Dustin Johnson’s promising position at the 2026 U.S. Open turned into a rough scramble after a run of trouble at Shinnecock Hills on Friday, June 19—moving him from within one shot of the lead to needing a late push just to make the weekend cut.
For a short stretch on Friday at Shinnecock Hills, it looked like Dustin Johnson might finally put himself back into a U.S. Open fight. Then his second round unraveled—fast—through a five-hole stretch that turned contention into damage control.
Johnson’s slide began after a bright moment at No. 10, when he made a birdie to pull within one shot of U.S. Open leader Wyndham Clark. By the time he was finished at No. 15, the tournament math had swung hard the other way: he went from 4-under par to 4-over.
The collapse started at No. 11, a par 3, where Johnson took a double bogey. He hit his tee shot into a bunker. and the bunker shot followed the wrong story twice—trickling back into the sand thanks to the tricky greens at Shinnecock Hills. From there, the mistakes stacked: Johnson recorded back-to-back bogeys as his round began to slip out of reach.
That snowball finally reached its ugliest form at No. 15, a par 4, where he carded a quadruple bogey. Johnson found another bunker. and the hole became a repeated lesson in how unforgiving the recovery shots can be when the ball keeps running into trouble. His first bunker shot rolled from one bunker to another. The next attempt hit the lip and kicked back into the sand. On the third try, the bunker shot sailed all the way over the green.
It took Johnson six shots to complete the final 61 feet of the hole. After finishing No. 15, the turnaround was complete—he was no longer just trying to climb the leaderboard. He was potentially looking at the kind of late push that can decide whether a player even plays the weekend.
He did find a small lifeline on No. 16, where he made a birdie to give himself a chance to bounce back.
Johnson, who plays with LIV Golf, is 10 years removed from winning the 2016 U.S. Open. He has not finished inside the top-15 of a major since 2023. The outcome of his Friday round now hangs on what he can do next, after the birdie at No. 16 came too late to erase what happened from No. 11 through No. 15.
The course conditions appear to have played a central role in the speed of the setback. Earlier in the week, Rory McIlroy discussed the 2026 U.S. Open setup at Shinnecock Hills. saying. “The greens are pretty slow and quite receptive.” On Friday. Johnson’s round showed how even receptive greens can punish a shot that finds the wrong face of trouble—and how quickly a U.S. Open can go from one shot back to a scramble for survival.
Dustin Johnson U.S. Open Shinnecock Hills Wyndham Clark LIV Golf golf major cut line June 19 2026