Wyndham Clark walked onto the first tee Sunday at Shinnecock Hills with a six-shot lead and what felt like a coronation waiting to happen. Then the front nine turned into a survival test. By the turn, that massive cushion was down to one. Just one. And Sam Burns is breathing down his neck.
It’s not easy to cough up a six-shot lead with 18 holes to go. Greg Norman did it at the 1996 Masters, and that’s basically the only reference point for this kind of meltdown. But Clark made it look possible in a hurry.
The trouble started on No. 2, a par three where his tee shot sailed way left. His chip didn’t hold the green, and he walked away with a bogey that felt like a win given where the ball ended up. That’s the kind of hole where a big lead is supposed to protect you. It didn’t protect him from what came next.
On No. 4, Clark hit his drive into a fairway bunker. That’s also where the crowd made itself known. The Long Island fans weren’t exactly rooting for the 2023 champ. You could hear pro-Scottie Scheffler chants on the broadcast, and someone yelled “Don’t choke, Wyndham!” on a clear mic. He managed par there, but the vibe had shifted.
The par-five fifth is one of the easiest holes all week. Clark’s chip rolled back toward his feet. He missed a long par putt and took another bogey. Then on No. 7, he missed a 7-foot-4-inch putt, another dropped shot. Pars on eight and nine kept him at four under, one ahead of Burns.
Meanwhile, Sam Burns was quietly putting together a round. He played smart, patient golf on the tough holes. A bogey on No. 9 cost him a share of the lead, but he’s right there. Burns has never won a major. If he pulls this off, he’d be the eighth US Open champion in the last nine years to win his first major at this tournament. That’s a weird pattern, but it’s real.
Clark still has the lead. But nine holes at Shinnecock can feel like nine rounds. The crowd is against him, his swing is shaky, and Burns isn’t going away. This is exactly the kind of Sunday the US Open is famous for.
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