SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. (AP) — For all the concern at the U.S. Open about wind and Shinnecock Hills drying out, another weather issue popped up Thursday morning. Thirty minutes after it began, play was stopped by fog.
Fourteen players managed to post scores — no birdies among them — before the horn sounded to stop because of low visibility. They were kept on the course for 15 minutes, and when it didn't get any better, they were brought back in.
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Jackson Suber hits from the fairway on the first hole during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y., Thursday, June 18, 2026.(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
A sign on the third hole shows play was suspended during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y., Thursday, June 18, 2026.(AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Matthew Jordan off the green after play was suspended during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y., Thursday, June 18, 2026.(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Chase Kyes lines up a putt on the first hole during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y., Thursday, June 18, 2026.(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
The first round finally resumed after a two-hour delay. It was the first time the opening round of the U.S. Open was delayed by fog since 2021 at Torrey Pines in San Diego, which is notorious for its “June Gloom.” That one lasted 90 minutes and the first round was not complete until the next morning. That will be the case again at Shinnecock Hills.
The problem was evident at the start. James Nicholas was to hit the opening tee shot, and he walked over to the starter to ask if they were still on time.
“I just wanted to make sure,” Nicholas said. “I can't see the fairway.”
The fairways are wide enough — an average width of 48 yards this year — that no one had any trouble finding their golf balls. But when the par-3 11th green and some landing areas were hard to see, officials had no choice.
Scottie Scheffler, the world's No. 1 player who is trying to complete the career Grand Slam with a U.S. Open title, and Rory McIlroy were among those on the range ahead of their morning tee times.
The USGA prepared the course for the anticipation of strong wind, with gusts potentially approaching 40 mph. The wind Thursday morning wasn't strong enough to move the fog.
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Jackson Suber hits from the fairway on the first hole during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y., Thursday, June 18, 2026.(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
A sign on the third hole shows play was suspended during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y., Thursday, June 18, 2026.(AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Matthew Jordan off the green after play was suspended during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y., Thursday, June 18, 2026.(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Chase Kyes lines up a putt on the first hole during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y., Thursday, June 18, 2026.(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Ukraine struck a major Moscow oil refinery Thursday for a second time in a week, sending huge plumes of black smoke over the capital and disrupting flights at its airports in one of its biggest drone attacks since Russia’s full-scale invasion over four years ago, officials said.
Ukraine has repeatedly targeted Russian oil facilities, aiming to cut Moscow’s revenue for the war and make Russians feel the consequences of the invasion. Some areas have reported fuel shortages.
The attack by dozens of drones came hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had held “an important coordination call” with the presidents of the United States and France and had won key pledges of further support from this week's G7 summit.
“If Ukraine is going to burn, your Moscow will burn too," Zelenskyy said, adding that the attack was part of Kyiv's effort to bring Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table. "It is time to end the aggression, time to end this war.”
Zelenskyy was expected to hold talks in Brussels later Thursday with NATO and European Union leaders, including about the possibility of a continental system to defend against ballistic missiles. Russia has relentlessly struck Ukraine with those types of missiles, which air defenses struggle to counter.
The Moscow attack was the latest embarrassment for Putin, after a Ukrainian drone attack on his hometown of St. Petersburg earlier this month as he welcomed foreign VIPs to his showcase economic forum in the city.
Thick, black smoke and occasional flames spewed from the Moscow Oil Refinery amid its red-and-white smokestacks on the southeastern edge of the city, about 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the Kremlin. Sooty, black rain fell on cars, according to local video.
“One of the most popular questions asked by Muscovites this morning is ‘What is going on?’" Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in a post on X. "I can answer. Your country started a war of aggression against ours. For years, it has been killing our people. Now that you know what’s going on, ask Putin when he is planning to end it.”
The refinery is one of Russia’s biggest, according to its official website, and produces more than a third of the Moscow region's fuel. It was last attacked by Ukrainian drones on Tuesday, catching fire, but officials said the blaze was swiftly put out.
Flights from four Moscow airports were temporarily halted, transport and aviation authorities said.
In the greater Moscow region, a drone hit a residential building in the town of Zhukovsky, according to Gov. Andrei Vorobyov. Buildings elsewhere were damaged by drone debris, injuring 17 people, including two children, he added.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that its air defenses overnight shot down 555 Ukrainian drones over multiple regions, with almost 200 intercepted as they were approaching Moscow. That was roughly double the number of drones that Russia launched at Ukraine overnight, according to the Ukrainian air force.
Putin on Thursday was in Kazan, some 700 kilometers (430 miles) east of Moscow, hosting leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as Russia seeks to bolster business and other ties with the nations of the regional bloc.
“If Putin does not want to end this war and wants to continue it, we will not sit quietly — we will respond,” Zelenskyy said in a voice message to a group chat with journalists. The Ukrainian president has accepted an unconditional ceasefire demanded by Trump, but Putin has refused, and U.S.-led peace efforts have petered out.
As well as pledges of more diplomatic and military help at the G7 summit, Ukraine recently has gained momentum on the battlefield against Russia’s bigger army thanks to its high-tech drones, Western officials and analysts say.
Longer-range drone strikes are choking Russian supply lines in occupied regions of Ukraine, in addition to disrupting Russian oil production.
Macron said the G7 summit was “very important for Ukraine” because its supporters — crucially including the United States — vowed to help it, although the French president provided no details. The U.S. under Trump has cut back assistance to Ukraine, leaving the Europeans as the biggest suppliers of military and financial aid. Trump and Zelenskyy have had an at times strained relationship.
“America is with us on Ukraine, that is very important,” Macron told reporters as he and Trump left the Palace of Versailles near Paris.
In other developments Thursday, Russia struck the city of Sumy in northeastern Ukraine with two powerful glide bombs that killed a 64-year-old man who was fishing in a river, said Oleh Hryhorov, head of the regional military administration.
Another Russian strike on the central city of Dnipro killed one man and wounded nine other people, said Oleksandr Hanzha, head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration.
Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Belgium's King Philippe, right, and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrive for their meeting at the Royal Palace in Brussels, Thursday, June 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the Russia-ASEAN summit in Kazan, Russia, Thursday, June 18, 2026. (Sergei Bobylev/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
This photo provided by Moscow Region Governor Andrei Vorobyev's official telegram channel shows firefighters extinguish a burning car after a Ukrainian drone attack outside Moscow on Thursday, June 18, 2026. (Moscow Region Governor Andrei Vorobyev's official telegram channel via AP)
This photo released by Moscow Region Governor Andrei Vorobyev's official telegram channel shows the damage in a country side after a Ukrainian drone attack outside Moscow on Thursday, June 18, 2026. (Moscow Region Governor Andrei Vorobyev's official telegram channel via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, attends the Russia-ASEAN summit in Kazan, Russia, Thursday, June 18, 2026. (Mikhail Metzel/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
This photo provided by Moscow Region Governor Andrei Vorobyev's official telegram channel shows smoke rising from a damaged building after a Ukrainian drone attack outside Moscow on Thursday, June 18, 2026. (Moscow Region Governor Andrei Vorobyev's official telegram channel via AP)
