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US Open 2026: golf updates on day two – live | US Open
Key events
Matt Fitzpatrick has to hole a 27-footer to save par at 3. It keeps him at -3 and in a tie for third. Great work. But not so good for playing partner DeChambeau, who misses the fairway, comes up short with his approach and looks utterly baffled as his par putt from 30 feet drifts five feet past. He completes an error-strewn hole by missing that one so it’s an ugly double bogey and Bryson tumbles down to +2.
The average score in round one was 73.280 which isn’t too exteme for a US Open. Here’s how it compares to the last five years.
Round 1 Scoring Average
2025 Oakmont Country Club 74.64
2024 Pinehurst No.2 73.20
2023 Los Angeles Country Club 71.40
2022 The Country Club at Brookline 72.29
2021 Torrey Pines South Course 74.01
Gary Woodland’s story has been well documented but is worth repeating. Earlier this year he went public with his mental struggle with PTSD, a byproduct of brain surgery to remove a lesion in September 2023. It’s a constant battle for the popular American so it was wonderful to see him win the Houston Open in March – his first victory on the PGA Tour in nearly seven years. The US Open has always been special for him as he won the event at one of golf’s great cathedrals, Pebble Beach, in 2019.
And could Woodland be on track for a second US Open win? He’s made a fantastic start, following up an opening 67 with a birdie at the 1st today after putting his approach to inside three feet. He has work to do at the 2nd though after finding sand and splashing out to 10 feet. His putt just misses left after drifting across the hole and he returns to -3 and in a tie for third. Here’s the latest leaderboard:
-6: Clark (2)
-4: D Johnson (2)
-3: M Fitzpatrick (2), Woodland (2), Cowan (5)
Viktor Hovland and Niklas Norgaard are both wearing vertical striped black and white trousers that, let’s be honest, scream butcher’s apron rather than high fashion. “A pound of sausages and half a pound of mince,” says Ewen Murray in the Sky commentary box as Hovland putts from off the green at 2. The Norwegian’s first effort pulls up short but he saves his bacon by holing a six-footer for par.
No rest for our leaders. Wyndham Clark (leader), Dustin Johnson (solo second) and Gary Woodland (tied third) are all playing in the same group again. That three-ball of former US Open champs shot a combined 13-under in round one which, quite frankly, is astonishing at a Shinnecock playing as tough as ever. They’re starting at Hole 1 today.
Matt Fitzpatrick (tied third) has also got his second lap underway and just missed a 19-foot birdie putt at the 1st. The 2021 Brookline winner is one group ahead of the Clark-DJ-Woodland three-ball and the Englishman has Bryson DeChambeau and Viktor Hovland for company. Two-time US Open champion DeChambeau (2020 and 2024) shot an even par 70 in round one but Hovland had a miserable first circuit of Shinnecock, racking up six bogeys and not a single birdie in a 6-over 76. A shame that as Hovland came in on the back of a third place in Canada last week – his best finish of the season.
I’m enjoying the name of one of the players in tied fifth. Spencer Tibbits is a former Oregon State standout but sounds more like he hangs about with Neville Thumbcatch in the the late 60s. Tibbits actually qualified for the US Open at Pebble Beach as an amateur in 2019. Anyway, he’s making an ‘Attack’ on the leaderboard.
What about the weather today? I’ll give you how it’s described in USA Today. Kind of cutesy.
Friday, June 19: Stiff winds with clouds giving way to sun; gusty winds will continue to pose problems for golfers.
Saturday, June 20: Stiff winds with plenty of sunshine; gusty winds will continue to pose problems for golfers.
Sunday, June 21: Times of clouds and sunshine; nice for Father’s Day activities.
Do these activities include telling your kids to leave you alone as you’re watching the golf?
Overnight leader Wyndham Clark pars the final two holes via a pair of short putts and posts the clubhouse lead of 6-under 64. Well played that man! But look at the bunch behind him – a trio of fellow former US Open winners. Dustin Johnson, the champion at Oakmont in 2016, has picked up shots at 7 and 9 this morning to shoot 66 and cut Clark’s overnight lead in half. Meanwhile, the 2023 Brookline winner, Matt Fitzpatrick, and 2019 Pebble Beach hero Gary Woodland both finished birdie-par at 8 and 9 when returning to the course and they’re just three back.
And, lo and behold, there’s a fifth former US Open champion who is in the bunch at -2. Jon Rahm still has three to play so still has the chance to improve his score. In the meantime, some players have already started round two. That includes amateur Ryder Cowan, who has started par-par to remain at -2.
Here’s what I guess we’re calling the second-round leaderboard. I’ve put in some random syllable (^) to show that Rahm is still playing his first round. If that’s not the right convention, sue me.
-6: Clark (-)
-4: D Johnson (-)
-3: M Fitzpatrick (-), Woodland (-)
-2: Cowan (2), Stevens (-), Rahm (15*^), McGreevy
While we wait for Clark and others to finish, here’s Bryan Armen Graham’s report of the day one action.
Preamble
Hello everyone! The pace of play at a US Open is always sloooow and the grind wasn’t helped by a two-hour fog delay on Thursday morning. It meant many of those in the afternoon wave didn’t compete their rounds.
So they’re heading out again this morning and that includes the runaway leader Wyndham Clark. Anything under the par of 70 was considered excellent in the tough Thursday conditions but 2023 US Open champion Clark somehow got to -6 through his first 16 holes before bad light stopped play. Can he stay there, or go even lower, when he finishes up early this morning? We’ll find out shortly.
The family of Shaun Burton, say they are “devastated” by the loss.
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Key events
In the opening half an hour against Cape Verde, Mikel Oyarzabal, the centre-forward, did not get a single touch.
Kyle Green gets in touch: “Your highlighting of Lalas and his absurdity is something that has prevented me from wanting to watch the coverage on Fox. While every channel has its pros and cons I just can’t.
“I’m 45 and probably the youngest of anyone who remembers him as a player instead of an opinionated insert insult here. As for the match this could be more competitive than it looks on paper Spain need a win the pressure is on them. Saudi Arabia could hold out for a draw and see what happens in their last match. “
News from the England camp, and it seems to be good news on Declan Rice.
“I’m ready and fit, raring to go. I was feeling a little bit of neural pain in my hamstring, which I was managing from after Christmas with Arsenal for a very long time. Obviously, not a lot of people would have known that. It was all behind-the-scenes stuff but it was a smart decision.
“In the end, that last 20 minutes is probably where you pick up the most, and it’s where you play a 70-minute match. But that last 20 is where you really feel your body going for it. And I think it was a smart decision because the last few days I felt really, really good.”
Alex Reid has penned today’s weekend special Football Daily.
Portugal v Uzbekistan on Tuesday enticingly pits the incredibly nice, incredibly 41-year-old-superstar-tolerant Roberto Martínez against Fabio Cannavaro, who’s won a Ballon d’Or as a player and the Chinese Super League as a coach. While the fixture following that game really does see the dream of Thomas Tuchel – in his first international job with England – taking on Queiroz, who is in charge of his ninth national side with Ghana.
The expected formations are 4-2-3-1 for Spain, and 5-3-2 for the Saudi Arabians.
The Saudi team features two Donis changes: Ali Lajami, a defender, and Nasser Al Dawsari, a midfielder, are preferred to Mohammed Abu Al Shamat and Mohamed Kanno. You may recall Salem Al Dawsari, the Saudi captain, as the man who scored the winner against Argentina.
An entertaining read, even for those of us who have just seen the clips.
In a conversation where his co-panelist is casually reminiscing about his days playing alongside Messi or exchanging shirts with Ronaldo Nazário at the World Cup, what exactly is Lalas going to talk about – coming on as a second-half substitute for Earnie Stewart in a friendly against Scotland in 1998? Helping the Kansas City Wizards finish last in the 1999 MLS Western Conference? Did Lalas enjoy an elite playing career? No. But does he do the background reading that could compensate for his relative lack of standing in a conversation with titans like Henry and Zlatan? Also no. But is he charming or funny or charismatic or otherwise magnetic on screen? Eh, no.
For the record, I once interviewed Alexi Lalas on the challenge of playing against Romario in the 1994 World Cup. He had this to say:
“He could kill you in so many different ways. If you remember from that World Cup, he scored so many types of goals. That ranged from solo adventures to an outside-of-the-right-foot half-volley off a corner kick. Romario was both the most difficult to play against and the best that I have faced.
“Roberto Baggio was doing his thing, but in terms of consistency and living up to the hype, he [Romario] was the best. As with all stars, there was a moment when the fans sit up in their seats, and that was a feeling I got with Romario. When it got close to him and the potential for his involvement in a play was there, everybody sat up in their seat. They knew that something spectacular would be happening.”
Saturday’s match reports here.
The Saudi Arabia coach, and Blackburn legend, Georgios Donis, spoke about the challenges facing his team: “Spain is not the same team when Yamal or Williams are on the bench.
“While they still have plenty of possession, they lack the individual one-on-one penetration when these two are missing. I’m not saying it’s a problem for Spain, but when those players are missing, they play in a different way. We saw this very clearly against Cape Verde.
“We are playing against one of the best teams in the world, and it’s very important that when you play against these kinds of teams, you should enjoy the experience and respect the opponent, but not too much.
“It is very hard for any team playing against Spain to have any time in possession. So what we must do is to be more in control of our movement and compact, and when the ball goes through the lines, be able to defend dynamically.
“It’s nice to see miracles in football, and we’ve seen favourites losing against underdogs. Of course, it’s great for Saudi football to have a great memory of the result against Argentina, but we aren’t drawing anything from that.
“I think we’ll feel more pressure in that [Cape Verde] game than we will against Spain.”
The Spain coach, Luis De La Fuente had this to say in his Saturday press conference: “This generation of footballers is highly competitive and really fired up… It’s going to be a completely different story,” he said at his pre-match press conference on Saturday. There is no drama or crisis. The bottom line is simply that we need to win tomorrow.”
Four changes for Spain: Lamine Yamal, Pedro Porro, Dani Olmo and Alex Baena also come into the side with Marcos Llorente, Fabian Ruiz, Ferran Torres and Gavi dropping out.
The teams – Lamine Yamal starts
Spain: Simon, Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella, Gonzalez, Rodri, Yamal, Olmo, Baena, Oyarzabal. Subs: Raya, Joan Garcia, Pubill, Grimaldo, Eric Garcia, Llorente, Merino, Torres, Fabian, Gavi, Pino, Williams, Zubimendi, Munoz, Iglesias.
Saudi Arabia: Al Owais, Abdulhamid, Tambakti, Lajami, Al Amri, Al Harbi, Nasser Al Dawsari, Al Khaibari, Al Juwayr, Al Buraikan, Salem Al Dawsari. Subs: Al Aqidi, Al Kassar, Majrashi, Yahya, Al Shehri, Al Boushal, Kadesh, Al Johani, Al Ghannam, Al Hajji, Al Hamdan, Mandash, Kanno, Thakri, Abu Al Shamat.
Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)
Perhaps one of the Saudi -players can write themselves into this high-grade selection?
Perhaps it can be their goalkeeper.
Madrid screening of Spain v Saudi Arabia cancelled due to heat
The public screening of Spain’s World Cup match against Saudi Arabia in Madrid on Sunday has been cancelled because of extreme heat forecast for the Spanish capital, officials said.
The match, due to kick off at 6pm local time on Sunday, had been scheduled to be shown on a giant screen installed by the Spanish football federation (RFEF) at a fan zone in Plaza de Colón in central Madrid.
Madrid city council and the federation decided to cancel the screening after national weather agency AEMET issued an orange heat warning – the second-highest level – for the Madrid region, with temperatures forecast to reach 40C.
“The decision has been taken with the aim of protecting the health of attendees, event staff and support services involved in the event,” Madrid city hall said in a statement, apologising for any inconvenience.
Officials urged supporters to watch the match indoors in air-conditioned spaces and avoid prolonged exposure to the heat.
Large parts of Spain are experiencing unusually high temperatures for June as a mass of hot air from North Africa moves across the Iberian Peninsula.
A total of 13 of Spain’s 17 regions are on orange alert for heat on Sunday, while the northern Basque Country bordering France is on red alert, the highest level.
Authorities advised residents and visitors to take precautions during the heatwave, including drinking water regularly, staying in cool environments, limiting outdoor physical activity during the hottest hours of the day and taking extra care of vulnerable people. AFP
Can Saudi Arabia repeat the magic of 2022?
Argentina arrived in Qatar on a 36-game unbeaten run. When Lionel Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 10 minutes, a comfortable afternoon seemed in the offing. Saleh al-Shehri and Salem al-Dawsari had other ideas, Argentina had three goals disallowed for offside in the space of 13 minutes and the greatest comeback in Saudi Arabia football history was made. Argentina went on to lift the trophy, while defeats to Poland and Mexico meant the Saudis did not reach the knock-out stage.
Unai Simon over David Raya is a controversial choice for De la Fuentes. The Arsenal keeper could lay claim to being Europe’s best this season.
“Those at the Champions League final had a few more days, so I got there on the Wednesday night,” Raya says. “I arrived a bit before Fabián [Ruiz]. I was saying hello to some of the others in reception when he arrived. I went to say congratulations; that was almost the first thing I did. I couldn’t really talk [to him] after the final; I just didn’t have it in me. The next day we talked about the game properly. Just two mates chatting … I was happy for him that he could lift the trophy for a second time.”
A high pressure game for the European champions, as Sid Lowe reports.
“If we had scored one, the game would have changed,” Martín Zubimendi said. Immediately after the game, De la Fuente had offered a simple analysis: when the ball doesn’t want to go in it doesn’t want to go in, he insisted. Spain had racked up 27 shots, after all. Ferran Torres had hit the bar and seen another clear opportunity saved. Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper who stopped that, saved six more and was named the man of the match. “There’s nothing to reproach the team for,” Rodri said. “We generated chances but couldn’t put it away; the good thing is they created almost nothing.”
We wait to see what role Lamine Yamal will play today. His coach would surely like to be able to use him.
The worst mistake we could make would be to compare him to anyone. He is the midst of a process. He has exceptional footballing maturity and lives it all with total naturalness. He has great serenity and strength. We have to let him follow his path but those players who have something different are ready for that. They’re geniuses, like Dalí [who] can paint a picture, or Michelangelo. They’re different. What is exceptional to us, isn’t to them. In those extremes, they feel comfortable. Why? Because they are different. What we think is exceptional, they consider normal.
Preamble
Spain’s campaign did not get off to a flying start, and Luis de la Fuentes may wake up in the night to visions of Cape Verde’s Vozinha. He will have Georgia on his mind ever since Monday. Saudi Arabia are no pushovers and gave Uruguay a scare in their opening match. Memories of downing Argentina four years ago still abound, and so Spain might beware. They can ill afford to go into the final game with Uruguay at a disadvantage. All eyes on Lamine Yamal, whose fitness situation remains opaque, though Spain need their other forwards to come to the party.
Kick-off 5pm UK, 1pm ET, 2am AEST. Join me.
A topless man can be seen driving erratically in Edinburgh before abandoning his car and attacking a black man and a delivery rider.
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