U.S. Open Round 1 updates: Amateur Ryder Cowan among late-wave storylines at blustery Shinnecock

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. – The 126th U.S. Open Championship is already off to an unsteady start. Heavy fog brought play to an early halt at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club and suspended play for two hours, but since play has resumed, Shinnecock has shown its teeth.

Follow along all day for live updates from our crew on-site!

6:30 p.m. ET: The newest player to take sole possession of the lead has plenty of familiarity with the U.S. Open trophy. Wyndham Clark won this event three years ago at Los Angeles Country Club, and his birdie on the par-4 18th gave him the lead alone at 3-under as he made the turn. Clark has been in great form in recent weeks, including a win at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson and a third-place showing at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday. Clark started his round with birdies on Nos. 10 and 11, a combination that will be dearly sought by contenders this weekend around Shinnecock Hills.

-- Will Gray

5:45 p.m.: The winds have been steady today, but far short of some of the more aggressive pre-tournament forecasts that called for gusts north of 30 mph. As a result, we've seen an unusually high number of scores in red figures: six under-par rounds from the morning wave and double that amount among players currently on the course. Highlighting that group at the moment is Xander Schauffele, who is no stranger to U.S. Open leaderboards. Schauffele has never finished worse than T14 in nine career appearances, and the two-time major champ now shares the lead at 2-under after a pair of early birdies on the front nine.

-- Will Gray

5:15 p.m.: We have a new leader at Shinnecock Hills - and it's not a name anyone expected. Amateur Ryder Cowan went out in 32, playing the back nine without dropping a shot to take the lead alone at 3-under. A rising senior at the University of Oklahoma, Cowan is a former Drive, Chip and Putt national champion who earned his spot in the field by making it out of a 3-for-2 playoff at the 36-hole qualifier in Florida. Cowan got into red figures with a birdie on No. 12, then added circles on Nos. 14 and 17 before making the turn.

-- Will Gray

3:30 p.m.: Masters champ Rory McIlroy is off to a strong start, even if he let a couple get away on his way back to the famed Shinnecock Hills clubhouse. McIlroy briefly grabbed sole possession of the lead with an eagle on the par-5 fifth, reaching 3 under through 14 holes, but he closed with consecutive bogeys on Nos. 8 and 9 after failing to convert greenside up-and-down opportunities.

Still, it added up to a 1-under 69 that put him just one shot behind early leader Sam Stevens (68) and is a particularly promising start in light of how things went here eight years ago - when the Ulsterman opened with 80 en route to a missed cut, the last time he missed the weekend at the U.S. Open. Should the early scoring trends hold, this would mark the seventh time that McIlroy has been inside the top 10 after the opening round of this event, including four of the last five years in addition to his 2011 triumph at Congressional. This also marks McIlroy's 23rd career round in the 60s at the U.S. Open, tied for second all-time behind only Jack Nicklaus (29).

-- Will Gray

3:00 p.m.: The day's most topsy-turvy round belongs to veteran Keith Mitchell, who turned in an even-par 70 to open the tournament. But not all 70s are created equal: Mitchell started on the back nine and stumbled out of the gates, with a double bogey on No. 10 and a bogey on No. 11. After just seven holes, he was 6 over and seemingly heading toward a missed cut before flipping the switch after making the turn.

Mitchell tallied birdies on Nos. 1, 3 and 4 before an eagle on the par-5 fifth, and he closed out his round with a birdie on No. 9 from inside 9 feet. That final putt gave him just the seventh nine-hole score of 29 in U.S. Open history and got him back to the clubhouse right where he started on a day when only a handful of players are currently in red figures.

-- Will Gray

2:15 p.m.: It's interesting out there on the course right now. The wind is steady and notable, but we have not seen the incredibly strong gusts forecast to blow through around this time. Will that hold? Or is the carnage just on hold and coming later? We're monitoring that closely.

For now, it's impressive that Shinnecock has held up on scoring. Rory McIlroy just eagled the par-5 fifth to get to 3-under, but only six total players are under-par right now. That's with the softest greens we will see all week.

-- Paul Hodowanic

1:00 p.m.: Another lengthy birdie from Åberg at the first hole (his 10th) has moved him into sole possession of the lead at 2-under. A few players have reached that number, but nobody has stayed there for long. Less than halfway through this first round, the USGA has to be happy with how the course is playing. It's holding up incredibly well despite the soft greens, which have remained healthy and playable as the wind kicks up. Plenty of talk about how Shinnecock might play and all the potential problems that could occur. We're certainly not out of the clear, but it's been a great start.

-- Paul Hodowanic

12:00 p.m.: Made it over to the fifth green to watch Scottie Scheffler hit a remarkable pitch shot and make birdie. The par-5 plays straight downwind, which makes the green incredibly hard to hold, but with the silver lining that chip shots from behind the green will at least be easier to stop. Scheffler played an awesome flop shot that used the hurting wind perfectly, stopping and spinning one to make an easy birdie. Keep an eye on the fifth hole. With the prevailing wind, that hole plays directly downwind. It's been my north star while on property, trying to understand where the wind should be coming from. Any time I'm questioning it, I orient myself with where I am in relation to the fifth.

Back to the golf: Scheffler is even-par, a very solid spot right now.

-- Paul Hodowanic

10:40 a.m.: Checking in here from the 13th tee box, where Rory McIlroy's hat just flew off as he hit his tee shot. Winds are starting to pick up after a relatively subdued (for what's expected to come) start. McIlroy nabbed a pair of early birdies which could be lovely breathing room as he will surely drop some shots today. One observation: the slow greens are leading to a lot of players putting aggressively. Walking with this group, I've already seen McIlroy and Ludvig Åberg ram in a few lengthy birdies. They are there to be had! It just requires really great shots. Exactly how it should be.

-- Paul Hodowanic

9:05 a.m.: Play has resumed here at Shinnecock!

Only 18 players in the 156-man field teed off prior to the delay. New York native James Nicholas hit the opening tee shot off the first tee, and he was one of eight players tied for the lead at even par when play was suspended.

All tee times were pushed back two hours and there will be plenty of marquee groups to keep an eye on as the competition gets underway in earnest, with heavy winds expected to buffet the par-70 layout Thursday afternoon.

Here’s a look at some of the notable opening-round groupings, along with their adjusted tee times (all times ET):

• 9:30 a.m.: Brooks Koepka, Chris Gotterup, Cameron Young
• 9:52 a.m.: Rory McIlroy, Ludvig Åberg, Tommy Fleetwood
• 10:14 a.m.: Scottie Scheffler, J.J. Spaun, Mason Howell (a)
• 3:25 p.m.: Bryson DeChambeau, Viktor Hovland, Matt Fitzpatrick
• 3:47 p.m.: Justin Thomas, Hideki Matsuyama, Xander Schauffele
• 4:09 p.m.: Justin Rose, Jordan Spieth, Jon Rahm

-- Will Gray