U.S. Open 2026: It’s getting late early as Wyndham Clark six clear entering Shinnecock finale

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. – As the setting sun illuminated Shinnecock Hills in a golden hue on Saturday evening, Wyndham Clark polished off his third round of the 126th U.S. Open in relative solitude.

It was even lonelier atop the leaderboard.

As Clark scrambled like hell to an even-par 72 and six-shot lead, fans scrambled for the exits. The day had started with an encouraging energy – a warmer, firmer Shinnecock, lively crowds and the likes of Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele in contention – but by the time the final pairing of Clark and Matt Fitzpatrick hit the back stretch, the grandstands and chalets were half full to basically empty. Even the club’s iconic clubhouse, usually bustling with movers and shakers, was eerily quiet as Clark entered its scoring area, having all but sucked the life out of this championship.

Four players trail by a touchdown, including Scheffler, who posted one of only two under-par rounds on the day but squandered shots on each of his final three holes. Had it not been for Clark’s closing bogey, you could’ve tacked on the extra point. A seven-stroke deficit would’ve required a repeat of the largest final-round comeback in championship history to deny Clark, who coincidentally grew up on Cherry Hills Country Club, where Arnold Palmer orchestrated his record rally to win the 1960 U.S. Open.

Not that one shot makes much difference – Johnny Miller is the only man who has made up six strokes in this championship, and he needed a Sunday 63 to prevail at Oakmont in 1973. Considering a third of Shinnecock’s 18 holes yielded three or fewer birdies in Round 3, including Nos. 2 and 3 each allowing just a single score under par, it’s highly unlikely that Scheffler or anyone else has that kind of performance in them as the USGA figures to tighten the screws on this golf course even more for Sunday’s finish.

And if Clark grinds out pars like he did on Saturday, he’ll coast to his second U.S. Open title following his major breakthrough three years ago at Los Angeles Country Club.

“It was very up and down, holy smokes,” Clark said of his day, which was highlighted by an eagle, two birdies, four bogeys, nine missed greens and seven gutsy par saves, ranging from just inside 5 feet to 14 feet at the par-4 15th.

“I hit some good shots; I hit some terrible shots. Yeah, I was a little frustrated with myself with some of the execution. But at the end of the day, I improved my lead, which is awesome, and I shot even par on a very tough golf course.”

Saturday’s third round started nearly seven hours before Clark was scheduled to tee off with a four-shot lead. Dylan Wu five-putted the first green, Chris Gotterup’s ball wouldn’t sit still in the group after that, and even Scheffler got punched in the mouth early, drawing a horrible lie left of the first fairway, hooking his approach into some fescue and beginning his round bogey-bogey.

“We did a good job of staying patient and stealing some shots where we could,” said Scheffler, who birdied three times on his back nine, including at the par-4 14th, where he fist pumped and yelled after an electric chip-in, and the par-5 16th, where his second shot from 272 yards out caught a small portion of the green between the two left greenside bunkers and kicked to 13 feet.

Unfortunately for Scheffler, No. 16 is where Shinnecock began to take back some of what Scheffler swiped. He missed his eagle try, then failed to get up and down at the par-3 17th with a missed 7-footer. The last hole hurt the most, as Scheffler wedged from 112 yards to a few feet, only to guess wrong on what was a quick, hard-breaking putt and settle for a 69 that has Scheffler at 1 under along with Sahith Theegala, Tom Kim and Sam Stevens, none of whom has much experience contending at majors, let alone erasing six shots on a major Sunday.

Clark had a “diabolical” shortie of his own on the par-3 seventh hole, so when he made it to stay three clear of Stevens at the time, it gave him confidence that he could scrap a decent round together, despite being slow to adjust to the firmer conditions. He bogeyed the next hole but escaped from jail to par Nos. 10 and 11.

For a player who has often struggled to control his emotions, on and off the course, Clark hung on long enough in what he called a “very volatile round” for something great to happen, specifically his eagle at No. 16, where he stuffed his second from 275 yards to just 4 feet and calmly rolled in the putt. He made par from similar distance after getting chipping relief from a camera on No. 17, but then three-putted the last in near darkness, not that many would’ve seen it under brighter skies anyway.

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It was so sparse in the final couple hours that heckles like, “Bad day to be a locker, Wyndham,” were easily distinguishable.

“I love making a big putt and feeling that, or hitting a good shot and getting the claps, so it was unfortunate it got a little flat,” Clark said of the late-round atmosphere. “Also, because of that, sometimes it made it tough to stay really focused because it seemed like everyone was leaving, and it was like the tournament was over.”

Maybe it effectively is.

Or maybe Scheffler, who will slot alongside Clark in that 2:30 p.m. ET final pairing, can achieve the career slam in the most remarkable of ways.

“Scottie is the best player in the world, and he’s going to play probably really good; he always does, but it’s nice to have a six-shot lead on him,” Clark said. “But really, I’m just going to keep approaching it the same way: If I go out and execute and go through my process and hit the shots I know I can hit, I like my chances.”

Kim said the key Sunday for the chasers is to stay patient and “hopefully keep getting an inch closer every hole.”

The problem with that logic is, in the words of Yankees legend Yogi Berra, it’s getting late early.

Wyndham Clark has a six-shot lead entering the final round. But he’ll be paired with world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler. Here’s a look at final-round tee times and pairings.