First round of U.S. Open at Shinnecock delayed for two hours due to fog
A view from the tee off area at the first hole during suspended play due to fog during the first round of the U.S. Open Championship at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on Thursday, June 18, 2026. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Maybe they should just call it Shinnefog Hills.
Play in the first round of the U.S. Open in Southampton was delayed nearly two hours on Thursday morning when fog rolled in over the course, making the conditions unplayable. Well, more unseeable than unplayable.
“I can't see the fairway,” James Nicholas said before hitting the first shot of the event at 6:35 a.m., double-checking with the starter that he was still supposed to do so.
Fourteen players had teed off on the first and 10th holes when the delay began at 7:05 a.m. None completed more than two holes. Those players remained on the course for 15 minutes but were then called in when the fog did not immediately lift. The USGA announced that play would resume at 9:05.
None of the 14 players managed to score a birdie during the brief beginning of the tournament.
Ironically, the winds that players and officials had been anticipating and preparing for all week subsided during the early part of Thursday morning and did not blow the fog off the course until the middle of the morning, but created a new havoc for the golfers. Weather may remain an issue throughout the day with showers and possible thunderstorms predicted for later in the afternoon.
According to The Associated Press, the last time the first round of the U.S. Open was delayed by fog was in 2021 at Torrey Pines in San Diego, notorious for its “June Gloom.” That one lasted 90 minutes.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
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