While Shinnecock has been friendlier than expected with favorable conditions and pin placements so far, it hasn\u2019t been great to a handful of LIV Golf players. Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau struggled all throughout Friday\u2019s second round, and Joaquin Niemann didn\u2019t exactly help the league\u2019s PR by getting tagged with a two-stroke penalty for throwing a club.<\/p>\n
The tournament\u2019s final 36 holes should be an even greater challenge as the USGA tightens the screws around the course. The 126th U.S. Open champion is going to have to earn it.<\/p>\n
Following Friday\u2019s cut day that chopped the field<\/a> from 156 golfers down to 72, here are the winners and losers from the second day at Shinnecock:<\/p>\n Winner: Wyndham Clark and Shinnecock\u2019s locker room<\/p>\n Clark made the cut, so he will not be trashing the locker room at Shinnecock like he did at last year\u2019s U.S. Open at Oakmont<\/a>. Alright, unnecessary cheap shots aside, Clark has been tremendous<\/a>. He shot a 64 on Thursday and 69 on Friday to enter the weekend at seven-under par, setting the U.S. Open record for the lowest opening 36-hole score at Shinnecock (133). If Clark can hang on and win, it\u2019ll mark a career first for him, as he\u2019s 0-for-7 in converting a lead after 18 holes into a tournament victory.\u00a0<\/p>\n GIUFFRA: Walking 20 Holes With the U.S. Open Leader is Exhausting Work <\/a>Loser: Joaquin Niemann<\/p>\n On Friday morning, the USGA handed Niemann a two-stroke penalty<\/a> for throwing a tantrum on the 6th hole during his first round Thursday. Niemann kicked around sand and threw a club, which was enough for the USGA to consider it \u201cserious misconduct\u201d and bump a quadruple-bogey 9 into an 11. The LIV Golf star turned things around Friday, however, firing a five-under 65 to enter Sunday three-over par. According to The Athletic\u2019s Justin Ray<\/a>, no golfer over the last 25 years has posted an 11 or worse on a single hole in a PGA Tour event and went on to make the cut. Until Niemann.<\/p>\n Winner: Xander Schauffele<\/p>\n The San Diego native is right at home at the U.S. Open. Since he first debuted at the major as a 23-year-old in 2017, Schauffele has never placed worse than T14. He\u2019s still looking for his first U.S. Open win, though, and is in position to fight for it this weekend, sitting four strokes behind Clark at three-under par through 36 holes.<\/p>\n Loser: Dustin Johnson and his trips to the beach<\/p>\n Remember this morning when DJ entered the second round in second place? It didn\u2019t last long<\/a>. The two-time major champ shot a seven-over 77 to enter the weekend at three-over par. He was in the sand often on Friday and struggled mightily to get his ball out of there, twice flopping the ball from one bunker to another. Since 2023, Johnson has missed the cut in six of 11 majors and has just one finish above 23rd place. His career came to a screeching halt after joining LIV.<\/p>\n Shinnecock’s bunkers are giving DJ a brutally tough go today. pic.twitter.com\/5ntILj4Ruy<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 19, 2026<\/a>Winner: Justin Thomas<\/p>\n Welcome to the weekend, JT. Thomas\u2019s second round began with bogeys on two of his first three holes, but he locked in and shot four-under par the rest of the way to post a 68. It\u2019s the first time he\u2019s made the cut at the U.S. Open since 2022 at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass., and his first U.S. Open round under par since the first round that year, too.<\/p>\n Loser: Bryson DeChambeau<\/p>\n Leading up to this week\u2019s U.S. Open, DeChambeau posted a photo of himself on Instagram with the caption, \u201cLike this post if you think I\u2019m going to make my first cut.\u201d The 115,000-plus people who liked that post were wrong. DeChambeau shot an even-par 70 on Thursday but limped to a five-over 75 on Friday as he flubbed many approach shots and never found a rhythm with his putter. Entering the U.S. Open, we considered this to be the biggest week of DeChambeau\u2019s golfing career<\/a>. After missing the cut at the Masters, PGA Championship and now U.S. Open, it appears DeChambeau is more interested in growing his YouTube channel<\/a> than being one of the best golfers in the world. He could complete the 2026 cut grand slam at the British Open in July.\u00a0<\/p>\n Winner: Harry Higgs<\/p>\n Higgs is best remembered for the time he ripped off his shirt at the 16th hole at the Waste Management Phoenix Open in 2022 and had some fun as fans rained down stacks of beer cups. He hasn\u2019t been able to do much on the PGA Tour and has played mostly on the Korn Ferry Tour the past few years. On Friday, he had a round at the U.S. Open that he\u2019ll never forget as he fired a two-under 68 to get to one-under for the tournament. He\u2019s played in six PGA Tour events this year and missed the cut in every one of them. Whatever happens this weekend, Higgs will never forget his Friday at Shinnecock, which included the unlikeliest of birdies at the difficult par-3 11th:\u00a0<\/p>\n THE BIG RIG! \ud83d\ude9b<\/p>\n Spectacular birdie from well off the green for Harry Higgs! pic.twitter.com\/w6QaSeqGd8<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 19, 2026<\/a>Loser: Jon Rahm<\/p>\n Rahm seemed poised to make a run<\/a> at Shinnecock after finishing tied for second at the PGA Championship<\/a> last month. He got off to a hot start in the first round with a two-under 68 in the opening round, and it looked like the old Rahm was back. And then, well, he completely fell apart on Friday, shooting an eight-over 78 that left him missing the cut and looking for an early flight home. Just a brutal turn of events for a guy who\u2019s one of the best players in the world when he\u2019s on. He was off on Friday, and now he\u2019s really off this weekend.<\/p>\n Winner: Miles Russell<\/p>\n The 17-year-old phenom who recently graduated from high school<\/a> will be playing golf this weekend at Shinnecock after making the cut with a one-over 71 in Friday\u2019s second round. That has him at three-over for the tournament. Pretty cool for a kid who will be a freshman at Florida State in a few months.<\/p>\n Miles Russell will see the weekend.<\/p>\n Not bad for a 17-year-old in his U.S. Open debut! pic.twitter.com\/VewLh8I1Ls<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 19, 2026<\/a>More Golf from Sports Illustrated![\"\"](\"https:\/\/assets.minutemediacdn.com\/platform\/google_discover_icon.svg\"){kind=icon}
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