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Wyndham Clark Claims Redemption with Second U.S. Open Title at Shinnecock Hills
Wyndham Clark has won his second U.S. Open title, prevailing at Shinnecock Hills going wire-to-wire — the first player to do so since Martin Kaymer at Pinehurst in 2014. Clark parred the 72nd hole to beat Sam Burns by one stroke — a dramatic finish that bore no resemblance to the commanding lead he had carried into Sunday.
A Record-Breaking Week
Clark set the tone from the very first round, riding a birdie-birdie-eagle stretch — including a 3-feet eagle on the par-5 fifth from 207 yards — to a 6-under 64, the lowest opening round in U.S. Open history at Shinnecock Hills. He followed with a 69 on Friday, setting the 36-hole scoring record at Shinnecock at 7-under 133, and taking a commanding lead into the weekend.
By Saturday, Clark scrambled to an even-par 72 that included a crucial eagle at No. 16, where he stuffed his second shot from 275 yards to 4 feet and rolled in the putt — the only eagle made all week on the par-5 16th. He entered the final round at 7-under 203, with six shots separating him from the rest of the field — a lead so large that no player in U.S. Open history had ever squandered one of that size at 54 holes.
Sunday’s Drama
From the very moment Clark teed off on Sunday, the gallery was firmly in “Anybody But Wyndham” mode. He bogeyed the 1st, struggled at the par-5 5th, then missed a short par putt on the 7th to fall to 4-under. At the same time, Sam Burns fought forward from even par to draw within a stroke of Clark — all within an hour and 20 minutes of the start.
After an awful drive at 16, Clark saved birdie with a huge putt to go two clear with two holes remaining. But he then three-putted the 17th for bogey, heading to the 18th with just a one-shot lead. Burns, already in the clubhouse, dropped to his knees as his birdie look at 18 barely slid past the cup, leaving Clark to make two putts for the championship — which he did.
“New York City didn’t really like me, other than a few guys,” Clark said after the victory. “The first one was kind of just the breakthrough of knowing I could do it. This one was kind of redemption. It’s amazing what a year can do.”
A Story of Redemption
The victory carries extra weight given where Clark was just twelve months ago. Clark had thrown his driver into a sponsor sign at the 2025 PGA Championship, then destroyed a locker at Oakmont at the U.S. Open — events that followed him to Shinnecock, where some fans were ejected for heckling him during the final round.
“I’ve gotten a lot of grief since last year, rightfully so. The thing that’s unfortunate is that’s not who I am,” Clark said. “I’m hoping I can win back the fans that I had or some new fans, because it was a terrible incident.”
Clark, who has been open about his battles with mental health and his work with mental coach Julie Elion, compared the journey to climbing Everest: “Sometimes you go up, sometimes you have to go down to go back up. I think that’s kind of what happens both on the golf course and off the golf course.”
A Perfect Father’s Day Ending
In a moment that topped off an emotional day, Clark’s father Randall surprised him at Shinnecock on Father’s Day — the same day his playing partner Scottie Scheffler turned 30 and was chasing the career Grand Slam. Scheffler, for his part, couldn’t mount the charge needed and finished out of the running.
Clark’s 2026 U.S. Open title joins his 2023 win at Los Angeles Country Club, cementing him as one of the game’s most compelling and complicated champions.
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