{"id":717986,"date":"2026-06-21T20:47:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T20:47:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/717986\/"},"modified":"2026-06-21T20:47:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-21T20:47:09","slug":"us-open-golf-2026-final-round-updates-as-leader-wyndham-clark-pegged-back-live-us-open","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/717986\/","title":{"rendered":"US Open golf 2026: final round updates as leader Wyndham Clark pegged back \u2013 live | US Open"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Key events<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">If Wyndham Clark\u2019s nerves are jangling, his short game isn\u2019t betraying them. From the thick rough at the front of the 9th green, he lobs high and confidently into the air, the ball landing softly a couple of feet shy of the cup and nearly rolling in. That would have been a proper <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/usopengolf\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">US Open<\/a> moment. Not quite up there with Tom Watson on 17 at Pebble in 1982, but something nonetheless. He\u2019d have grabbed par with both hands before taking the shot, though. Scottie Scheffler doesn\u2019t hit his birdie putt from 15 feet and what looked most likely to be a two-shot swing ends up in a half. Clark remains -4, Scheffler level par.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:?subject=US Open golf 2026: final round updates as leader Wyndham Clark pegged back \u2013 live&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/live\/2026\/jun\/21\/us-open-golf-2026-final-round-updates-wyndham-clark-live?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-6a384ca18f08c4f67d4d4f91#block-6a384ca18f08c4f67d4d4f91\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Clark can\u2019t reach the green with his second from the rough at 9. His ball lands in the thick strip of rough guarding the front of the green. Scheffler turns up the heat by clipping his iron from the middle of the fairway pin high. It\u2019s a half-chance for birdie; a two-shot swing between these players is eminently possible here.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:?subject=US Open golf 2026: final round updates as leader Wyndham Clark pegged back \u2013 live&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/live\/2026\/jun\/21\/us-open-golf-2026-final-round-updates-wyndham-clark-live?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-6a384b7b8f087fb1fe063745#block-6a384b7b8f087fb1fe063745\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Sam Burns finds the thick stuff down the right of 12. He sends his second scampering to the edge of the green, then nearly drains his Texas Wedge. He\u2019ll take that par to remain at -3. Meanwhile back on 9, Scottie Scheffler batters a drive down the middle, but Wyndham Clark\u2019s tee shot ends up in the first cut to the right of the fairway, and mostly disappears. The leader is three over for his round today and continues to look ragged. He got away with a wild long game yesterday, but it\u2019s not entirely clear whether this is sustainable. When it all comes down, it may prove that he started the day with enough shots in his back pocket. But right now, he\u2019s treading a thin line.<\/p>\n<p>Sam Burns tees off at Shinnecock Hills. Photograph: John Angelillo\/UPI\/Shutterstock<a href=\"mailto:?subject=US Open golf 2026: final round updates as leader Wyndham Clark pegged back \u2013 live&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/live\/2026\/jun\/21\/us-open-golf-2026-final-round-updates-wyndham-clark-live?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-6a3849fb8f087fb1fe06373f#block-6a3849fb8f087fb1fe06373f\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Updated at\u00a016.39 EDT<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Wyndham Clark lags his long putt at 8 to a couple of feet, and wastes not too much time over the par putt. In it goes. Scottie Scheffler reads his 15-foot right-to-left birdie curler perfectly \u2026 but doesn\u2019t hit it! He taps in. Both players move on, four shots between them.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:?subject=US Open golf 2026: final round updates as leader Wyndham Clark pegged back \u2013 live&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/live\/2026\/jun\/21\/us-open-golf-2026-final-round-updates-wyndham-clark-live?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-6a3849a58f08c4f67d4d4f87#block-6a3849a58f08c4f67d4d4f87\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Gary Woodland signs for a 68. That\u2019s the 13th round under par already today; there were only two players to break 70 yesterday. That puts the 2019 champion in a tie for the clubhouse lead at +1. Meanwhile Rory McIlroy, who fought his way into contention on Thursday, and Friday, and Saturday, carelessly letting things go south each time, finishes his week with an underwheming 73. He\u2019s +6 and he\u2019ll always have Congressional.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:?subject=US Open golf 2026: final round updates as leader Wyndham Clark pegged back \u2013 live&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/live\/2026\/jun\/21\/us-open-golf-2026-final-round-updates-wyndham-clark-live?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-6a3848b08f087fb1fe063738#block-6a3848b08f087fb1fe063738\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Bogeys on 7, then, for both players in the final group. But Scheffler will be much more content with the way it all unfolded, making his missable putt after taking two to escape from sand, Clark missing a short one for his par. And now on 8, Scheffler is on in regulation, while Clark, having found a fairway bunker \u2026 well, he gets on as well, but he wasn\u2019t in any position to go for the flag, and aiming for the meat of the green, is a long way away. Concern etched across his face. He\u2019s not got his best stuff here at all.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:?subject=US Open golf 2026: final round updates as leader Wyndham Clark pegged back \u2013 live&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/live\/2026\/jun\/21\/us-open-golf-2026-final-round-updates-wyndham-clark-live?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-6a3847e58f08c4f67d4d4f77#block-6a3847e58f08c4f67d4d4f77\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">It\u2019s Scheffler\u2019s turn to make a damage-limiting putt. He guides in his right-to-left bogey curler on 7 \u2026 then Clark shoves his downhill four-footer right of the cup and a couple of feet past! He makes the one coming back, but that was an extremely nervous stroke. And on that subject, JT Poston misses a putt from similar distance on 15 for birdie. He remains very much in this at -1, but what an opportunity to put some scoreboard pressure on the leaders. However Keith Mitchell, who dropped a stroke at 10 having failed to get up and down from the swale, birdies 11, and this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/usopengolf\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">US Open<\/a> continues to bubble away. No procession here!<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">-4: Clark (7)<br \/>-3: Burns (11)<br \/>-1: Poston (15), Mitchell (11), Kim (8)<br \/>E: Scheffler (7)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:?subject=US Open golf 2026: final round updates as leader Wyndham Clark pegged back \u2013 live&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/live\/2026\/jun\/21\/us-open-golf-2026-final-round-updates-wyndham-clark-live?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-6a38466a8f083b97ede8d2e1#block-6a38466a8f083b97ede8d2e1\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Scottie Scheffler splashes out delicately from the bunker at 7. Too delicately. His ball topples back into the trap, and though he gets out with his second attempt, he\u2019ll need to make a 15-footer for bogey. Wyndham Clark by contrast whips up decisively to four feet, and this could be a matchplay double-whammy for the world number one.<\/p>\n<p>Scottie Scheffler struggles with a bunker on the 7th hole. Photograph: Gerald Herbert\/AP<a href=\"mailto:?subject=US Open golf 2026: final round updates as leader Wyndham Clark pegged back \u2013 live&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/live\/2026\/jun\/21\/us-open-golf-2026-final-round-updates-wyndham-clark-live?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-6a3845ce8f083b97ede8d2df#block-6a3845ce8f083b97ede8d2df\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Updated at\u00a016.40 EDT<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Scheffler and Clark both find the bunker guarding the front-left of the par-three 7th green. But while the former\u2019s only just squeaks in, looking for a while like it was dead on line for the pin, the latter slam-dunks into the trap. The leader continues to make some big tee-to-green errors \u2026 though it\u2019s not cost him dearly. Yet. He remains ahead thanks to that street-fighting short game, which by the looks of things will continue to be stress-tested over the closing two-thirds of his round.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:?subject=US Open golf 2026: final round updates as leader Wyndham Clark pegged back \u2013 live&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/live\/2026\/jun\/21\/us-open-golf-2026-final-round-updates-wyndham-clark-live?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-6a3844e68f087fb1fe063718#block-6a3844e68f087fb1fe063718\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Forget that bit about putting. Both players opt to chip up. Clark leaves his effort ten feet short, giving Scheffler the green flag to get more aggressive. Which he does, and he should be tidying up from a couple of feet. Another big pressure putt for Clark \u2026 and he makes them more often than not. And so he does here, the confident roll ensuring a bobble halfway along the route to the cup doesn\u2019t divert the ball offline. Scheffler makes his par, and it\u2019ll be Clark who\u2019ll be the happier right now. But his game is getting a little tatty under these extreme tournament conditions. If at any point his putter goes cold, he\u2019ll be in a spot of bother.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:?subject=US Open golf 2026: final round updates as leader Wyndham Clark pegged back \u2013 live&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/live\/2026\/jun\/21\/us-open-golf-2026-final-round-updates-wyndham-clark-live?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-6a3843ae8f083b97ede8d2d7#block-6a3843ae8f083b97ede8d2d7\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Having got to within one shot, Sam Burns immediately cedes ground. His chip at 9 races eight feet past the hole, and he\u2019s left with a treacherous downhill par putt. He dribbles it down, but it slides off to the right. Bogey, and Clark\u2019s lead is two again. The iron in at fault there. Burns still out in an impressive 32 strokes, mind. Meanwhile back on 6, Clark and Scheffler both send fine approaches into the heart of the green \u2026 only for the camber to slowly take both balls away from the flag and off the putting surface to the right. No bunker, and both will most likely putt from where they are, with Clark going first to offer his opponent a read.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">-5: Clark (5)<br \/>-3: Burns (9)<br \/>-1: Poston (14), Mitchell (9), Scheffler (5)<br \/>E: Fleetwood (9), Grillo (7), Kim (6)<br \/>+1: Niemann (F), Hatton (F), Woodland (17), Parry (14), Morikawa (11), Schauffele (9), Stevens (7)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:?subject=US Open golf 2026: final round updates as leader Wyndham Clark pegged back \u2013 live&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/live\/2026\/jun\/21\/us-open-golf-2026-final-round-updates-wyndham-clark-live?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-6a3842438f087fb1fe063708#block-6a3842438f087fb1fe063708\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u2026 so having said that, Sam Burns makes his first big mistake of the final round. From the centre of the fairway at 9, he underhits his approach, and his ball topples back off the front. It stops in a thick collar of rough. Meanwhile a final-hole bogey for Tyrrell Hatton, the result of finding the long stuff with his tee shot. That\u2019s still an impressive closing round of 67, and at +1 he\u2019s got a fair chance of another top-ten finish at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/usopengolf\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">US Open<\/a>. He\u2019s got two of them on his resum\u00e9 already. Hatton joins Joaquin Niemann in the clubhouse lead.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:?subject=US Open golf 2026: final round updates as leader Wyndham Clark pegged back \u2013 live&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/live\/2026\/jun\/21\/us-open-golf-2026-final-round-updates-wyndham-clark-live?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-6a3840ca8f087fb1fe063706#block-6a3840ca8f087fb1fe063706\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Updated at\u00a016.02 EDT<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Clark makes a good fist of his 25-foot par effort, but it\u2019s always staying high on the left, and there goes another shot. Meanwhile it\u2019s a careful two-putt birdie for Scottie Scheffler, and suddenly everything has changed. Meanwhile Emiliano Grillo takes a hesitant prod at a short par putt on 7 to slip back to level par. We\u2019ve got a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/usopengolf\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">US Open<\/a> on our hands, ladies and gentlemen!<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">-5: Clark (5)<br \/>-4: Burns (8)<br \/>-1: Poston (13), Mitchell (8), Scheffler (5)<br \/>E: Hatton (17), Fleetwood (9), Grillo (7), Kim (6)<\/p>\n<p>Sam Burns is right in contention. Photograph: John Angelillo\/UPI\/Shutterstock<a href=\"mailto:?subject=US Open golf 2026: final round updates as leader Wyndham Clark pegged back \u2013 live&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/live\/2026\/jun\/21\/us-open-golf-2026-final-round-updates-wyndham-clark-live?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-6a383fe58f08c4f67d4d4f44#block-6a383fe58f08c4f67d4d4f44\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Updated at\u00a015.57 EDT<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Wyndham Clark bumps up from the back of 5, take II. This time he nearly skulls it, and he\u2019s fairly fortunate the ball stops 25 feet past the flag. A little more juice, and he\u2019d have found himself in the bunker. Meanwhile Scottie Scheffler stands and watches, while on 9, Sam Burns splits the fairway. This feels like a crucial long par putt coming up for Clark. He\u2019s got to limit the damage to bogey.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:?subject=US Open golf 2026: final round updates as leader Wyndham Clark pegged back \u2013 live&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/live\/2026\/jun\/21\/us-open-golf-2026-final-round-updates-wyndham-clark-live?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-6a383f4d8f087fb1fe063701#block-6a383f4d8f087fb1fe063701\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Sam Burns is on the charge! He tramlines a 50-footer across 8 and that\u2019s his fourth birdie on the front nine! The 29-year-old from Louisiana came so close last year, and now he\u2019s got to within two of the lead today. Meanwhile back on 5, Wyndham Clark faces a difficult pitch up from the back of the green \u2026 and doesn\u2019t bump it all the way up. It comes back down the slope towards him, and all of a sudden, this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/usopengolf\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">US Open<\/a> is on.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:?subject=US Open golf 2026: final round updates as leader Wyndham Clark pegged back \u2013 live&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/live\/2026\/jun\/21\/us-open-golf-2026-final-round-updates-wyndham-clark-live?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-6a383ead8f083b97ede8d2bd#block-6a383ead8f083b97ede8d2bd\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Wyndham Clark, the adrenaline flowing, fizzes an eight-iron through the 5th green and over. Down the bank, into some light rough. Collin Morikawa took a couple to get back up from there. Scottie\u2019s up next, and perhaps spooked at what he\u2019s just seen, only just makes it onto the green. But that\u2019s the careful play, and he\u2019ll have a look at eagle from the best part of 40 feet.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:?subject=US Open golf 2026: final round updates as leader Wyndham Clark pegged back \u2013 live&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/live\/2026\/jun\/21\/us-open-golf-2026-final-round-updates-wyndham-clark-live?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-6a383d928f087fb1fe0636f3#block-6a383d928f087fb1fe0636f3\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Clark made some other-worldly up and downs yesterday, but that scramble might be the most important of all. Had he dropped a stroke, there would have been a sense of the field closing in a bit, the pressure further ratcheted up. But that\u2019s kept everyone at arm\u2019s length. However one more player has just joined the red-figure club: Emilaino Grillo, who curls in a 20-footer on 6 to move to -1.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:?subject=US Open golf 2026: final round updates as leader Wyndham Clark pegged back \u2013 live&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/live\/2026\/jun\/21\/us-open-golf-2026-final-round-updates-wyndham-clark-live?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-6a383d0c8f08c4f67d4d4f33#block-6a383d0c8f08c4f67d4d4f33\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">JT Poston rakes in a Texas Wedge from off the front of 12. He moves into red figures. Meanwhile yet another birdie for Tyrrell Hatton, this time at 16. A bogey for Tommy Fleetwood, who fails to get up and down from a greenside bunker at 7. Then coming through afterwards, Keith Mitchell nearly makes a 30-footer for birdie, but must remain at -1. And then Wyndham Clark rolls in his left-to-right slider from 15 feet to save par! That\u2019s a quite outrageous up and down. His long game hasn\u2019t been all that this weekend; his short game has been out of this world. Par for Scheffler.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">-6: Clark (4)<br \/>-3: Burns (6)<br \/>-1: Poston (12), Mitchell (6)<br \/>E: Hatton (16), Fleetwood (7), Schauffele (7), Grillo (5), Kim (4), Scheffler (4)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:?subject=US Open golf 2026: final round updates as leader Wyndham Clark pegged back \u2013 live&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/live\/2026\/jun\/21\/us-open-golf-2026-final-round-updates-wyndham-clark-live?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-6a383ad48f083b97ede8d2ab#block-6a383ad48f083b97ede8d2ab\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">What looked like hardpan from distance is in fact trodden-down grass. So it\u2019s a decent enough lie for Wyndham Clark, who has caught a fair few breaks while going off piste yesterday and today. But you\u2019ve got to take advantage of these things, and that\u2019s what he does, yet again. A lovely crisp lob to 15 feet, about the best he could expect in sending his ball over a cart path and a bunker, the pin tucked in behind. If he escapes with a par here, everything and anything will seem possible.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:?subject=US Open golf 2026: final round updates as leader Wyndham Clark pegged back \u2013 live&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/live\/2026\/jun\/21\/us-open-golf-2026-final-round-updates-wyndham-clark-live?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-6a383a158f083b97ede8d2a8#block-6a383a158f083b97ede8d2a8\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Is the pressure getting to Wyndham Clark? He sends his drive at 4 into a fairway bunker, then carves his second over the gallery to the right, the ball bounding off a cart path and landing on some hard pan. He spins around in disgust and shakes his head. It\u2019s certainly a hole that can take a chunk out of you: Sahith Theegala has just made double on it to crash down the standings to +1. Scottie Scheffler gets on in regulation, and here\u2019s another big matchplay-style moment coming up.<\/p>\n<p>Wyndham Clark (left) and Scottie Scheffler line up their putts. Photograph: Cliff Hawkins\/Getty Images<a href=\"mailto:?subject=US Open golf 2026: final round updates as leader Wyndham Clark pegged back \u2013 live&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/live\/2026\/jun\/21\/us-open-golf-2026-final-round-updates-wyndham-clark-live?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-6a38393f8f08c4f67d4d4f25#block-6a38393f8f08c4f67d4d4f25\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Updated at\u00a015.31 EDT<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Some admin regarding action passed. Tommy Fleetwood might live to regret a short birdie putt missed on 5; he\u2019s nevertheless going well, a clean card through six holes and five behind Clark. Collin Morikawa knifed a wedge from a greenside bunker at 5, then failed to get up from the bottom of a swale behind the green, en route to a bogey six \u2026 but he\u2019s bounced back with a long birdie rake across 7. He\u2019s level par. And Tyrrell Hatton birdies 15: he\u2019s three under for his round today and at +1 shaping up for another impressive showing at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/usopengolf\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">US Open<\/a>, following last year\u2019s tie for fourth.<\/p>\n<p>Tommy Fleetwood makes a solid start to his final round. Photograph: George Walker IV\/AP<a href=\"mailto:?subject=US Open golf 2026: final round updates as leader Wyndham Clark pegged back \u2013 live&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/live\/2026\/jun\/21\/us-open-golf-2026-final-round-updates-wyndham-clark-live?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-6a3838548f087fb1fe0636d9#block-6a3838548f087fb1fe0636d9\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Updated at\u00a015.23 EDT<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Scottie Scheffler hasn\u2019t enjoyed himself on the front nine this week. He\u2019s currently cumulatively five over going out, and sending his tee shot into the deep fescue down the left of 3 won\u2019t help that stat. He whistles his second into greenside sand, and doesn\u2019t get particularly close with his splash out. But he rolls in the putt, and pumps the air with his fist. He\u2019s clinging on at the moment, but with Wyndham Clark missing a 15-foot birdie putt, he\u2019s lost no ground despite that scrappy hole. He remains level par, six behind the leader.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">-6: Clark (3)<br \/>-3: Burns (5)<br \/>-1: Fleetwood (6), Mitchell (5), Kim (3), Theegala (3)<br \/>E: Morikawa (7), Schauffele (6), Stevens (4), Scheffler (3)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:?subject=US Open golf 2026: final round updates as leader Wyndham Clark pegged back \u2013 live&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/live\/2026\/jun\/21\/us-open-golf-2026-final-round-updates-wyndham-clark-live?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-6a3836c28f087fb1fe0636d3#block-6a3836c28f087fb1fe0636d3\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">JT Poston has inserted himself into the equation. The 33-year-old from North Carolina is in good form, having won the Memorial Tournament a couple of weeks ago, and he\u2019s just carded four birdies in five holes to hit the turn in 32 strokes. He\u2019s level par, as eagle-eyed readers will have already noticed. Meanwhile Sam Burns and Keith Mitchell take turns to roll in mid-distance putts on 5 for birdie; they\u2019re -3 and -1 respectively.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:?subject=US Open golf 2026: final round updates as leader Wyndham Clark pegged back \u2013 live&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/live\/2026\/jun\/21\/us-open-golf-2026-final-round-updates-wyndham-clark-live?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-6a38354b8f08c4f67d4d4f0a#block-6a38354b8f08c4f67d4d4f0a\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Joaquin Niemann pars his way home and signs for a 66. What a performance from the brilliant Chilean. What that septuple-bogey 11 (!) on Thursday might have cost him. He\u2019s the new clubhouse leader at +1.<\/p>\n<p>Joaquin Niemann on his way to a final score of +1 at Shinnecock Hills. Photograph: Andrew Redington\/Getty Images<a href=\"mailto:?subject=US Open golf 2026: final round updates as leader Wyndham Clark pegged back \u2013 live&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/live\/2026\/jun\/21\/us-open-golf-2026-final-round-updates-wyndham-clark-live?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-6a3834cb8f08c4f67d4d4f05#block-6a3834cb8f08c4f67d4d4f05\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Updated at\u00a015.24 EDT<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Wyndham Clark putts up from the fringe at the back of 2 to four feet. That\u2019s a fine effort, but it still leaves a tricky short bogey putt with right-to-left break. He makes the putt, but only just; a more tentative prod would have sent that wide left. Scottie Scheffler\u2019s birdie putt nearly drops, but par will have to do. Meanwhile on 3, Sahith Theegala rolls in a 20-foot right-to-left slider to get into the red at -1 \u2026 and Tom Kim follows him in for a birdie of his own to join him at -1.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">-6: Clark (2)<br \/>-2: Burns (4)<br \/>-1: Fleetwood (5), Kim (3), Theegala (3)<br \/>E: Poston (9), Schauffele (5), Mitchell (4), Stevens (3), Scheffler (2)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:?subject=US Open golf 2026: final round updates as leader Wyndham Clark pegged back \u2013 live&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/live\/2026\/jun\/21\/us-open-golf-2026-final-round-updates-wyndham-clark-live?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-6a3833d78f08c4f67d4d4efa#block-6a3833d78f08c4f67d4d4efa\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Clark whips up and over a bunker, onto the green. But the slope takes his ball off the back. Only just, but two putts from there will be a result. As the ball left the putting surface, a sizeable section of the gallery cheered loudly: they\u2019re obviously behind Scheffler. This sort of thing can either get in a player\u2019s head \u2013 see Colin Montgomerie passim \u2013 or fuel them to greater things. Let\u2019s see which way this goes.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:?subject=US Open golf 2026: final round updates as leader Wyndham Clark pegged back \u2013 live&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/live\/2026\/jun\/21\/us-open-golf-2026-final-round-updates-wyndham-clark-live?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-6a3832d18f083b97ede8d27e#block-6a3832d18f083b97ede8d27e\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Clark goes for a gentle fade into the par-three 2nd. But he sends it straight left, so much so that it clears the tallest fescue to the side of the green. It\u2019s still in thick rough, though. The same mistake he made on 17 last night, but this time there\u2019s no camera podium from which to get relief. On Sky, Paul McGinley calls a double-cross, suggesting that could be something that will get into his head, given what happened yesterday on 17. Clark looks a little concerned, especially as Scheffler then does exactly what he was trying to do, a fade that lands on the front-left portion of the green, the camber of the putting surface bringing his ball round to 17 feet. Big chip from the rough for Clark coming up; he\u2019s been up to the task more often than not this week.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:?subject=US Open golf 2026: final round updates as leader Wyndham Clark pegged back \u2013 live&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/live\/2026\/jun\/21\/us-open-golf-2026-final-round-updates-wyndham-clark-live?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-6a38319d8f083b97ede8d271#block-6a38319d8f083b97ede8d271\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Clark can\u2019t make his birdie putt, which shaves the left lip. But that\u2019s a nerve-settling opening par, the hole played without fuss or drama. Then Scheffler, to almost funereal silence, shoves his par putt wide right. He stands there scratching his head in confusion as Clark bounds off to the next tee with an extra spring in his step. That couldn\u2019t have gone much better for the leader, missed birdie putt notwithstanding.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">-7: Clark (1)<br \/>-2: Burns (3)<br \/>-1: Fleetwood (1)<br \/>E: Morikawa (4), Mitchell (3), Stevens (2), Kim (2), Theegala (2), Scheffler (1)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:?subject=US Open golf 2026: final round updates as leader Wyndham Clark pegged back \u2013 live&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/live\/2026\/jun\/21\/us-open-golf-2026-final-round-updates-wyndham-clark-live?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-6a3830c68f08c4f67d4d4ee8#block-6a3830c68f08c4f67d4d4ee8\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Scheffler needs a fast start to eat into Clark\u2019s lead and apply some matchplay-style pressure. But his second into 1 takes a hot bounce off a downslope and disappears over the back, into a thick fringe. He\u2019s got to whip out high, and does very well, getting to within six feet. But that\u2019ll be a tester to save par \u2026 and Clark has stuck his approach pin high to 15 feet. A birdie attempt coming up, and a possible two-shot swing. This could nix any hope of Scheffler gaining momentum from the get-go!<\/p>\n<p>Wyndham Clark hits from the fairway on the first hole. Photograph: Gerald Herbert\/AP<a href=\"mailto:?subject=US Open golf 2026: final round updates as leader Wyndham Clark pegged back \u2013 live&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/live\/2026\/jun\/21\/us-open-golf-2026-final-round-updates-wyndham-clark-live?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-6a382ffd8f08c4f67d4d4edc#block-6a382ffd8f08c4f67d4d4edc\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Updated at\u00a014.46 EDT<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Up on the green, Tom Kim and Sahith Theegala both make disappointing \u2013 and frankly careless \u2013 three-putt bogeys. They slip back to level par. Heading the other way: Sam Burns, who follows up birdie at 1 with another at 3. Burns came so close last year, leading after 54 holes at Oakmont, but his final round was an almost literal wash-out of 78. Burns is on course to best last year\u2019s tie for seventh.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">-7: Clark<br \/>-2: Burns (3)<br \/>-1: Fleetwood (4), Scheffler<br \/>E: Morikawa (4), Mitchell (3), Stevens (2), Kim (1), Theegala (1)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:?subject=US Open golf 2026: final round updates as leader Wyndham Clark pegged back \u2013 live&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/live\/2026\/jun\/21\/us-open-golf-2026-final-round-updates-wyndham-clark-live?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-6a382f048f087fb1fe063683#block-6a382f048f087fb1fe063683\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u266a \u266b \u266c \u201cHappy birthday to you \/ Happy birthday to you \/ Happy birthday dear Scottie (30), Happy birthday to you! \u201d \u266a \u266b \u266c It\u2019s the final match of the 126th <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/usopengolf\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">US Open<\/a>. Scheffler belts his tee shot down the middle. Wyndham Clark, who was a bit wayward off the tee yesterday, takes iron for safety and finds the fairway as well. Everyone\u2019s out! It\u2019s on! More cheers for Scottie than Clark, by the way, which will partly be a popularity thing \u2013 America loves a winner, and Scheffler\u2019s on the brink of a career slam \u2013 but also from a desire to witness a sporting contest. Nothing personal, Wyndham. That\u2019s showbiz!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:?subject=US Open golf 2026: final round updates as leader Wyndham Clark pegged back \u2013 live&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/live\/2026\/jun\/21\/us-open-golf-2026-final-round-updates-wyndham-clark-live?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-6a382dc78f083b97ede8d24a#block-6a382dc78f083b97ede8d24a\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u266a \u266b \u266c \u201cHappy birthday to you \/ Happy birthday to you \/ Happy birthday dear Tom Kim (23), Happy birthday to you! \u201d \u266a \u266b \u266c The penultimate pairing take to the tee, and it features the birthday boy Tom Kim. There\u2019d be few more popular winners if the young Korean made it today, and he\u2019s on the 1st in regulation, as is his playing partner Sahith Theegala, whose victory would go down very well with the gallery too. See also: Tommy Fleetwood, who knocks his wedge at 3 from 144 yards to four feet and tidies up for his second birdie in a row. Just the five more for another final-day 63 at Shinnecock, then! He\u2019s -1.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:?subject=US Open golf 2026: final round updates as leader Wyndham Clark pegged back \u2013 live&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/live\/2026\/jun\/21\/us-open-golf-2026-final-round-updates-wyndham-clark-live?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-6a382cbc8f087fb1fe063679#block-6a382cbc8f087fb1fe063679\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The defending champion JJ Spaun didn\u2019t make the weekend. Last year\u2019s runner-up did, though, and Robert MacIntyre has finished his week with a level-par 70. He\u2019s +7, and wouldn\u2019t be human if he\u2019s still not cursing Viktor Hovland for giving Spaun a read ahead of that tournament-winning putt. Meanwhile in other European news, Justin Rose has just made three birdies in a row, on 11, 12 and 13, to rise up the standings to +1. A top-ten finish within reach for the 2013 champ.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:?subject=US Open golf 2026: final round updates as leader Wyndham Clark pegged back \u2013 live&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/live\/2026\/jun\/21\/us-open-golf-2026-final-round-updates-wyndham-clark-live?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-6a382b478f083b97ede8d240#block-6a382b478f083b97ede8d240\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">There have been quite a few shots of both Wyndham Clark and Scottie Scheffler going through their practice routines. Clark wedging an alignment stick through the loops of his trousers for real-time hip analysis; Scheffler missing a few short putts, which doesn\u2019t augur well. Meanwhile here\u2019s more good news for Clark courtesy of David \u2018Not That One\u2019 Howell: \u201cThe scoring variance has continued to be lower than in prior US Opens here, and low variance is obviously what a six-shot leader wants. Secondly, finding fairways doesn\u2019t seem to be as important today. Lots of players have been scoring over par while hitting most fairways, and several of today\u2019s best rounds have come in spite of missing a few. Considering that Clark has historically not been the straightest off the tee, it\u2019s reasonable to assume he might find the fescue a bit under pressure, but that might not be a death sentence today.\u201d Speaking of belt loops, any old excuse to enjoy the greatest zinger ever told \u2026<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:?subject=US Open golf 2026: final round updates as leader Wyndham Clark pegged back \u2013 live&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/live\/2026\/jun\/21\/us-open-golf-2026-final-round-updates-wyndham-clark-live?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-6a3829d28f08c4f67d4d4ebb#block-6a3829d28f08c4f67d4d4ebb\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Another final round of 63 in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/usopengolf\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">US Open<\/a> at Shinnecock is statistically, realistically too much to ask of Tommy Fleetwood. Surely. But he\u2019s just raked in a long birdie putt across the par-three 2nd to join the group at level par in short order. Just the six more birdies needed. What better excuse to refresh the leaderboard for the first time in this report?<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">-7: Clark<br \/>-1: Scheffler, Theegala, Kim, Stevens<br \/>E: Fleetwood (2), Schauffele (2), Mitchell (1), Grillo<br \/>+1: Niemann (14), Woodland (9), Morikawa (2)<br \/>+2: Rose (12), Griffin (11), Hatton (11), Bhatia (8), Rai (6), M Fitzpatrick (2)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:?subject=US Open golf 2026: final round updates as leader Wyndham Clark pegged back \u2013 live&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/live\/2026\/jun\/21\/us-open-golf-2026-final-round-updates-wyndham-clark-live?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-6a3828698f087fb1fe06366f#block-6a3828698f087fb1fe06366f\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">A lovely moment on 18 as the 17-year-old amateur Miles Russell walks up 18. The youngest player in the field is on in regulation, and having hit his approach, wears a smile as wide as Long Island itself as his caddie hands his official vest and bag of clubs over to his dad. Father and son make the last walk up the fairway together, and that is such a sweet moment. Russell Sr. (not that one, Pulp fans) helps Miles line up his final putt, a long right-to-left swinger that nearly drops. A tap-in for par and a final round of 70. He finishes the week at +7. His playing partner today, fellow amateur Jackson Koivun of North Carolina, birdies for a 68 and finishes at +5. He\u2019ll be keeping an eye on what Ryder Cowan gets up to: the only player left who can beat Koivun to Low Amateur status and the Jack Nicklaus Medal has bogeyed 2 and is currently +3 overall through 4.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:?subject=US Open golf 2026: final round updates as leader Wyndham Clark pegged back \u2013 live&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/live\/2026\/jun\/21\/us-open-golf-2026-final-round-updates-wyndham-clark-live?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-6a38251a8f087fb1fe063653#block-6a38251a8f087fb1fe063653\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Joaquin Niemann might be the one to take advantage of the relatively benign conditions. Out in 33, the Chilean, much touted as a major champion in waiting, has subsequently birdied 10 and now 13 to move to four under for his round, and +1 overall. He\u2019ll be cursing his opening round of 78, and that toddler\u2019s tanty on the par-four 6th, at which he took 11 strokes. A septuple bogey! Two tee shots out of bounds, a back-and-forth with the referee in a doomed attempt to get relief from fire ants in the fescue, and a two-shot penalty for a coptered club. Oh Joaquin! He\u2019s currently +1 for the tournament, and in theory, if we factor out the butterfly effect and linear nature of history, would now be just one off the pace sans meltdown. A lesson for all you kids out there: keep your cool, it pays in the long run. (Though it is fun to launch a club in a fit of pique. Well, it is. It might not be right but it is. I don\u2019t write the rules.)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:?subject=US Open golf 2026: final round updates as leader Wyndham Clark pegged back \u2013 live&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/live\/2026\/jun\/21\/us-open-golf-2026-final-round-updates-wyndham-clark-live?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-6a3822328f083b97ede8d218#block-6a3822328f083b97ede8d218\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Ludvig \u00c5berg birdies the last for a final round of 66. Another major championship of what-ifs for the young Swede, who it\u2019s easy to forget is still only making his 11th major-championship appearance this week. He ends the week at +3 and is the new clubhouse leader. Some more proof that there\u2019s a score out there for the chasing pack. Only problem being, it\u2019s also out there for Wyndham Clark, and look at the 64 he shot on Thursday when the wind was down.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:?subject=US Open golf 2026: final round updates as leader Wyndham Clark pegged back \u2013 live&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/live\/2026\/jun\/21\/us-open-golf-2026-final-round-updates-wyndham-clark-live?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-6a3821068f087fb1fe06363d#block-6a3821068f087fb1fe06363d\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Meanwhile here\u2019s a reminder of how easily a six-shot advantage can be whittled away on a major-championship Sunday \u2026<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u2026 plus memories of Brooks Koepka nearly letting a seven-shot lead slip. Suffice to say, Wyndham Clark, as dominant as he\u2019s been so far, won\u2019t be taking anything for granted just yet.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:?subject=US Open golf 2026: final round updates as leader Wyndham Clark pegged back \u2013 live&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/live\/2026\/jun\/21\/us-open-golf-2026-final-round-updates-wyndham-clark-live?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-6a381e7f8f08c4f67d4d4e67#block-6a381e7f8f08c4f67d4d4e67\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">A six-shot lead, though. Courtesy of an old Joy of Six, here\u2019s the story of how Arnold Palmer came from seven back in 1960 (though to be clear, 54-hole leader Mike Souchak was only two ahead of the field going into the final round).<\/p>\n<p>double quotation mark\u201cYou\u2019re dead,\u201d scoffed golf writer Bob Drum. He\u2019d just been asked by Arnold Palmer, two times a Master but yet to land his national title, if a final-round 65 could win the US Open. \u201cNah, you\u2019re too far back, Arnie. That would do nothing.\u201d Palmer threw his half-eaten cheeseburger down \u2013 it was lunch between the third and fourth rounds of the 1960 tournament at Cherry Hills near Denver, the final 36 holes in those days all played on the Saturday \u2013 and left the locker room in the lofty state of high dudgeon.<\/p>\n<p>In fairness to Drum, his was a reasonable, if slightly tactless, response. Palmer came into the Open as the favourite, fresh from winning at Augusta, but he pushed his opening tee shot into a ditch, double bogeyed the first hole, and never quite got going. He\u2019d putted poorly, and after three rounds was seven shots behind the leader Mike Souchak. There were 13 other players in between the two, including four-time winner Ben Hogan, Gary Player, former champ Julius Boros, the pop singer Don Cherry (!) and a promising young amateur called Jack Nicklaus. Yep, Arnie was dead.<\/p>\n<p>Except, of course, Arnie wasn\u2019t dead. Steam trailing from his lugs \u2013 \u201cI was a little angry at Drum and his attitude,\u201d recalled Palmer \u2013 he took to the first tee and attempted to drive the green at the short par four. His ball rolled to 20 feet. He didn\u2019t make the eagle putt, but birdie was a good enough start. Come the 4th, he\u2019d made four of them in a row. By the 7th, he\u2019d made another two, by which point he was jigging across the turf in a syncopated manner, repeatedly tossing his visor into the air in celebration. A shot was dropped at 8, but he still reached the turn in 30 strokes, a new tournament record.<\/p>\n<p>That pique-fuelled charge \u2013 followed by one last birdie at 11 \u2013 was enough to land Palmer the title. Souchak, unnerved by the ear-splitting noise generated by Palmer\u2019s gallery \u2013 which now included Drum, the player greeting the hapless scribe on his arrival with a raised eyebrow and a wry \u201cfancy seeing you here!\u201d \u2013 fell apart. Young Nicklaus briefly held the lead but, callow and nervous, naively elected to putt over a ball mark and three putted, all momentum lost. Finally Hogan, who had hit 34 out of 34 greens in regulation on the final day going up 17, dumped his approach in water while striving too hard to nudge ahead of Palmer, then got wet again from the tee at the last. Palmer\u2019s seven-shot comeback was the greatest in US Open history, the visor he launched on the final green still, it\u2019s said, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=CuDfeVL8iLw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">in orbit<\/a>. Nice that Arnie celebrated so well while the going was good, because a mere six years later, he would, unlike his cap, come crashing back down to earth.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:?subject=US Open golf 2026: final round updates as leader Wyndham Clark pegged back \u2013 live&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/live\/2026\/jun\/21\/us-open-golf-2026-final-round-updates-wyndham-clark-live?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-6a381c4e8f083b97ede8d1f4#block-6a381c4e8f083b97ede8d1f4\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">There were only two rounds under par yesterday. Emiliano Grillo shot 67 in the windiest of the conditions; Scottie Scheffler carded 69 after coming home in 32 strokes. It was tough. And it\u2019s tough again today, of course \u2026 just not so tough. There isn\u2019t as much wind, and though the greens are still hard and fast, there\u2019s already been evidence that something is out there for someone. Maybe it\u2019s already been done, because already there have been three sub-70 rounds this morning\/afternoon, one more than the whole of Moving Day. Peter Uihlein, who shot 80 yesterday, has finished his week with a 66, a score that\u2019s only been bettered in this tournament so far by Wyndham Clark (64), Collin Morikawa (65) and Joaquin Niemann (65), and matched by Xander Schauffele (66) and Dustin Johnson (66). James Nicholas has followed up yesterday\u2019s 82 with 69. And Ben James has shot 67. So it\u2019s on. Possibly. Another final round of 63 for Tommy Fleetwood? Let\u2019s rule nothing out. An 83 is realistic too.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:?subject=US Open golf 2026: final round updates as leader Wyndham Clark pegged back \u2013 live&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/live\/2026\/jun\/21\/us-open-golf-2026-final-round-updates-wyndham-clark-live?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-6a381a1c8f08c4f67d4d4e45#block-6a381a1c8f08c4f67d4d4e45\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a>Preamble<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">If Wyndham Clark doesn\u2019t turn the 126th <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/usopengolf\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">US Open<\/a> into a procession, we\u2019ll have one heck of a story on our hands. After a third round of 70 mainly constructed on a foundation of world-class scrambling, but also featuring one of the great US Open fairway woods to set up eagle at 16, Clark established a six-stroke lead \u2026<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">-7: Wyndham Clark<br \/>-1: Scottie Scheffler, Sahith Theegala, Tom Kim, Sam Stevens<br \/>E: Emiliano Grillo, Keith Mitchell, Sam Burns, Xander Schauffele<br \/>+1: Tommy Fleetwood, Collin Morikawa, Matt Fitzpatrick<br \/>Selected others: Aaron Rai (+3), Rory McIlroy (+3), Gary Woodland (+3), Duston Johnson (+4), Justin Rose (+4)<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u2026 and nobody has ever given up such a 54-hole advantage in US Open history. The largest lead lost after three rounds is five, by Mike Brady to Walter Hagen in 1919, though Arnold Palmer won from seven back in 1960 and Johnny Miller did it from six behind in 1973. So depending on how you want to look at this, a win for anyone other than Clark today is either without precedent or proven to be possible. History teaches us nothing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Even so, it\u2019s unlikely that Clark will be doing anything other than lifting up the big old cup. However he\u2019d have surely picked a different player to be the next cab on the rank, and his playing partner today: the world number one Scottie Scheffler, the career slam almost within touching distance. Those players to claw back a big deficit again: Walter Hagen, Arnold Palmer, Johnny Miller. Talent out of the top drawer, where Scheffler also resides. And it\u2019s the US Open, at the notoriously difficult Shinnecock, where you can bet the USGA will have one or two final tricks up their sleeve. If Clark\u2019s nerves start rattling, and someone in the chasing pack goes on a heater, you never know. Or maybe Clark will simply do what he did yesterday: grind, fight, hold firm, then play another majestic fade into the 16th to set up a carpe-diem eagle. We\u2019ll find out soon enough. Here are today\u2019s tee times (all BST). It\u2019s on!<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">12.45pm: Dylan Wu, James Nicholas<br \/>12.56pm: Peter Uihlein, Russell Henley<br \/>1.07pm: Patrick Rodgers, Eric Lee (a)<br \/>1.18pm: Neal Shipley, Hideki Matsuyama<br \/>1.29pm: Adrien Dumont de Chassart, Nico Echavarria<br \/>1.40pm: Caleb Surratt, Ben James<br \/>1.51pm: Jackson Van Paris, Spencer Tibbits<br \/>2.02pm: Kurt Kitayama, Max Greyserman<br \/>2.18pm: Marek Fleming (a), Jacob Bridgeman<br \/>2.29pm: Johnny Keefer, Ludvig \u00c5berg<br \/>2.40pm: Ryan Fox, Angel Hidalgo<br \/>2.51pm: Miles Russell (a), Jackson Koivun (a)<br \/>3.02pm: Robert MacIntyre, Chris Gotterup<br \/>3.13pm: Harry Higgs, Andrew Putnam<br \/>3.24pm: Michael Brennan, Jordan Spieth<br \/>3.35pm: Bud Cauley, Ben Kohles<br \/>3.51pm: Cameron Young, Joaquin Niemann<br \/>4.02pm: Laurie Canter, Justin Thomas<br \/>4.13pm: William Mouw, Niklas Norgaard<br \/>4.24pm: Max McGreevy, Justin Rose<br \/>4.35pm: Ben Griffin, Tyrrell Hatton<br \/>4.46pm: Pierceson Coody, Dustin Johnson<br \/>4.57pm: Ryo Hisatsune, Gary Woodland<br \/>5.13pm: Akshay Bhatia, Rory McIlroy<br \/>5.24pm: Maverick McNealy, Brian Harman<br \/>5.35pm: Zac Blair, Aaron Rai<br \/>5.46pm: John Parry, JT Poston<br \/>5.57pm: Sungjae Im, Michael Kim<br \/>6.08pm: Ryder Cowan (a), Alex Fitzpatrick<br \/>6.19pm: Corey Conners, Keegan Bradley<br \/>6.35pm: Matt Fitzpatrick, Collin Morikawa<br \/>6.46pm: Tommy Fleetwood, Xander Schauffele<br \/>6.57pm: Sam Burns, Keith Mitchell<br \/>7.08pm: Emiliano Grillo, Sam Stevens<br \/>7.19pm: Tom Kim, Sahith Theegala<br \/>7.30pm: Scottie Scheffler, Wyndham Clark<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:?subject=US Open golf 2026: final round updates as leader Wyndham Clark pegged back \u2013 live&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/live\/2026\/jun\/21\/us-open-golf-2026-final-round-updates-wyndham-clark-live?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-6a3557e68f087fb1fe062440#block-6a3557e68f087fb1fe062440\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Key events If Wyndham Clark\u2019s nerves are jangling, his short game isn\u2019t betraying them. From the thick rough&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":717987,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[71],"tags":[427,99],"class_list":["post-717986","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-golf","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/717986","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=717986"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/717986\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/717987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=717986"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=717986"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=717986"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}