Wyndham Clark, the 2023 U.S. Open winner is a champion once again after going end-to-end and besting the field to win at Shinnecock Hills for the second major championship of his storied career. 

Clark’s final score of 4-under par ended up just being enough to hold off second-place Sam Burns (3-under par) who made a surprise run on Sunday to come within one of forcing a would-be playoff with Clark. The Denver, Colorado native shot rounds of 64, 69, 70, and 73 to capture his second major championship at a venue that proved absolutely brutal against the world’s best golfers. Among the field only Clark, Burns, and Tom Kim (1-under par) were able to complete the tournament with a score under par. 

The 2023 & 2026 U.S. Open champion also bested world number one Scottie Scheffler, who had been heavily favored to win the U.S. Open and claim what would have been a Career Grand Slam in his first attempt. 

Clark’s Almost Perfect Tournament

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Wyndham’s opening round 64 was the best score by a golfer in the field in all four days of competition. In fact, only Joaquin Niemann and Colin Morikawa’s 65 came close to touching Clark’s best, but by the time the two contenders decided to show up, Clark had already built a sizeable lead and wasn’t ready to give up control.

Paired with Scottie Scheffler for Championship Sunday, Clark displayed steely resolve throughout the round despite suffering some hiccups along the way. While nobody was able to completely escape Shinnecock’s hazards, Clark fought through some feisty fescue and provided a score here and there to offset a five-bogey round. 

Sam Burns Makes it Interesting

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While Scheffler was unable to capitalize on a number of fairly decent opportunities, Sam Burns, who seemingly came out of nowhere, spent the morning building momentum and stormed up behind Clark, narrowing the gap down the stretch.

It was the first time in four days that Clark appeared beatable. 

Burns, who had never won a major tournament before, entered Sunday with a puncher’s chance to simply have a decent final round to close out the tournament. What began as a birdie on the 1^st eventually snowballed into four consecutive scores, shooting Burns up the leaderboard and turning what would have been an otherwise lackluster U.S. Open into an actual competition.

After Burns birdied the 16^th and pulled within one of Clark, everyone could sense that the title was legitimately on the line and would not just be handed to Clark, especially after the latter’s bogey on 17 to fall to 4-under par.

Fortunately for Clark the 17^th would be his last mistake, and sadly for Burns, what could have been a tying putt on 18 missed by about a centimeter or so. With Burns retiring to the clubhouse, Clark went back to business and two-putted the 18^th to win his second U.S. Open by the thinnest of margins. 

Clark Should Have Been a Favorite, Despite the Odds

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For our pre-tournament Top 25 Golfers at The U.S. Open – a number of our favorites finished with a real shot to win the U.S. Open. 

• Wyndham Clark (Ranked 10^th Favorite – 1^st Place; 4-under par)
• Sam Burns (Ranked 3^rd Favorite – 2^nd Place; 3-under par)
• Scottie Scheffler (Ranked 1^st Favorite – T4; even par)

While a number of big names faltered mightily, Clark had been in excellent form for most of the season, especially at the CJ Cup Bryon Nelson where he secured his first win since the 2024 season. 

Despite Clark being in top shape, a number of pundits brushed him off simply because of an isolated incident one season ago. Apparently winning a U.S. Open three years ago doesn’t buy you a lot of credibility or leeway with the media. 

Now, with his second career major, Clark will have silenced his critics and detractors, and figures to be a top favorite going into The Open at Royal Birkdale this July. 

For us and most of the golfing world, the 126^th U.S. Open will be remembered as the time Wyndham Clark dominated the field, and the course, lifting the U.S. Open trophy for the second time in his young career. We’ll remember his dominance at Shinnecock when few among his colleagues could even hope to shoot par.

When the field was in the rough, Clark was on the fairway. When their putts just wouldn’t find the hole, Clark’s did. He played a smart, intelligent game that minimized mistakes and quite frankly made one of the most difficult courses in America look relatively easy. 

Clark’s masterpiece was simply one of the better performances we’ve seen from a U.S. Open champ in recent history.