US Open 2026: Wyndham Clark stumbles to second title at Shinnecock Hills

At times Sunday at Shinnecock Hills, it felt like it was becoming a case of if, not when, Wyndham Clark would get a second U.S. Open title and the moment he’d been yearning for since tearing up his locker at Oakmont a year ago.

The American, who had led at the end of each of the previous three days and built a six-stroke lead, started the fourth round as an overwhelming favourite.

But by the time he reached the bottom of the seventh hole, the 2023 champion was wobbling. The huge advantage that Sam Burns was chasing evaporated with a single strike.

But most importantly, no one has been able to reach Clark’s level. And while there were a few more plot twists, it was only when he made a stunning 25-foot birdie putt on the 16th that he felt he would cross the finish line as the tournament’s first wire-to-wire winner since Martin Kaymer in 2014.

Even then there was drama. A bogey on the 17th forced him to make par on the last one, and he did so with a spectacular 53-foot birdie putt that finished inches from the hole.

This victory won’t fully make up for his infamous meltdown at last year’s championship, which saw him banned from the Pennsylvania club until he received anger management therapy and paid to have the old lockers he damaged repaired.

And judging by the reaction to it on Sunday, there were occasions when subsequent acts of contrition did not make it into the galleries.

Many fans celebrated Clark’s seventh-round bogey, as many were eager to see his playing partner, world number one Scottie Scheffler, complete his career Grand Slam, and others were reportedly ejected from the course due to their hostility.

It was a far cry from the scenes the European players faced at Bethpage Black in September’s Ryder Cup but Clark held off the noise to complete the victory.