Wyndham Clark survived a wild final-round scare at Shinnecock Hills, holding off Sam Burns by one shot to win his second U.S. Open title.
Wyndham Clark didn’t just win the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills. He survived it.
One year after his ugly locker-room meltdown at Oakmont made him one of golf’s easiest targets, Clark walked into Long Island with something to prove and walked out with his second US Open trophy.
It wasn’t clean. It wasn’t comfortable. And for a while on Sunday, it looked like he might author one of the biggest final-round collapses in major championship history.
Instead, Clark held on.
The 32-year-old closed with a 3-over 73 and finished at 4 under, one shot clear of Sam Burns, who made a furious Sunday charge with a 3-under 67.
Clark entered the final round with a six-shot lead after posting a 7-under 203 through 54 holes, the lowest three-round U.S. Open score ever recorded at Shinnecock Hills.
By the back nine, that cushion was nearly gone.
Clark stumbled early with three bogeys on the front side, including a costly miss from short range at No. 7.
Burns, meanwhile, came out swinging. He birdied Nos. 1, 3, 5 and 8, draining putts from everywhere and dragging himself right into the fight.
Suddenly, Clark’s coronation had turned into a street fight.
But the shot that saved his championship came at the par-5 16th. After driving into thick native grass left of the fairway, Clark punched out, wedged his third shot to 24 1/2 feet and buried the birdie putt. That improbable save pushed his lead back to two and gave him just enough breathing room.
He needed all of it.
Clark three-putted the par-3 17th, cutting his advantage to one. Then, on 18, he found the first cut off the tee and left himself a long approach into the green.
The ball stayed on the putting surface, setting up a two-putt for the championship. His lag rolled to inches, and the tap-in sealed it.
Clark became the ninth wire-to-wire winner in U.S. Open history and now owns two national titles in just six appearances.
Only John McDermott, Walter Hagen and Ernie Els reached two U.S. Open wins faster.
Burns finished second at 3 under, the best major finish of his career. Tom Kim took third at 1 under, while Scottie Scheffler, Keith Mitchell and J.T. Poston tied for fourth at even par.
Clark heard the noise all week. He felt the pressure. He nearly gave the trophy away.
Then he took it anyway.
Join Our Roundtable Community For Free!
Share your takes, connect with our Roundtable writers, and talk sports with fellow fans. Download the free Roundtable App today and stay closer to the conversation.
