Heading into Sunday’s final round at Shinnecock Hills, Wyndham Clark holds a commanding six-shot lead. It’s never over until it’s over, especially at a U.S. Open with Scottie Scheffler in pursuit, but if Clark prevails he would become just the third golfer ever to achieve this rare piece of golf history. We’ll let golf’s resident stat man Justin Ray explain.
Being mentioned in the same breath as Tiger Woods and Billy Casper is no mean feat, and Clark could join them as co-owners of this niche achievement come Sunday evening. At first glance, that may seem more like a matter of luck than skill, but only two golfers have ever accomplished this feat for several reasons:
In 2023, Clark won the U.S. Open at LACC, California Dreamin’ through his final round. Now at Shinnecock, he’ll try to tap into that Empire State of Mind. Unlike at LACC, however, he’ll have another little piece of golf history on his side. As Ray also explains, of the 13 players to hold a six-shot lead or better heading into the final round of a major since 1934, 12 have prevailed. The only who outlier? Greg Norman at the 1996 Masters. Even though Clark shares some of the maverick energy that ultimately doomed Norman, those sound like pretty good odds to us.
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