Golf-Tough start for Scheffler in bid for career Slam, play suspended due to darkness at US Open

Scottie Scheffler struggled in his first-round U.S. Open bid for a career Grand Slam, carding a two-over par 72, trailing the leaders after windy conditions tested the field at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club.

Scottie Scheffler endured a shaky start in his bid for a career ​Grand Slam in first-round U.S. Open action on Thursday at Shinnecock Hills Golf ‌Club, ​as Americans Sam Stevens and Max McGreevy shared the clubhouse lead with amateur Ryder Cowan, all carding a two-under par 68 before play was suspended due to darkness. Scheffler, a two-time Masters winner, is making his first attempt at completing the career Grand Slam of golf's four majors after winning last year's PGA Championship and British Open ‌but trailed the top of the leaderboard with a two-over par 72 after the first round.

Windy conditions with gusts up to 34 mph (54.7 kph) tested the field at the famously tricky Southampton course. The American had one birdie against a pair of bogeys and a double bogey on the front nine, where he struggled with his putter. He put three circles on the back half of the course against two bogeys, including another misjudged putt on the par-five 16th hole.

"Any time ‌you get conditions like this, I think the scores are going to be high," said Scheffler. "It's an interesting golf course. Part of the challenge so far is judging the conditions as well, judging how this course ‌is going to play. "I feel like this course can change pretty rapidly from day to day. I think that's also part of the challenge of the tournament is adjusting to those conditions."

Starting on the back nine, Stevens suffered a confidence-rattling double bogey on the par-four 10th hole before having to wait more than two hours to play the next hole, after a thick layer of early morning fog forced a long delay. He settled in quickly with a birdie on the par-three 11th hole, playing the soft greens extraordinarily well as organisers kept them watered to ⁠help mitigate the ​windy conditions.

McGreevy was at even par at the turn before ⁠getting a birdie on the par-four 13th hole and draining a 21-foot putt for another birdie on the par-three 17th, while Cowan played beyond his experience with four birdies that offset a pair of bogeys. Former champion Wyndham Clark held the top spot on the leaderboard at ⁠six-under with two holes left to play when the round was suspended.

GOLF'S TOUGHEST TEST The U.S. Open is known as the toughest test in golf and Shinnecock Hills upheld that reputation, even as USGA Chief Championships Officer John Bodenhamer told reporters this week that measures ​were in place to slow down the greens in anticipation of the windy weather.

The event got underway as standstill traffic in the fashionable New York beach town held up ticketholders for the 156-player tournament, ⁠which included 12 former U.S. Open champions and 49 debutants. Back-to-back Masters winner Rory McIlroy started on the back nine and grinned as a gust of wind knocked his hat off at the 13th tee, appearing at ease even as a pair of bogeys offset his two early birdies.

The Northern ⁠Irishman ​marched up the leaderboard with an inspired performance on the par-five fifth hole, draining an 11-foot putt for eagle after another birdie on the par-four third hole. He finished one-under par. "Look, the greens are pretty slow and quite receptive. I think they need to be at this point. It's a challenging golf course already, and you put 30-mile-an-hour winds on top of it, it tests the best players in the world pretty well," said McIlroy.

Adam Scott ⁠was playing one group ahead of Scheffler's threesome and competing in his 100th consecutive major this week, a streak that started at the 2001 British Open. The 45-year-old Australian finished at three-over par. Former champions Jon Rahm ⁠and Bryson DeChambeau, two of the 13 LIV Golf competitors in ⁠the field, were among the late starters, which also included PGA Championship winner Aaron Rai, and the high-profile threesome of Justin Thomas, Hideki Matsuyama and Xander Schauffele.

When Shinnecock Hills last hosted the U.S. Open in 2018, the field scoring was 74.65, which is the highest scoring average relative to par for the tournament over the last 18 ‌years. The opening round of the U.S. ‌Open will resume at 6:35 a.m. ET (1035 GMT) on Friday.