Wyndham Clark wobbles, leads US Open by 1 with 9 holes left

Wyndham Clark opened the final day of the US Open with a six-shot lead. Only one man, Greg Norman at the 1996 Masters, has blown a six-shot lead with 18 holes to go. But Clark’s front nine at Shinnecock Hills on Sunday was less than ideal, and his lead is nearly gone. Clark leads Sam Burns by one with nine holes to play.

Clark’s struggles started on the second hole when he blew his tee shot way left on the par three. A chip shot could not hold the green, so a bogey was a great score there. It showed why the massive cushion he built was so important, but it did not stop there. As Burns and Keith Mitchell kept making birdies and pars ahead of him, the lead was shrinking.

Clark then found the fairway bunker on the fourth hole, and this is where the crowd became a storyline. Not because Clark blew his second shot into the crowd, but because the Long Islanders in attendance were clearly rooting against the 2023 champ. Whether it was a pro-Scottie Scheffler cheer or a “Don’t choke, Wyndham!” caught on TV, the crowd has been a part of this day. Clark was able to make par on four.

On the par-five fifth hole, one of the easiest all week, Clark’s chip shot landed back at his feet. And finally, he missed a lengthy par putt to make a bogey. He made another bogey on the seventh, missing a 7’4″ putt to drop another shot. Pars on eight and nine kept Clark at four-under par for the tournament, one ahead of Burns.

During all of that, Sam Burns was playing smart golf on difficult holes. A bogey on the ninth cost him a chance to share the lead, but he is right in the race. Burns has never won a major championship. If he wins, he would be the eighth US Open champion in the last nine years to win his first major at the national championship.

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