Wyndham Clark established a commanding four-stroke lead before darkness halted the opening round of the US Open at Shinnecock Hills.
The 2023 champion reached six under par through 16 holes when officials suspended play at 8:25 PM due to fading light.
Sam Stevens finished as the clubhouse leader at two under par, anchoring a group of five players at that score.
Nine others, including Rory McIlroy, sat a shot further back.
Amateurs Ryder Cowan and Preston Stout briefly shared the lead during the afternoon before dropping back as conditions shifted.
Clark took advantage of fading winds later in the day, recording consecutive birdies followed by an eagle on the fifth hole to break away from the pack.
No golfer has held a lead of four shots or more after the first round of the US Open since Tommy Armour accomplished the feat in 1933.
“Everything was kind of clicking,” said Clark, who said this week he’s out for redemption after smashing a locker at Oakmont following a missed cut at last year’s event.
“We were definitely fortunate with the wind laying down.”
Heavy morning fog caused a two-hour delay, forcing organizers to halt play just 30 minutes after local qualifier James Nicholas struck the opening tee shot at 6:35 AM.
Action resumed shortly after 9:00 AM, making it inevitable that the opening round would carry over into Friday morning.
McIlroy opened strongly with consecutive birdies on the 11th and 12th holes to briefly take the solo lead before an eagle on the fifth moved him to three under par.
Two late dropped shots resulted in a one-under-par 69 for the world number two.
The Northern Irishman noted that his poor performance at the venue in 2018 prompted him to alter his major championship preparation by focusing on trajectory and short-game precision.
“I remember thinking to myself, I’ve got this backwards,” McIlroy said. “I should be in my comfort zone at Shinnecock and not here.”
Scottie Scheffler struggled on the 7,440-yard course, battling to a two-over-par 72 to remain six strokes behind the tournament leader.
“Overall it was a really challenging day,” Scheffler said.
“If you told me when I was staring at my par putt on nine that I would post two-over today, I would definitely have taken it at the time.”
To prevent the notoriously difficult greens from drying out amid forecasts of 30 mph winds, the USGA took the unusual step of watering the putting surfaces during play.
