogey of the day on the ninth, while Woodland made a birdie and Johnson saved par. It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the delay.

Clark had a 46-foot birdie putt on the ninth; however, he missed it by three feet. Again, the 2023 U.S. Open winner missed the three-footer for par and succumbed to a bogey. Meanwhile, Dustin Johnson missed a four-footer for birdie and saved par. While DJ is known to be a fast player, he and his brother, Austin, who also caddies for him, are somewhat notorious for their extensive green reading. Clark’s group wasn’t penalized, and there was no protest from them, unlike what happened just a month back.

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Which Former Champion Criticized DeChambeau's Open Championship Strategy?

Jack NicklausTiger WoodsTom WatsonNick Faldo

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At the 2025 PGA Championship, Justin Thomas‘s group was issued a slow play warning. Both Thomas and Keegan Bradley, who were playing in the same group, were seen arguing with the rule official. Later, Thomas said he didn’t agree with the decision, as they were not holding back the group behind them. They caught up by the following hole, but Thomas also suggested the tough situation at Aronimink needed more deliberation. The case could be the same at Shinnecock as well.

Notably, the USGA has renewed focus on improving the pace of play. This year, the governing body has partnered with T-Mobile to introduce a new technology that will allow rule officials to give a decision in real time, significantly cutting delays. Moreover, at the recently concluded U.S. Women’s Open, the USGA brought in a new pace of play policy for pros.

According to a Golf Digest report, players had to make a stroke within 40 seconds of their turn to play without any interference. Moreover, groups were given an allowed time to finish a hole, and once they fell a full hole behind their allotted time, they were put on the clock. They also brought in progressive penalties where a player would be docked a stroke for the first penalty, two for the second, and eventually might face disqualification.

It is not clear if the USGA has implemented the same policy at Shinnecock as well. Nevertheless, as the warning revealed, the governing body is adamant about finishing round two on Friday and not having any spillover into the moving day.

Wood said the group was told they were about 5 minutes behind pace on the 9th hole, and that they were already catching up. pic.twitter.com/jYjGooqQc6

— GOLF.com (@GOLF_com) June 19, 2026

Inside the ropes, Clark’s three-putt bogey on the ninth trimmed his lead by two strokes. Otherwise, he started steadily in the morning but had to grind out par saves on the first eight holes. As of publication, Clark made two birdies, on the 12th and 13th, to regain his four-shot lead. On the flipside, Dustin Johnson, who once threatened to boycott U.S. Open, has fallen down the leaderboard after finishing inside the top ten in the first round.

DJ carded a double on the par-3 11th and then added two further bogeys on the 12th and 13th. But disaster struck on the 15th, when he carded a quadruple bogey. Woodland, meanwhile, picked up two bogeys on the 11th and 12th. He has not recorded a top 20 finish in majors since the 2023 U.S. Open.

The group was in a great rhythm on Thursday. Johnson strung together four consecutive birdies as the wind had eased in the afternoon, and Clark surged with a birdie-birdie-eagle stretch to reach six under before the darkness halted play. But the Friday morning has turned out to be a little tighter and perhaps a bit slower.

As of publication, Clark is at the top of the leaderboard, while Dustin Johnson is at T55 and Woodland at T12.