First, Wyndham Clark held off a version of Shinnecock Hills Golf Club that featured a firmer course with faster green speed Saturday. And then, with Scottie Scheffler making a push for history with a strong back nine, Clark gave himself a bit of breathing room from the world No. 1, too.
Clark, who won the tournament at L.A. Country Club in 2023 and then took on a villainous role last year when he destroyed a locker at Oakmont Country Club, did everything he could to avoid falling into the Shinnecock tracks that others succumbed to. He shot even par to sit at 7 under for the weekend, creating the distance he needed to establish a commanding lead with an eagle putt on the 16th hole. He leads Scheffler and a group of others by six shots in a field that features Clark and then a sizable gap before reaching anyone else.
“We’ve been battling hard for a few days,” Scheffler said when asked about whether he feels good going into Sunday, “and I did a good job of keeping myself in the tournament. I’ll need a really nice round [Sunday] if I’m going to try and catch Wyndham.”
It was poetic, in a way, that Scheffler said that last sentence. As if he knew what would happen on the 16th hole around an hour after he finished his round, when Clark sank his eagle putt to move to 8 under. And if anything, Clark demonstrated that his dazzling opening round — when he fired off a 6-under 64 — wasn’t a fluke. He birdied the fifth hole Saturday to gain a stroke, bogeyed the eighth to lose it and then moved back to 7 under with a dazzling second shot on the 14th hole that curled back to within 5 feet of the pin after hitting the green.
This wasn’t like Rory McIlroy, who fell out of contention with a 5 over on the back nine to fall to 3 over for the tournament. This wasn’t like Cameron Young, the world No. 3 who stumbled — again — in his latest chance to contend for a first major title. This wasn’t like Dylan Wu, who four-putted the first hole in the first pairing of the day, or Chris Gotterup, who watched in frustration as his ball rolled after he set it down on the first hole.
On a day that’ll be defined by Shinnecock being vintage Shinnecock, Clark flashed enough of his vintage form, to combat it. His eagle followed a bogey on the 15th hole.
Scheffler’s play threatened to carve into Clark’s advantage even more, though. Sitting a U.S. Open title away from the career Grand Slam, Scheffler bogeyed his first two holes — and got the “worst lie I’ve seen from anybody all week” to start his round — but used a masterful back nine to save his round and weekend. He birdied the 10th hole, unleashed a loud roar and fist pump after doing the same on 14, narrowly missed an eagle putt on 16 and settled for a disappointing par on 18 after missing a putt 7 feet from the hole. Those two shots could loom large on Father’s Day.
The group of contenders around Clark, beyond Scheffler, started to take shape. Sahith Theegala shot an even-par 70 to stay at 1 under. Tom Kim shot 2 over but remained in a tie for second. Emiliano Grillo fired a 3-under 67 — the lowest score of the day that was anchored by four consecutive birdies to close his front nine — to get to even.
But Sunday will belong to Clark, who has been atop the leaderboard the entire week. Scheffler will be lurking, but Clark ensured Saturday that the world No. 1 could quickly become an afterthought down the stretch at Shinnecock.
