Wyndham Clark triumphs over Shinnecock, opponents, to win U.S. Open

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SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — Whether Wyndham Clark deserved the treatment he received from fans on Sunday at Shinnecock Hills is a matter of opinion, but there is no doubt that he deserved to raise the U.S. Open trophy.

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“The first one was amazing, and this one seems even better,” he said. “I think especially after such a sour taste last year in this championship, to have some redemption and win this again, I mean, gosh, it’s almost surreal.”

Clark shot 73 to finish at 4-under par and win his second U.S. Open by a single shot over Sam Burns (67).

“Man, they definitely didn’t want me to win,” Clark said of the fans. “I also got good prep last week in Canada. They were pretty harsh on me the last day,”

Just three players finished the week in red numbers, with Tom Kim (70) finishing solo third a one-under par. Scottie Scheffler (71) finished tied for fourth at even-par, along with Keith Mitchell (70) and J.T. Poston (67).

“I think sometimes it can get a little too much when, you know, balls are kind of going off greens and you start hearing cheers,” said Scheffler, who played in the final group with Clark. “That felt a bit much to me.”

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Power, finesse put on display

Through four rounds at the punishing windswept New York course, located in the gateway to the Hamptons, the 32-year-old Clark put on a display of power and finesse that was reminiscent of his previous win at this championship in 2023 at Los Angeles Country Club.

After taking the fight to the notoriously difficult course in heavy wind but softer conditions over the first two days, over the weekend his prowess with the putter on bumpy and increasingly speedy greens saved him time and time again.

“I played some ugly golf over the two days, but my putter and short game kept me in it,” Clark said.

Beginning the final round at 7-under with a six-stroke lead over a group of chasers that included world No. 1  Scheffler, it took just five holes for Clark’s lead to shrink to one shot after two bogeys from the leader and a hot start from Burns.

Making the turn with that same one-stroke lead over Burns, Clark birdied the 10th hole to give himself a little breathing room.

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As evening approached, and with Burns in the clubhouse at 3-under, Clark sent his drive deep into the fescue at the par-5 16th hole. After catching several breaks in Shinnecock’s deep rough over the weekend, it looked as though Clark’s luck had run out when NBC’s broadcaster and former caddie Jim (Bones) Mackay described Clark’s lie as “horrendous.”

Clark pulled off the escape of the week, taking a ferocious lash at the ball and muscling it back into the fairway, as well as advancing it far enough to set up a short approach. His approach shot danced past the hole and dangerously hung on the back of the green. Clark then rolled in a 25-foot birdie putt to give himself a two-shot lead with two to play.

It was a cushion the Colorado-native would need. After missing a short par putt on 17, Clark found the front of the green in two shots at the par-4 closing 18th hole before cozying up his birdie putt to tap-in range to secure his second U.S. Open title.

He finished the week second in driving distance and fourth in strokes gained putting.

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Clark endures harsh crowd jeering

Clark spent Sunday battling more than his chasers, he endured some of the harshest jeering an American player could possibly expect from the Shinnecock fans.

“New York didn’t really like me, I love you guys,” Clark said, addressing the crowd after his win.

There were several likely reasons for the treatment he received. Some of it was fans rooting for Scheffler, and his pursuit of the career grand slam.

“The crowd was tough today,” Scheffler said of the treatment towards Clark. ” I mean, New Yorkers, they are tough people.”

“But at the end of the day, I can’t control fan behaviour. Being in the arena is not for everybody. I think it shows a lot about Wyndham, how he handled not only this golf course but I think the crowd today as well and is a well-deserving champion.”

Spectators also couldn’t be blamed for simply hoping something interesting would happen in a tournament that Clark took the air out of with his massive lead. But much of the derision toward Clark stemmed from the fact that his reputation as a sportsman was tarnished a year ago at this championship when he took his post-round frustrations out by damaging the locker room at Oakmont.

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“Some of it’s self-deserved. I did some unfortunate things last year that I really regret,” he said. “I said sorry multiple times and I’m still sorry, so hopefully I can win you guys over eventually.”

Sitting inside with the trophy, Clark expanded on last year’s U.S. Open incident.

“It was a really tough two, three days for me. I was in a dark place, didn’t really go outside much,” he said. “At that moment I just felt a lot of my career, world ranking, reputation, everything just dwindling. That’s a terrible feeling.”

At a U.S. Open that began with Clark’s six-under 64 on Thursday in soft conditions, it ended on Sunday the way so many U.S. Opens end, with par save after par save after par save from the winner.

“It comes down to just believing good things are going to happen and that you’re going to make the putt,” he said. “And fortunately, the ones I needed to make, I did.”

Conners finds his ball-striking at U.S. Open

Corey Conners finished his U.S. Open week off by shooting a three-over par 73 to finish at five-over for the week in a tie for 23rd.

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Sunday’s score was the Canadian’s worst of the week, but he leaves Shinnecock feeling good about the state of his game, especially his trademark ball-striking which had largely gone missing in recent weeks.

“I felt like I was hitting it solid, back to how I want to play,” Conners said.

“The way that I struck it this week, if I can keep doing that I’m going to get myself in the mix plenty of times over the rest of the season.”

Conners finished the week inside the top-10 in number of fairways hit, number of greens in regulation, and stroke-gained with approach shots. He’s scheduled to play next week at the elevated Travelers Championship outside Hartford, Connecticut.

Canadians Nick Taylor, Sudarshan Yellamaraju and Ben Silverman all missed the cut.

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