On a day where Shinnecock showed all its teeth, Clark managed to extend his lead to six shots
Wyndham Clark entered Saturday’s third round at the 2026 U.S. Open with a four-shot lead, and after it became clear early in the day that Shinnecock Hills Golf Club was playing much harder than the first two days, all eyes were on how the 36-hole leader would handle a tougher test.
The answer was better than everyone but two players in the field, as his even-par 70 was more than enough, as he opened up a six-shot advantage over the field going into Sunday’s final round. With only two players — Emiliano Grillo (67) and Scottie Scheffler (69) — breaking par, all Clark needed to do was tread water, and he did so in thrilling fashion.
Clark got off to an inauspicious start, making a three-putt bogey on the 1st that signalled nerves might come into play. His lead was trimmed to two, and with the 2nd and 3rd playing as two of the hardest holes on the golf course, there was a real chance for him to open the door for the chase pack behind him. Instead, he steadied himself with three straight pars and extended his lead back to three with a birdie on the 5th.
Things started to teeter again on the 8th hole when he found the right bunker from 117 yards out in the fairway, calling it “the worst shot of my life.”
That led to his second bogey of the day, and the confidence he displayed on the first few days with his ball-striking began to dissipate. However, while he tried to get himself settled with his swing, he was able to do what no one else could on Saturday — consistently scramble for pars. Throughout the course, players were struggling to hit putts from outside 4 feet, as the USGA increased green speeds and heavy winds early in the morning dried the greens out considerably, reducing friction and making them tough to judge.
Clark avoided those issues and managed to grind out pars, first with a two-putt from 73 feet on the 9th, then with an up-and-down from over the green on the 10th — a spot that was almost an auto-bogey for most of the field. Finally, he got up and down from the bunker short and right of the treacherous 11th, dripping in a ticklish 5-footer down the hill.
After a more straightforward par on the 12th, he again found himself in trouble on No. 13. He initially pulled iron on the short par 4 but opted to try and drive the green instead. He sprayed his drive into the right fescue and could only get the ball to the bunker short, ultimately leaving a 14-footer for par. Once again, Clark stepped up and poured it in.
While Clark was scrambling his way around Shinnecock, his top competitors were struggling to keep up. Rory McIlroy made a front-nine charge to reach 2 under, but came home with five bogeys on his back nine, unable to produce the same kinds of up-and-downs Clark was. Scottie Scheffler caught fire in the middle of his back nine with three consecutive birdies from No. 14 to No. 16, but that included failing to pay off a 13-footer for eagle on the 16th after what looked, at the time, like the shot of the tournament — and then he closed bogey-par, with a missed 5-footer for birdie at the last.
Clark birdied the 14th and gave it back with a bogey on the 15th, finally missing one of those 5-footers like everyone else. On the 16th, he had the exact same number Scheffler did, 275 yards, and one-upped the world No. 1 by stuffing a cutting 3 wood inside 5 feet, which he naturally cashed in for his eagle, the first of the week on No. 16.
Eight holes after hitting the self-proclaimed worst shot of his life, he’d pulled off arguably the best of his career to open up a seven-stroke lead. With that performance, Clark has set up a final round where his only real opponent will be himself. He will be paired with Scheffler, who will do his best to apply some pressure, but Sunday will be all about Clark — as was the case on Saturday.
His final two holes offered a glimpse at the high-wire act he may perform on Sunday. He parred the 17th after a double cross into the right fescue off the tee, getting a break by landing near a camera tower and getting relief. Then on t