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Wyndham Clark entered Sunday with a six-shot lead at the 2026 U.S. Open and victory seemed all but inevitable until his wayward drive on the par-5 16th hole sailed into the thick fescue at Shinnecock Hills.
NBC on-course broadcaster Jim “Bones” Mackay described Clark’s lie in the tall grass as “horrendous.” Others in the booth noted that Clark would be lucky to escape with par on the hole. But the 32-year-old American somehow managed to advance the ball nearly 180 yards and back into the fairway before hitting his third on the green and then sinking the birdie putt that set the stage for his second U.S. Open victory.
Clark entered the final round with a six-shot lead over four players, and he was an overwhelming favorite to hoist the trophy at the end of the tournament. For the majority of the weekend, fate appeared to be on his side. It seemed like every time Clark hit a bad shot, the next thing that followed was a commentator saying something like, “he caught a break with this one.” Clark led the tournament after each round, becoming the first wire-to-wire U.S. Open winner since Martin Kaymer in 2014.
But he battled through a major shift in luck on Sunday afternoon. Not only did his luck flip, but so did the crowd on Long Island. It was clear from the first hole that the gallery was rooting hard for Scottie Scheffler, Clark’s playing partner and one of the four players who started the day six shots back of the leader.
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But that spilled into active cheering against Clark, to the point that the NBC broadcast reported that at least two fans were ejected from the venue for crossing the line with their taunts toward Clark. According to reporter Kevin Van Valkenburg, one was tossed for saying “Don’t choke, Wyndham” prior to Clark’s tee shot on No. 4.
Ejectable offenses aside, the crowd roared for every good Scheffler shot, but there was a noticeable moan when Clark would execute a good shot.
Unfortunately for Scheffler, and the crowd following the group, the world No. 1 didn’t have quite as much magic in his clubs on Sunday as Sam Burns did. Attempting to become a career Grand Slam winner on his 30th birthday, Scheffler never really put much pressure on Clark. He bogeyed the first hole and shot a one-over 36 on the front nine before trudging his way to a one-over 71.
While most golf fans probably assumed that Scheffler would be the guy to chase down Clark, it was Burns who emerged as Clark’s biggest threat after beginning the day at even par and seven shots behind Clark.
Not only did Burns come out firing, but Clark struggled early. He made bogey on the par-3 second hole, made a mess of the easiest hole on the course, the par-5 fifth, for another bogey and then added a third dropped shot with a bogey on No. 7.
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With momentum clearly gone and Burns charging, it would have been easy for Clark to wilt under the immense pressure. But he managed to steady the ship and make par at No. 8 and No. 9 before ripping driver on No. 10 straight down the middle. The broadcast questioned the choice of club off the tee, but Clark’s plan worked to perfection, eventually making his first birdie of the day.
Clark made another bogey on No. 13 and Burns got within one shot of the lead.
But two key moments took place down the stretch. Burns, who was several groups ahead of Clark, nearly holed his birdie putt on 18. As the putt just missed on the right side of the cup, Burns dropped to his knees. It was as if he knew he might have been just that close to winning the U.S. Open. And he was.
Clark’s 24-and-a-half-foot birdie putt on 16 pushed his lead over Burns back to two shots with two holes to play. At that moment, Clark could feel the trophy in his hands, and that’s a familiar feeling given he won the 2023 U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club.
But his nerves showed on No. 17. Clark hit a conservative tee shot on the par-3, leaving himself a nearly 70-foot putt. His birdie effort came up six feet short, and he followed that by pulling his par putt left to drop his lead back to one.
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All Clark needed to do on the 72nd hole of the tournament was to make par and he would become a two-time U.S. Open champion. And that’s exactly what he did, although it didn’t start great. Clark leaked his tee shot to the right and it skirted into the rough. He got the ball to the green in two, but stood over 50 feet away. Clark calmly stepped up and perfectly lagged his putt to within one foot of the hole, tapped in for par and became a two-time major champion.
And, on Father’s Day, Clark’s dad surprised him by taking a red-eye flight to New York so that he could greet his son following the victory.
Perhaps most importantly, though, Clark became the first American to win a major in 2026 after Europeans Rory McIlroy and Aaron Rai won the Masters and PGA Championship respectively.
That also means the U.S. Open trophy is staying where it belongs.
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