Can anyone catch Wyndham Clark headed into the weekend at Shinnecock?
SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — After setting the 36-hole record for a U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club at 7 under, Wyndham Clark carries a four-stroke lead into the weekend.
Will it be enough for Clark to hang on for his second U.S. Open title?
There are several major champions within potential striking distance if Clark comes back to the field.
Even Rory McIlroy, who had an up-and-down 1-over 71 in the second round and is seven strokes back, feels like he has a chance.
“If there’s a course where you feel like you still have a chance if you’re seven back going into the weekend like I am, it’s definitely this one,” McIlroy said.
Here’s what to watch over the final two rounds of the 126th U.S. Open.
If Wyndham Clark shoots even par over the next 36 holes will he win?
Mark Schlabach: Given what went down in last year’s U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club outside Pittsburgh, the only thing I’m certain about is there won’t be many golf fans pulling for Clark to win this weekend.
Last year, Clark posted consecutive 4-over 74s and made a bogey on his final hole to miss the cut by one.
He took out his frustration on Oakmont Country Club’s 121-year-old lockers, kicking two of them in. He was banned from the club until he paid for them to be repaired, made a donation to charity and underwent anger management counseling.
Fair or not, Clark is still carrying that sin in the eyes of many golf fans.
“I’ve gotten a lot of grief since last year, rightfully so,” Clark said. “The thing that’s unfortunate is that’s not who I am, what happened last year. I’m hoping I can win back the fans that I had or some new fans because it was a terrible incident.” It won’t be easy.
Clark came into this week’s U.S. Open on a heater, having won the CJ Cup Byron Nelson on May 24 and then finishing solo third in the Memorial Tournament and tying for 11th in the RBC Canadian Open.
After struggling for more than a year, he found his form again under swing coach Pat Coyner.
Clark took advantage of the more benign conditions in the first round to card a 6-under 64. He followed that up with a 1-under 69.
His statistics weren’t as good in Round 2 as Round 1. After gaining nearly four strokes on the greens Thursday, he gained about a half-stroke Friday. After gaining nearly three strokes on approach Thursday, he gained about two in the second round.
Not that Friday’s effort wasn’t strong, but you have to wonder if he can keep up this pace for another 36 holes.
Clark won the 2023 U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club, so he’ll carry that confidence. He’s 1-for-5 in closing a stroke-play tournament on the PGA Tour.
“I feel like good things are going to happen, and I can continue to play good,” Clark said. “You know, momentum is a huge thing in golf, and I feel like I have it right now. Just keep it going. Keep pushing that momentum ball down the hill.”
Paolo Uggetti: Everything about Shinnecock’s history at this event tells us yes. When Retief Goosen won in 2004 he shot 4-under par for the week and won by two shots over Phil Mickelson. This has been a much more cautious week in terms of the United States Golf Association (USGA) setup so far, but everyone expects the weekend to get much tougher.
Seven under is so much higher than anyone expected to be leading the tournament after 36 holes. Even Clark expected much higher scores.
“My goals coming into this week was if I shot even par, I would hope I had a chance to win,” Clark said. “Things changed a little bit with conditions … I really felt like I could be in double digits, but you know, the great thing about that is I didn’t feel like I had my best, and I still am leading as of right now. Hopefully I can bring my A game on the weekend.”
Clark’s B game might be enough if he’s able to steer the ship around even par the rest of the way. Even as Shinnecock gets tougher, it will present the chance for birdies, allowing big-name players behind Clark to have an opportunity to chase him down. The key around here, as it always is, is avoiding the big numbers, which will be lurking around every nook of the property come Saturday.
How far back do you think is still in contention?
Schlabach: In the past 30 U.S. Opens, the eventual champion was leading or within two strokes after 36 holes in all but three tournaments, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
Webb Simpson was six strokes back after 36 holes when he won at Olympic Club in San Francisco in 2012. Matt Fitzpatrick was three behind when he captured his only major at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, in 2022.
And Brooks Koepka was five back when he came from behind to win his second straight U.S. Open at Shinnecock in 2018.
There’s still a ton of golf to be played on Long Island this weekend.
With big names like Xander Schauffele (3 under), Fitzpatrick (3 under), Collin Morikawa (2 under), Sam Burns (1 under) and Justin Thomas (1 under) still in contention, I would think anyone within six or seven strokes might still have a chance.
As long as Clark comes back to the pack and doesn’t run away with it.
“Just keep doing what I’m doing,” Thomas said. “I would expect to see a completely different golf course this weekend, definitely not as soft. Probably they’re going to let it go a little bit more and let it play firmer and faster. I think, honestly, a lot of it will have to do with how the course plays.”
Uggetti: Provided the USGA turns on the screws and allows it to play as firm and fast as it can, I think one over par is still very much in this tournament, especially with Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy still there lurking at even par and seven shots back.
I think we’re in store for some real roller-coaster movement Saturday with the wind still blowing and the course playing — hopefully — much more difficult. I’m also skeptical that Clark’s stellar play will sustain. His putting has been incandescent, and if it starts to cool off, that could also seep into the rest of his game as he explained today.
“As I started putting well and found a putter, then everything started coming together. Then you start really building confidence,” Clark said of his recent strong play.
I could very easily see Clark slip back down a few strokes Saturday bringing in a whole host of players, even those who just made the cut at 4 over.
How do you expect the course to play this weekend?
Schlabach: Golfers are hoping for firmer and faster greens, which is what we’ve come to expect during a U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills. The scoring average in the second round was 72.25, which was the second lowest in a U.S. Open here. The scoring average was 71.7 in the third round in 1986.
Shinnecock Hills GC has played to a scoring average of 72 (+2) or higher in each of the past 14 U.S. Open rounds played at Shinnecock dating back to the final round in 1986, per Elias.
“Hopefully, it gets a lot firmer,” said 2016 U.S. Open winner Dustin Johnson, who posted a 7-over 77 after a miserable second nine Friday. “It’s really soft right now.”
After the USGA faced some criticism for over-the-edge greens in 2004 and 2018, it’s understandable that it was more conservative with green speeds and pin placements during the first two rounds.
It’s time to turn up the heat on the weekend.
The weather forecast calls for whipping winds near 15 mph out of the west and northwest Saturday with gusts approaching 30 mph by midafternoon.
“We’re halfway through the race here,” said Schauffele, who carded a 4-under 66 on Friday. “A lot is up to the weather and a lot is up to the USGA and what they envision with the course setup on the weekend. This course has the potential to be diabolical.”
Uggetti: When even the players are saying that they want a harder golf course over the weekend and the fans are clamoring for a harder golf course, then I don’t know what we’re doing unless we get a harder golf course tomorrow.
John Bodenhamer, the USGA chief championship officer, has talked at length about letting Shinnecock be Shinnecock in the lead-up to this event. Like it or not, this is Shinnecock’s identity: Wind or no wind, it is meant to play brutally hard, meant to make players not just think but fear what could happen should they miss a shot by the slimmest of margins. So far that hasn’t been the case, and there’s been a good reason.
Given the wind that was forecast for Thursday, Bodenhamer & Co. did not want to let the course get away from them early on. As a result, they have been watering greens consistently and the result has been a pretty soft golf course. Ten players under par may not seem like a lot, but in 2018, there was only one single player under par after 36 holes.
We are only halfway through and there’s plenty of time for Shinnecock to show its true colors. Will the USGA let it?
Who is your pick to win halfway through?
Schlabach: I picked Scheffler to win the U.S. Open and complete the career Grand Slam before the season, but I think he’s too far back at this point.
I think there are a handful of guys who can pull it off: Clark, Fitzpatrick, Schauffele, Morikawa and Thomas. They’ve all won majors and have been through the fight.
For consistency’s sake, I’ll go with Clark. I don’t make that pick with a ton of conviction, but he’s a very talented player who seems to have figured things out again.
Uggetti: Schauffele is not only on the right side of the draw this week, he has consistently been the best U.S. Open player in the world since he turned pro. The two-time major winner has not yet won this event, but in nine starts, he hasn’t finished worse than T-14 and has recorded a whopping seven top-10 finishes.
Schauffele posted one of the better rounds of the day Friday, shooting 4 under and making only one bogey. He put himself in prime position to chase down Clark, and given his experience, I think he has the best chance to do it.
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