SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — It’s an opportunity. No matter how unlikely it is. It doesn’t matter what adjective you use. Regardless of the number of at-bats against the top players, the challenge remains the same.
chance.
And that opportunity is exactly what Scottie Scheffler has.
Windham Clark grabbed the U.S. Open trophy Saturday night as the winds died down, crowds lined up and Shinnecock Hills ripened for harvest. As the shadows lengthened and time turned golden, both Clark’s leads on the way to silver grew.
On a day when only two other players had broken par before him, Clark nearly took third place, but a short miss on his final shot made an even-par 70 official. He made an eagle on the par-5 15th hole, extending his lead to seven. Instead, he has 60 minutes of sleep.
Tee time was late and the environment, already quiet due to the nightmare of waiting for fans to go home, was just about to be put to sleep in Clark’s arms. Most of the oxygen has been taken away from the championship. But not all. It is possible to reinject life. The flatline could start beeping again, but this is largely due to the man who will share the spotlight on Sunday’s final pairing with Clark.
No.1 in the world.
Scheffler entered this week with his first chance to complete a career Grand Slam. When you put your head on the pillow on Saturday night and wake up on Sunday morning, that opportunity still exists.
That in itself is unusual.
2026 U.S. Open tee times, pairings: Full schedule for Sunday’s fourth round at Shinnecock Hills
Robbie Calland
“It’s appropriate to understand what’s at stake. I’ve worked hard for a long time to win golf tournaments and have a chance to win a major championship,” Scheffler said. “Well, I think understanding the moment and doing the best you can is all part of the process.
“Like I said, we want to be in these positions. We practice and play to have a chance to win a golf tournament, and that’s tomorrow. I have a chance to go out there and have a great round and give myself a chance to win the tournament. Going into tomorrow, I think I’m five strokes behind right now, but we’ll see what happens as the day goes on. I could be seven strokes behind, I could be three strokes behind. I don’t know.” ”
Phil Mickelson may have finished runner-up in this championship six times, including in 2004, but he never stepped up to bat for a Grand Slam. In fact, his best result after lifting the Claret Jug in 2013 was T28 the following year. Since then, he has only finished in the top 50 once.
Jordan Spieth is one step closer to completing his collection with the Wanamaker Trophy. He finished third at Bethpage Black in 2019, the best result in his quest, but even the three-time major champion admits his performance was flash and mirror and he never felt like he had a real chance.
That brings us to Rory McIlroy, the most recent to accomplish that task. After winning his first three major trophies, he had six top-10 finishes at the Masters and finally donned the green jacket last spring. However, of those results, the 2018 tournament was the only quality opportunity as he played in the final pairing with eventual champion Patrick Reed.
Early in Saturday’s round, it looked like Scheffler’s chances were slipping through his hands. He started the day by sinking a 10-foot putt for bogey. Another square appeared in the next moment, and before Clark even set foot on the golf course, Scheffler’s par score was nine points worse than the leader’s score.
It didn’t help that he missed a rare scoring opportunity on the par-5 fifth. There was noise swirling in the wind around the property, but there was no noise behind the Scheffler home until it happened. He did what no one else could and found the putting surface on the par-4 10th from the valley floor with wedge in hand.
Three holes later, he evaded arrest, stole from the cookie jar, and chipped in from long on the 14th green for birdie. The first Scheffler roar. One after another came another one. The other shot was on the par-5 16th hole, where I faced the wind from right to left with the fairway wood and made two faces. There was a roar of excitement on the second shot, but on the third shot the eagle putt did not reach the bottom of the cup and did not continue. Still, his birdie gave hope.
“You can hit a lot of good shots and still run into situations where you’re frustrated with the results, but I think that’s part of the test at the U.S. Open,” Scheffler said. “We did a good job of being patient and stealing shots whenever we could. The back nine definitely stole some shots.”
Clark rarely has an advantage after 54 holes. This six-stroke difference is the largest since World War II, following Tiger Woods’ 10-shot difference in 2000 and McIlroy’s eight-shot difference in 2011. It’s been a historic performance so far, and there’s bound to be more to come once a second U.S. Open trophy is hoisted over his head.
Clark will probably win this championship. Yes, 18 holes is a long distance in golf, and anything can happen, especially in a major championship, but it’s also true that six strokes is a very long time. He’s playing the best golf of his life, he’s confident, he can’t miss with a putter in his hands. He has a good pedigree and has done this before.
And while the chance to be crowned U.S. Open champion comes around every summer, the chance to anoint a new Grand Slam champion never comes. Even with a historic lead, it won’t be any less real tomorrow. Because the opportunity still exists. No matter how close it is, it’s still in the realm of possibility with 18 holes left.
