Show notes
Wyndham Clark Won the US Open With the Entire Gallery Rooting Against Him.
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The 126th US Open at Shinnecock Hills is over. And Wyndham Clark is a two-time US Open champion.
He came in with a six-stroke lead. The entire crowd was rooting against him. The number one player in the world was in his final group trying to complete the career grand slam on his 30th birthday. And Wyndham Clark won anyway.
Here is the full story.
How It Played Out
Clark started Sunday the way nobody wanted — going out in a three-over 38 on the front nine, suddenly making this interesting in a way the six-stroke lead suggested it would not be. But then the back nine happened. He birdied 16 with a remarkable putt from 30 feet after driving it left and finding a way to put his approach on the back of the green. That birdie pushed his lead back to two. He gave one back with a bogey on 17 that let Sam Burns pull within one — the most drama of the entire final round. Then on 18, from 52 feet, Wyndham Clark two-putted to close it out. Not unlike 2023 at LACC, where he was about 60 feet away and two-putted to win then too. Big moments, big putts, big composure.
The Historical Context
Since the first Masters in 1934, 14 players have led a major by six or more strokes heading into the final round. Thirteen of the previous 13 won. The only exception was Greg Norman's epic collapse at the 1996 Masters, when Nick Faldo — the world number one at the time — ran him down. Scotty Scheffler is the world number one right now. The parallel was not lost on anyone.
Clark also had a multi-stroke lead after all three of the first rounds — a club that includes Willie Anderson in 1903, Jim Barnes in 1921, Tony Jacklin in 1970, Rory McIlroy in 2011, and Martin Kaymer in 2014. All of them won. Now so does Wyndham Clark.
And one more stat courtesy of Justin Ray — the greatest golf researcher in the sport — Wyndham Clark is now one of only three men to win US Opens on both the East Coast and the West Coast. Billy Casper. Tiger Woods. Wyndham Clark.
How Do We Look at Wyndham Clark Now
This is the real question Trey is asking throughout the video. Clark is not a player who consistently contends at majors. He either wins or he is a non-factor. There is almost no middle ground. And yet he has now won two of the toughest tests in golf — both US Opens — in the last four years, at two of the most demanding venues on the US Open rotation. He has as many majors as Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, and Xander Schauffele. And he won Sunday with a hostile gallery, a charging world number one, and a golf course that was fighting back after the USGA tightened the screws over the weekend.
That putter has been historically hot since the CJ Byron Nelson, where he shot an 11-under 60 on Sunday to beat Scotty Scheffler and Si Woo Kim. If that putter stays this white hot — and there is no reason yet to think it will not — Wyndham Clark is going to be very difficult to beat for a long time. And the question of whether we have seen the best of him is genuinely open.
The Locker Room Question
A year ago at Oakmont, Wyndham Clark destroyed a locker after a bad round. He was photographed. He was banned from Oakmont. He went on an apology tour. He addressed it at the Byron Nelson and again multiple times this week. Some people forgave him. Some did not. But it is hard to argue that a two-time US Open champion who wins on a course where the entire crowd is against him, in the toughest test in golf, under maximum pressure — it is hard to argue that the locker room moment should define him. It should not.
He earned the right to be referred to as a two-time US Open champion. That is what he is.
The Father's Day Moment
One of the most emotional storylines of the entire week had nothing to do with birdies or bogeys. Wyndham Clark's mother passed away from breast cancer when he was in college. His father showed up at Shinnecock on Sunday and did not tell Wyndham he was there. Wyndham had no idea. When he sank the winning putt on 18 and turned around and saw his dad — on Father's Day — the reaction was everything.
Scottie Scheffler
Today was Scottie Scheffler's 30th birthday. The gallery serenaded him walking up 18. He was in the final group. He was trying to become the seventh man to complete the career grand slam on his first attempt — something three of the six previous grand slam completers did. He made some birdies. He could not make the putts that mattered most.
It is not a disaster. His game is marginally off from where it was a year ago when he won two majors. Statistically almost identical. Just a fraction short in the moments that count. He is still the world number one. He will still retain that ranking after finishing inside the top five today. He has the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale next month, where he will defend his title and have another shot at a win.
But he has now gone 12 straight tournaments without a win — by far the longest drought of his career since he became a major champion. And the grand slam will have to wait.
The Other Stories
Sam Burns came within one with a birdie on 16 before missing looks at birdie on 17 and 18. For the second straight year, Sam Burns has put himself in position to win a US Open and come up just short. He is built for this. He will be back.
Xander Schauffele finished tied for 11th — his 10th consecutive top-15 finish at a US Open. The only longer streak in US Open history is Jack Nicklaus. He has won a PGA Championship and an Open Championship. The US Open feels inevitable for him.
Miles Russell, the 17-year-old who qualified with Charlie Woods on his bag, walked up 18 on Father's Day with his own dad carrying his bag — a surprise he arranged mid-round after asking the USGA if it was allowed. They said yes. His dad had no idea. That is the kind of moment that makes the US Open what it is.
Keith Mitchell shot 70-70-70-70 — the first player in US Open history to shoot four straight rounds of level par. One of those 70s included a 41 on the front and a 29 on the back. Also a US Open first. Perfectly consistent on the scorecard. Absolutely chaotic in reality.
And the fans — some of them crossed a line. People were shouting at Wyndham Clark, openly rooting for him to miss, and a few got kicked out. The point Trey makes is simple — root for whoever you want, but do not be that person. The players are under enough pressure without someone screaming at them to choke. It is not a good look. Do not be that guy.
The Bottom Line
Wyndham Clark is a two-time US Open champion. He won at one of the most demanding venues in the sport, with the crowd against him, the world number one in his group, and a golf course that was fighting back. The putter was white hot when it needed to be. The composure held when it mattered most.
How we look at Wyndham Clark going forward has to change. Because if that putter stays this hot, we may not have seen the best of him yet. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com
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