US Open Golf 2026 Cut Line Projections After Thursday's Leaderboard

The PGA Tour announced on Thursday evening that first-round play during the U.S. Open at New York's  Shinnecock Hills Golf Club was being suspended due to darkness at 8:25 p.m. ET.

Wyndham Clark will head into Friday with a commanding lead after shooting six under through 15 holes, four strokes better than seven different golfers all at two under, including Matt Fitzpatrick, Dustin Johnson and Jon Rahm (none of whom completed their opening round either).

While many players got through a full round, a large chunk still had several holes to go. Nonetheless, an early projected cut line had emerged.

Because the U.S. Open allows for the top 60 players and any ties to advance to Saturday and Sunday's play, any player at two over or better is in prime position to survive the cut.

Obviously, much could change on Friday. But for now, two over is the cut line.

A number of big names are currently doing just enough to survive, including Scottie Scheffler, Patrick Reed, Harris English, Cameron Young and Xander Schauffele, who all shot two over (though Schauffele is only through 15).

Some big names are on the wrong side of the projected cut, meanwhile. Brooks Koepka, Adam Scott, Justin Rose, Jordan Spieth and Collin Morikawa are each three over, while Shane Lowry and Patrick Cantlay are four over. And defending champion J.J. Spaun isn't going to repeat after shooting a 7-over 77 during Thursday's first round.

So it was a tough first round for some of the sport's more recognizable figures. But after Thursday's darkness postponement, there's plenty of golf to be played.