So far this week at the U.S. Open, Shinnecock Hills has yet to bare its teeth. Concerns about windy conditions on Thursday prompted the USGA to turn down the greens, and the field responded to the receptive conditions. As of Saturday morning, Wyndham Clark sat atop the leaderboard at seven under, a whopping eight strokes below the winning number at Shinnecock in 2018. But if you remember that championship, you’ll also remember that things didn’t truly get gnarly until Saturday, when baked greens and high winds turned the U.S. Open into a backyard slip n’ slide. From the looks of things at the start of Moving Day 2026, history could just be repeating itself.
That was the scene on the first green for Chris Gotterup, who tee’d off in the second group out on Saturday at 9:11 a.m. When the four-time PGA Tour winner bent down to mark his bogey putt, his ball began skating across the green, propelled by 20-plus-mph gusts. Gotterup wasn’t the only player struggling with the blustery conditions early on Saturday morning, however. Jackson Koivun, the top-ranked amateur in the world and a two-time NCAA player of the year, found himself at the mercy of Mother Nature, as his bag took a tumble in the breeze while warming up on the range. Thankfully his clubs appeared unharmed.
Needless to say, the sickos (myself included) will be salivating watching the early tee times struggle on Saturday. Winds are forecasted to die down slightly as the day goes on, but that means the leaders will face the crispiest, fastest greens of the day come the afternoon. With the USGA reportedly alerting players they planned to up green speeds for Saturday’s third round, that means we might finally get to see the sick, sadistic Shinneock we’ve been hoping for. If Wyndham (WINDham?) Clark continues to play as well he has, that may not matter, but it wouldn’t be a true U.S. Open triumph without a little carnage along the way.
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