Wyndham Clark holds a commanding four-shot lead at the halfway stage of the US Open, as Rory McIlroy lost ground after a rollercoaster second round at Shinnecock Hills.
Clark returned early on Friday morning to par the final two holes of an opening-round 64, following a fog-delayed first day, then mixed three birdies with two bogeys in a one-under 69.
The 2023 champion holed a long-range birdie on his final hole to move to seven under, the lowest 36-hole score ever in a US Open held at this major venue, putting him top of a star-studded leaderboard filled with past major champions.
Xander Schauffele jumped to tied-second alongside 2022 winner Matt Fitzpatrick and American Sam Stevens, with Collin Morikawa a further shot back after equalling the round of the day with a five-under 65 in challenging conditions.
McIlroy threatened to be Clark's closest challenger when he reached the turn in 33 and within four of the lead, only to mix two birdies with three bogeys and a double bogey on the back nine to post a one-over 71.
The world No 2 is joined on level par by Scottie Scheffler, who posted a second-round 68 as he looks to complete the career Grand Slam, while two-time US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau missed the cut for a third consecutive major.
McIlroy holed from 10 feet to save par at the first and made a patient start to his second round, before a 393-yard drive at the par-five fifth set up a two-putt birdie and lifted him closer to Clark.
The six-time major winner slotted in a 15-foot birdie at the eighth but missed a six-foot attempt at the par-five next to get within three of the lead, before going long of the green with approaches into the first three holes of his back nine and bogeying them all.
McIlroy responded by firing a wedge to tap-in range at the 13th and nailed a 40-footer at the next, but undid those successive bogeys - and slipped back to level par - when he double-bogeyed the par-four 15th.
The world No 2 had to get up and down from off the par-five 16th to save par and scramble from the sand to avoid a bogey at the 17th, with McIlroy struggling with distance control during an eventful back-nine 38.
"I just kept hitting it long," McIlroy told Your Site. "It was tough. I feel like our side of the draw played in the windiest of the conditions and the scores sort of bear that out, but I held in and hung in there as best I could.
"Even par going into the weekend isn't terrible. Hopefully go out there and keep playing the way I'm playing. I'm doing the right things. I made a couple of mistakes, which put me behind the eight ball a little bit, but still a really solid two days."
Clark held a two-shot lead over Dustin Johnson after the opening round was completed and briefly moved five clear on Friday, with the American posting back-to-back rounds in the 60s at a major for the first time since his 2023 US Open win.
"The great thing about that is I didn't feel like I had my best and I still am leading," Clark said. "Hopefully I can bring my A-game on the weekend."
Schauffele - who has never finished outside the top 15 at the US Open - posted a four-under 66 to move to three under alongside Fitzpatrick, who birdied two of his last three holes, while Stevens (69) and Kim (67) complete the quartet in second behind Clark.
Only 10 players remain under par, with Justin Thomas, Sam Burns, Sahith Theegala and Harry Higgs all rising to one under, as Scheffler produced a much-improved display as he carded just one bogey in a two-under 68.
Last month's PGA Championship winner Aaron Rai sits in the group on one over alongside compatriots Justin Rose and Tommy Fleetwood, as DeChambeau made another early exit after posting back-to-back double bogeys in a five-over 75.
Jon Rahm played his first 21 holes bogey-free but also missed the cut when he dropped six shots in a five-hole stretch during an eight-over 78, leaving him six over, with Viktor Hovland (+5), Patrick Reed (+5), Shane Lowry (+6) and Adam Scott (+8) also failing to reach the weekend.
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