Wyndham Clark held on for a one-stroke victory at the 2026 US Open at Shinnecock Hills on Sunday, becoming the ninth wire-to-wire winner in championship history and claiming his second US Open title.
Clark closed with a 3-over 73 to finish at 4-under 276, matching the lowest 72-hole score ever recorded at Shinnecock Hills. His 54-hole total of 7-under 203 was also the lowest ever at the venue. Sam Burns finished second at 3-under after a brilliant final-round 67, while Tom Kim took third at 1-under with a 70.
“The first one was kind of just the breakthrough of knowing I can do it, and then this one was a lot of redemption,” Clark said. “Last year was so tough. I left in shambles, and it’s amazing what a year can do. I’m leaving here this Sunday as a champion.”
The Final Round
Clark admitted he woke up Sunday morning with a “pit in his stomach.” Those nerves showed early. Bogeys on three of his first seven holes let Burns charge into contention after the Louisiana native birdied four of his first eight holes, cutting the lead to just one stroke on the front nine.
Clark steadied himself with clutch par saves, draining putts of 15 and 10 feet on the fourth and sixth holes to keep Burns at bay. The pivotal moment came on the par-5 16th, where Clark hit his drive into thick fescue but recovered brilliantly, eventually holing a 25-foot birdie putt to extend his lead back to two.
A three-putt bogey on the par-3 17th trimmed the lead to one heading to the last. Burns then narrowly missed birdie putts on both 17 and 18 that could have forced a playoff. Clark found the green on 18, lagged his 52-foot putt to inches from the cup, and tapped in for the win.
“Oh, my gosh. I played some ugly golf the last two days,” Clark said. “But my putter and short game kept me in it. It comes down to just believing that good things are going to happen.”
“I knew it was going to take something really special,” Burns said. “Four under through eight. Just mis-hit the 6-iron on 9 a little and came up short there. The back nine was playing difficult.”
Crowd Adversity and Mental Strength
The Wyndham Clark US Open victory came despite a hostile crowd openly rooting for world number one Scottie Scheffler, who was chasing the career Grand Slam on his 30th birthday and Father’s Day. At least one fan was ejected for heckling Clark, and others cheered when his shots found trouble.
“They definitely didn’t want me to win,” Clark said. “It’s pretty rare in a major to have fans boo against your shots. That was tough, but sometimes being the underdog is nice. Anytime someone said something negative to me, I replaced it with something positive.”
Scheffler finished with a 1-over 71 to tie for fourth at even par alongside Keith Mitchell and J.T. Poston. Despite the Grand Slam bid falling short, Scheffler praised Clark while also acknowledging the crowd went too far at times.
“The crowd was tough today,” Scheffler said. “Sometimes it can get a little too much when balls are going off greens and you start hearing cheers. That felt a bit much to me. But Wyndham had some stones down the stretch. He’s a very underrated scrambler.”
A Personal Victory
Sunday’s win carried deep personal meaning for Clark. His father Randall took a red-eye flight from Denver on Saturday night to surprise his son on Father’s Day, watching him win on the PGA Tour in person for the very first time.
“For him to surprise me was amazing,” Clark said. “This is not just my win.”
The Wyndham Clark US Open triumph also represents a remarkable turnaround from a difficult 2025 season that included an incident at Oakmont Country Club for which he faced significant backlash. Clark described the aftermath as “the lowest point” of his career.
“After what happened at Oakmont was obviously the lowest point,” Clark said. “I was in a dark place. I didn’t really go outside much. At that moment, I just felt a lot of my career, world ranking, reputation, everything, just dwindling.”
Clark is now the first player to lead after every round at the US Open in 12 years since Martin Kaymer at Pinehurst in 2014, and the 24th multi-winner of the championship. He takes home $4.5 million and earns exemptions into the next ten US Opens and invitations to the next five Masters Tournaments.
