Clark survives to lift another U.S. Open trophy
Burns, crowds applied the heat at Shinnecock but can't stop Wyndham's wire-to-wire win
Wyndham Clark raised a sweat and a second U.S. Open trophy at Shinnecock (Jeff Haynes/USGA)
Major championships should not be easy to win, and in the end Wyndham Clark had to dig down and grind out a one-shot victory over Sam Burns to win the 126th U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills despite nearly losing his six-shot lead to start the final round. He had to beat a hard golf course, a harder crowd and a hard charge from a young player who keeps knocking on the U.S. Open door.
As he needed to do in 2023 at Los Angeles Country Club, Clark needed to lag a looooooong putt to make par on 18 and seal the deal, dialing in a perfect 52-footer to within inches of the cup. The bigger putt was the 25-footer that tumbled into the hole for birdie on the par-5 16th hole that gave him just enough breathing room after a three-putt bogey followed on 17.
Burns posted a stellar 3-under 67 on Sunday but will regret the two quality birdie chances he missed on 17 and 18 from 10 and 16 feet, respectively. His putt on 18 looked good until it slipped over the right edge of the hole and brought Burns to his knees in anguish after a second consecutive opportunity to win the U.S. Open proved just out of reach.
Scottie Scheffler was the one everybody was looking at on Sunday, but he couldn’t muster any magic or putts to fall to make a run at Clark in the final pairing. The now 30-year-old world No. 1 walked off with a serenade of “Happy Birthday” and a tie for fourth as he’ll have to wait another year to get a crack at completing the career Grand Slam when the 127th U.S. Open heads back to Pebble Beach.
In today’s DD …
Bob Harig on Wyndham Clark second U.S. Open win in hostile environment
Daily Drive U.S. Open recap podcast with Harig and host T.J. Rives
Final round notes
Shinnecock’s boutique attendance and late finishes felt flat … until Sunday
Bobby Jones’ famous “Calamity Jane” putter makes rare public appearance
Wyndham Clark’s birdie putt on 16 proved to be just enough to stave off collapse (Jeff Haynes/USGA)
Clark overcomes Shinnecock and its fans
By Bob Harig
SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — It is good to have a villain in golf, and Wyndham Clark fits that role prefectly. He’s done some dumb things, said some strange stuff and at times has given off an unlikeable vibe that clearly has rubbed some golf fans the wrong way and turned them against him.
But nobody deserves what he endured Sunday at Shinnecock Hills on his way to a second U.S. Open victory.
Sure, it’s fine to cheer for a close outcome. It’s understandable that folks wanted to see Scottie Scheffler complete the career Grand Slam. Maybe there were those sympathetic soles who remember when happened to Sam Burns last year at Oakmont and wanted to see him get redemption.
Cool, cheer all you want for who you want.
That’s not what it felt like on Sunday, however. It was meaner. Clark heard that taunts. He heard the jeers. “Don’t choke, Wyndham!” was a familiar one. So was “Anyone but Clark!” Bad shots were cheered and his good ones produced barely a ripple. “Get in the bunker,” was more the norm. “Be the wrong club” was overheard behind him on 18.
It was uncomfortable and unfortunate.
“Man, they definitely didn’t want me to win,” Clark said after two-putting from 52 feet on the final green for a 73 that sealed a one-stroke victory over Sam Burns. “It’s pretty rare in an Open championship or a major to have fans kind of boo against your shots or cheer for bad shots.
“That was tough, but I also … sometimes being the underdog is nice. I was in ’23, and I kind of did the same thing. Anytime someone said something negative to me, I replaced it with something positive. Some of it’s self-deserved. I kind of brought it on myself, but I also get it, too. Scottie was going for the career Grand Slam, and it hasn’t happened very often.
“Yeah, it was tough, but I’m proud of myself that I battled through. I mean, things really could have gotten away from me. I stood tough. I would have liked to have won by more, but as long as you win, it doesn’t matter.”
Clark’s locker room dust-up at Oakmont a year ago has been well-chronicled. So has the club-throwing incident at the 2025 PGA Championship. He was reprimanded for both, and paid a heavy price in the court of public opinion.
While he might have handled it with awkward insincerity at first, he’s shown nothing but remorse since. He addressed it last month when he won the CJ Cup Byron Nelson. He did so again at the RBC Canadian Open, where he got on the wrong side of Canadian fans when he donned a Team USA hockey sweater on the Rink hole. And he shared his regrets again several times this week at Shinnecock.
Nobody is excusing his past behavior, it was boorish to say the least. But nor does that excuse acting like a jackass toward him when he’s trying to win a golf tournament.
“The crowd was tough today,” said Scheffler, who was in the final pairing with Clark but could never get much going, shooting 71 to finish four strokes back and in a tie for fourth. “New Yorkers, they are tough people. There was a good turnout from the fans. You like seeing the fans cheer for you. I think sometimes it can get a little too much when balls are kind of going off greens and you start hearing cheers. That felt a bit much to me.
