Clark wins second U.S. Open after final-round scare

Wyndham Clark nearly let a six-shot lead disappear Sunday at Shinnecock Hills, then steadied himself in time to win the U.S. Open for the second time in four years.

Clark closed with a 3-over 73 and finished at 4 under par, one shot ahead of Sam Burns, who charged into contention with a final-round 67. The victory made Clark, 32, the first wire-to-wire U.S. Open winner since Martin Kaymer at Pinehurst No. 2 in 2014, CBS News reported.

The final round began with Clark in position either to complete a commanding victory or match one of the largest collapses in major championship history. He had led by six shots after 54 holes, but Burns quickly turned the afternoon into a test of nerve.

Playing three groups ahead, Burns birdied three of his first five holes and added another at the eighth. Clark, meanwhile, opened with mistakes as the Shinnecock Hills crowd made clear it favored Scottie Scheffler, who was playing alongside Clark on his 30th birthday while trying to complete the career Grand Slam.

Thousands around the first tee sang “Happy Birthday” to Scheffler. Clark received a far cooler reception, including scattered boos and shouts after his opening tee shot. The Guardian reported that several spectators were removed after repeatedly heckling Clark.

The pressure mounted quickly. Clark’s lead fell to four after early trouble, then to three as Burns kept attacking. When Clark missed a three-foot par putt at the seventh, the margin was down to one shot and the reaction from the gallery was among the loudest of the week.

Clark reached the turn in 3-over 38, but he did not lose the lead. A key up-and-down at the ninth kept him one ahead, and he answered at the 10th by hitting his approach to four feet and making birdie to restore a two-shot cushion.

Scheffler, despite the crowd’s backing, never got closer than three shots, according to CBS News. His putting struggles continued throughout the round, preventing him from applying sustained pressure.

Burns stayed close and had chances late, but a three-putt bogey at the 15th proved costly. Clark then delivered the decisive moment at the par-5 16th. After a poor drive, he advanced the ball, narrowly cleared a bunker with his next shot and found the back of the green with an 8-iron. He made a long birdie putt — described by The Guardian as 24 feet and by CBS News as 30 feet — to move two shots ahead with two holes remaining.

Clark bogeyed the 17th, then missed the fairway at the 18th. His approach still left him with about 50 feet for birdie, and he safely two-putted for par to secure the title.

Burns missed birdie opportunities on the final two holes and finished one shot short in his second straight serious U.S. Open bid. A year earlier, he held the 54-hole lead at Oakmont before closing with a 78.

Clark’s win followed a week in which he first took the outright lead late Thursday, after a fog-delayed opening round. He built that advantage with a birdie-birdie-eagle burst at the third, fourth and fifth holes, then led by two after the first round, four at halfway and six entering Sunday.

His second U.S. Open title in six appearances put him in select company. The Guardian reported that only Brooks Koepka, Lee Trevino, Walter Hagen, Ernie Els and John McDermott have won the championship twice in so few starts.