126th US Open: Final Round Live blog
- Matt Hooper
- Jun 21
- 13 min read
As Wyndham Clark receives the US Open Champion it is time to bid you farewell for this evening, www.shank.golf will have a full report tomorrow and the countdown to The Open Championship begins in earnest.
2353 BST Just 3 players had finished under par ever at Shinnecock Hills in the US Open since 1897, but 3 players finished under par this week on what turned out to be a brilliantly set-up course, which provided a compelling final round
2345 BST WYNDHAM CLARK WINS THE 126TH US OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP
Clark takes 2 putts, makes par on the 72nd hole and wins by one shot from Sam Burns. Clark wins the US Open for a second time and joins some of the legends of the game with 2 US Open wins including Els, Goosen, Bobby Jones, Payne Stewart, Lee Janzen, Lee Trevino, Brooks Koepka, Billy Casper, Walter Hagen, and Gene Sarazen.
Clark becomes just the eighth golfer ever to win the US Open wire-to-wire
2340 BST Clark finds the green with his second shot, he will have two putts from 52 feet for a second US Open victory and 2nd Major Championship success
2335 BST Clark's drive misses the 18th fairway by around 3 feet, looks like a decent lie in the first cut of rough
2330 BST CLARK MISSES LEFT! Extraordinary drama, after a sensational birdie it is a dismal 3-putt bogey and the 2023 Champion will have to par the 18th hole to win the US Open for a second time, the lead is one shot with one hole to play
2325 BST Clark finds the 17th green and has a putt of just shy of 70 feet
2320 BST OH Wyndham Clark!!!! He rolls in a 24-foot putt down the hill for birdie, outrageous birdie from that drive and he leads by 2 shots with 2 holes to play, the 16th hole is decisive once again at Shinnecock Hills!
2311 BST Clark recovers to the fairway, leaving himself 140 yards for his third, meanwhile Kim finds sand at the 17th hole
2309 BST Tom Kim rolls in a beauty at the 16th and he moves to 2-under-par, 1 off the clubhouse lead with 2 holes to play
2304 BST Wyndham Clark's drive at 16 is 30 yards left of the fairway and the layup is going to be problematical for the 2023 Champion, he needs three pars to become a 2-time Champion
2302 BST BURNS PUTT AGONIZINGLY MISSES RIGHT, AND HE POSTS 3-UNDER-PAR IN THE CLUBHOUSE, AND FOR NOW SAM BURNS HAS SHOT THE SECOND-LOWEST SCORE FOR FOUR ROUNDS EVER AT SHINNECOCK HILLS (277)
2300 BST Clark pars the 15th hole, 3 to play and he will know what he needs to do very soon, with Burns set to putt at the 18th green.....
2257 BST Burns hits a fabulous approach with a 9 iron to the 18th green, he will have a chance to post 4-under-par in the clubhouse, Clark will have a putt for birdie at the 15th
2251 BST There are now just 3 players under par - Wyndham Clark, Sam Burns and Tom Kim
2247 BST A staggering three-putt from Scheffler at the 14th and he is now four off the lead and surely his hopes are dashed
2245 BST Clark's birdie putt at 14 agonizingly misses, shaving the right edge, and Burns hits a weak putt at the 17th, absolutely nowhere near on line and Clark remains 1 clear
2238 BST Sam Burns plays a doozie to the 17th green and he will have 6 feet to tie Wyndham Clark. Since the 18-hole playoff was discontinued in 2018 we have not had a playoff in the US Open, we could have the first playoff in a US Open since Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate in 2008.
2236 BST SAM BURNS! BIRDIES THE 16TH AND HE IS 1 BEHIND WYNDHAM CLARK! Burns was in serious contention at Oakmont last year until the weather scuppered his hopes
2231 BST Clark's putt misses left and he falls to 4-under-par and the lead is 2 shots with 5 holes to play, but the crowd reaction is absolutely outrageous, cheering for his miss, wretched behaviour but unsurprising
2230 BST Scheffler's putt wobbles as it loses pace and misses right, agony for the World Number One
2228 BST Clark's pitch finishes around 8 feet past the hole, another massive moment in this championship awaits us
2225 BST Clark's approach is far too aggressive with a wedge and the ball rolls off the back edge at the 13th, the crowd are pulling against Wyndham, which is disgusting. Scottie Scheffler plays a clever shot to fade it in off the bank in the middle of the green and the World Number One will have a decent look at birdie.
2217 BST CLARK MISSES, BUT HE LEADS BY 3 SHOTS WITH 6 HOLES TO PLAY
2216 BST SAM BURNS MISSES FROM 2 FEET AT THE 15TH HOLE AND MAKES BOGEY, HE DROPS TO 2-UNDER-PAR
2214 BST Fantastic shot from Clark, the ball comes out well and finishes inside Scottie Scheffler's approach, he will have a great read from the World Number One for what could be a crucial putt
2208 BST Clark's drive on the 12th takes a horrible bounce and he is in the rough, the lie doesn't look good
2205 BST Clark misses his birdie putt but remains 2 clear of Burns, the New York crowd are rooting against Wyndham Clark, which is bizarre and not really golf
2200 BST Wyndham Clark plays a superb approach to the 10th and the ball spins back to 5 feet and he buries the birdie to regain a two-stroke lead, he then plays his tee shot on the 11th to inside 8 feet and he could take the championship by the scruff of the neck here
2149 BST Tom Kim hits a stunning shot to the par-three 11th hole and will move under par
2148 BST Aaron Rai backs up his PGA Championship win with a top 20 in the US Open, and he will head to Scotland and England in fine form
THE FINAL NINE HOLES OF THE 126TH US OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP, the leaderboard as it stands
2140 BST Sensational shot from Clark, and the ball nearly goes in the hole! He will save par and lead by 1 with 9 to play
2137 BST Clark's second shot comes up significantly short of the green at the ninth hole, and he is facing another bogey and suddenly there could be 7 players within 3 shots of the lead. Arnold Palmer led by 6 with 9 to play in 1966, and the lead went and he lost in a playoff to Billy Casper. Clark led by 6 with 18 to play and that lead could shortly be gone with 9 holes to play.
2132 BST Clark narrowly misses the 9th fairway, and the ball settles down in the first cut of rough, his approach to the green will be treacherous.
2124 BST Clark finds the heart of the 8th green, and makes par
2120 BST Sam Burns gets through the 11th hole at 3-under-par and Clark misses the 8th fairway, and finds sand, this is a struggle for Wyndham Clark now.
2116 BST WOOAAAH!! Clark misses from inside 2 feet for par at the 7th and the lead is now just one!
2109 BST THERE ARE FOUR ENGLISH GOLFERS INSIDE THE TOP 15 OF THIS US OPEN, AND 2026 IS TURNING INTO A GOLDEN YEAR FOR ENGLISH GOLF
Aaron Rai is the PGA Champion, Matt Fitzpatrick has won 2 individual events on the PGA TOUR, and won the Zurich Classic with his brother Alex, Justin Rose won the Farmers Insurance Open, Alex Fitzpatrick won the Indian Open, Dan Bradbury won the Joburg Open and Tyrrell Hatton won LIV Golf Andalucía.
2108 BST Clark finds the left greenside bunker at the 7th, he is holding on but no better than that,
2105 BST Clark holes from 6 feet for par and remains 2 clear heading to the par-three seventh hole, Tommy Fleetwood bogeys the 10th hole to fall six off the lead, his chances are dwindling now
2058 BST Burns fails to get up and down at the ninth and he falls two shots off the lead, but Clark has missed the green at the 6th hole and faces another test of his short game
2053 BST Par for Tommy Fleetwood at the ninth hole, he enters the final nine holes five shots off the lead
2048 BST Clark makes a bogey and falls to 5-under-par and remarkably through the first five holes the lead has gone from six to one shot
2046 BST Holy moly, he catches the next one clean and he has 30 feet for par, and Sam Burns is on fire. It feels like a two-horse race now
2045 BST Clark's pitch doesn't reach the green and rolls back down the hill, and he is left with an even harder fourth shot, huge moment in this championship
2043 BST OH MY WORD, SAM BURNS! He rolls in the putt from 49 feet to make a fourth birdie of the round, and he is 4-under-par and 2 off the lead.
2040 BST Clark's second to the 600-yard par-five fifth rolls off the back of the green, treacherous from down there. He had an 8-iron for his second shot, absolutely farcical.
2028 BST Stunning from Wyndham Clark! He holes the putt, what a massive moment for him, as Burns finds sand at the 7th, he could be feeling much more comfortable now
2024 BST Clark pitches to around 20 feet and will have that putt to save par, Fleetwood bogeys the 7th to fall to level par, only three players are under par. Tyrrell Hatton is now level par playing the final two holes, could he post a score which might be in contention?
2021 BST Wyndham Clark misses the fourth green by 50 yards, he will face a brutal third shot over the greenside bunker and is surely looking at a second bogey at the best
2015 BST Clark misses the fairway and finds sand from the tee on the fourth
2011 BST Pars for Scheffler and Clark at the third hole
2005 BST Sam Burns birdies the par-five fifth hole and he is now just three shots off the lead
1957 BST Clark gets up and down for bogey and falls to 6-under-par, the lead is four shots over Burns and five over Fleetwood through 2 holes
1952 BST Clark's second shot trickles off the other side of the green, we could see the first major moment of the final day soon
1948 BST Clark pulls his tee shot on the par-three second hole well left of the green into the rough, will face a tough second shot to save par. Scheffler finds the heart of a green and will have a putt for birdie
1943 BST Everyone is on the course now, and Wyndham Clark's lead has been cut to 5 shots by Sam Burns. Tommy Fleetwood is the only other player under par, after Scottie Scheffler bogeyed the first hole. Just three players under par, and there is every chance only one will be at the end of the day.
1907 BST Tommy Fleetwood rolls a beautiful putt in on the second green from 32 feet to move to level par for the championship, whilst Sam Burns birdies the first hole to move 1-under-par
1845 BST Joaquin Niemann has moved into the top 10, he is 4-under-par through 13 holes and now 1-over for the championship
1834 BST Just four players have completed their rounds with under par scores today so far
1820 BST In 2004 Ernie Els was in the final group at Shinnecock Hills, starting 2 shots off the lead, and shot a final round of 80. History tells us very few players end the week under par at Shinnecock, and we enter the final day with just 5 players under par, which is 2 less than in 2004, when only 2 players ended up finishing under par.
In 1986 the 54-hole leader was Greg Norman, he shot 75. In 1995 the 54-hole leaders were Tom Lehman and Greg Norman, they shot 74 and 73 respectively. In 2004 the 54-hole leader was Retief Goosen, he shot 71. In 2018 there were four 54-hole leaders (Koepka, Johnson, Finau and Berger) and they shot rounds of 68, 70 , 72 and 73 respectively. So history tells us that the 54-hole leader will drop shots during the final round - the average final round score of the 54-hole leader at Shinnecock in the modern era is 72. That score would mean Wyndham Clark would finish the championship at 5-under-par, so one of the chasing pack is going to have to shoot 66 to tie, or 65 to win.
1800 BST Matt Fitzpatrick begins the final round 8 shots off the lead, but only 2 shots off 2nd place, the 2022 Champion is enjoying a phenomenal season and you wouldn't bet against him shooting a round of 67 or 66 to get himself into contention today. The 2023 Alfred Dunhill Links Champion would be the first 2-time US Open Champion from England if he won the title at Shinnecock Hills.
1752 BST Rory McIlroy's hopes are over, he bogeys 2 of the first 3 holes to fall 12 shots off the lead
1700 BST Good afternoon everyone, and Happy Father's Day to all those who celebrate. The US Open has concluded on Father's Day for the last half century, and today at Shinnecock Hills we could have another epic US Open Championship Sunday. Wyndham Clark won the 2023 US Open at Los Angeles Country Club, but has had an up and down time of things since his maiden major win. He has dominated this Championship since Thursday, and takes a 6-shot lead into the final round at Shinnecock, and another solid performance should get the job done, BUT, BEWARE WHEN THE YEAR ENDS IN 6.
In 2016 at Oakmont Shane Lowry held the lead by 4 shots from Dustin Johnson, and it was the American star who shot a final round of 69 to Lowry's 76 to claim his first Major Championship.
In 2006 we had the mother of all stunning final rounds. Kenneth Ferrie held a share of the lead entering the final round, and shot a Sunday 76 to miss out on the title by 2 shots. In one of the most exciting final rounds in U.S. Open history, Ogilvy survived a brutal final day to win his only major title. He took the lead early and led by two strokes after 7 holes, but lost his lead with four bogeys in seven holes. But Ogilvy finished his round with four pars, highlighted by a 30-foot chip shot from the second fringe at the 17th. His tee shot on 18 found the fairway but was in a sand-filled divot, and his approach hit the green's false front and rolled back. He dropped a downhill six-footer for his final stroke as all his competitors collapsed around him. Mickelson and Montgomerie needed pars on the final hole to win, or bogeys to tie with Ogilvy, but they both double-bogeyed to hand Ogilvy a dramatic win. He became the first Australian to win a major since Steve Elkington in the 1995 PGA Championship, and the first to win a U.S. Open in a quarter century, since David Graham in 1981.
Montgomerie holed a 75-foot putt for birdie on the 17th hole for a share of the lead and was in the middle of the 18th fairway, 172 yards from the hole, in prime position to do no worse than a playoff. After an extended wait and much club deliberation, he finally selected a 7-iron and proceeded to miss the green short and right, into deep rough. His difficult chip left a lengthy downhill par putt, and then three-putted for double bogey. Mickelson was in the right rough on the 16th, then the approach plugged into a greenside bunker and he bogeyed. He was well left of the fairway on the 17th into a trash can, but his slicing recovery shot found the green and he two-putted for par. On the 18th tee, Mickelson needed par to win or a bogey to tie, but could not finish off what would have been his third consecutive major championship victory. Using driver, his tee shot went so far left that it clattered through the trees by a hospitality tent. Still trying for par, he went for the green with his second shot but hit a tree, and the ball advanced just 25 yards.
His third faded into the greenside bunker, buried with a "fried-egg" lie; the fourth shot from the sand to win had no spin and rolled off the other side of the green into the rough. Mickelson's chip for bogey and a Monday playoff with Ogilvy rolled six feet past the hole. He tied Sam Snead for the most second-place finishes by a player who has never won the U.S. Open, with four. Furyk needed par to force a playoff and his tee shot was to the left in the intermediate cut; the hooking approach found a greenside bunker and he missed the five-foot putt to save par. Harrington bogeyed the final three holes and finished two strokes behind. Five different players held the lead at one point on Sunday with 15 different lead changes between them
In 1996 Tom Lehman took a one shot lead into the final round at Oakland Hills, only to see Steve Jones win by 1 shot as Lehman and Davis Love III both made bogey on the 72nd hole.
In 1986 at Shinnecock Hills, Greg Norman led by one shot heading into the final round, and shot a final round of 75 to lose by six shots from Raymond Floyd, who himself shot a final round of 66, 9 shots better than the Australian.
In 1976 at Atlanta Athletic Club John Mahaffey took a two-shot lead into the final round, and shot a final round of 73 to lose out by 3 shots to Jerry Pate, who birdied 2 of his final four holes to overtake leader Tom Weiskopf.
In 1966 at the Olympic Club in San Francisco Billy Casper erased a seven-shot deficit to Arnold Palmer over the final nine hole to tie him over 72 holes and he won the playoff on Monday.
In 1946 Lloyd Mangrum erased a one-shot deficit to Byron Nelson at Canterbury Country Club, winning a three-way playoff against Nelson and Vic Ghezzi.
In 1936 Tony Manero started the final round 4 shots behind leader Harry Cooper at Baltusrol, Manero shot 67 to Cooper's 73 to win by 2 shots.
In 1926 John Turnesa started the final round 2 clear, and 3 clear of Bobby Jones at Scioto Country Club, but it was Bobby Jones who prevailed with a round of 73 to Turnesa's 77, winning by 1.
Only in 1956, 1916, 1906 and 1896 has the leader going into the final round gone on to win the US Open Championship. Nobody has done it successfully in the last 70 years.
Wyndham Clark will have Scottie Scheffler for company today, and the World Number One is bidding to become the seventh man in history to claim the Career Grand Slam following his wins in The Masters (2022, 2024), and The PGA Championship (2025) and The Open (2025). Scheffler starts 6 shots behind, but with Saturday showing Shinnecock's teeth there is every chance Clark could struggle over the opening holes. We have seen the leaders struggle and chasers produce magic on the final day at this course on several occasions, and it would not be a surprise if we saw something very similar today.
SHANK, by Matt Hooper
Matt Hooper is an Associate Member of the Sports Journalists Association
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