Quick answer: After a wild Sunday at Shinnecock Hills, Wyndham Clark has wrestled back control of the U.S. Open. A clutch birdie at the 16th, from an awful drive, pushed his lead back to two shots with two holes to play, sitting at 5 under. Sam Burns, the surprise of the day, finished with a brilliant 3-under 67 to post the clubhouse number at 3 under, one shot back. Burns can only watch now. Clark needs to play the final two holes in roughly level par to claim his second U.S. Open.
It has been a rollercoaster no one saw coming. Here is where it stands.
Where Does the U.S. Open Stand Right Now?
Clark leads by two over Burns with two holes to play. That is the headline at 6:10 p.m. ET, and it represents a remarkable recovery from where he was an hour ago.
This looked like a runaway after 54 holes, then it nearly became a collapse, and now it looks like Clark is going to grind it out after all. He is at 5 under for the championship, walking to the 17th tee with the trophy almost in hand but not quite. Two clean holes and it is his. The only player who can still catch him has already finished.
What Just Happened With Sam Burns?
Burns authored the round of the day and nearly the upset of the year. He started Sunday seven shots back, a name nobody mentioned in the previews, and shot a 3-under 67 to drag himself all the way to within one of the lead.
His finish was pure theater. After a costly missed par putt at the 15th, Burns refused to fold, pouring in an 18-foot birdie at the 16th with a fist pump that briefly cut Clark's lead to one. He gave himself a great look at birdie on the 18th to apply even more pressure, and when it slid by, he dropped to his knees on the green. He signed for a 67 and 3 under for the week, the first under-par clubhouse score of the day, and now all he can do is wait and hope Clark stumbles.
How Did Clark Nearly Throw It Away?
Brutally, and almost completely, on the front nine. After three straight rounds of par or better, Clark came out tight and fell apart for a stretch. He made no birdies on the front nine, dropped three shots in his first seven holes, and watched a six-shot cushion shrink to a single stroke by the turn. For about an hour, the ghost of Greg Norman's 1996 collapse hung over Shinnecock.
What saved him was the same thing that built the lead in the first place: an unbelievable short game and a putter that refuses to die. A miraculous chip to save par at the 9th steadied him. A spun-back wedge to set up birdie at the 10th gave him breathing room. He gave a shot back with a bogey at the 13th, let Burns creep within one again, and then answered with the birdie at the 16th that may end up winning the championship. Scrappy is too kind a word. He has been hanging on by his fingernails and making the putt every single time it mattered.
What About Scottie Scheffler's Grand Slam Bid?
It is over. The birthday fairy tale never materialized. Scheffler bogeyed the very first hole, briefly got back under par with a birdie at the 10th, but could never string together the run he needed. He finished well back, his bid to complete the career Grand Slam on his 30th birthday falling short.
The cruel irony is that the man who needed a special round produced an ordinary one, while Burns, who needed nothing and had nothing to lose, nearly stole the whole thing. Scheffler will have other chances at the U.S. Open. This was not his day.
Who Else Made Noise?
- Keith Mitchell made history. He closed with his fourth straight even-par 70, becoming the first player in U.S. Open history to post four rounds of exactly 70. After opening the championship with a 41 on his first nine, that is a remarkable bit of consistency.
- The crowd turned ugly. Fans rooted openly against Clark all day, cheering his bad shots and willing his ball into trouble, with several ejected for heckling. He had to win this thing as the villain.
- Rory faded out. McIlroy admitted the wheels came off on the weekend, closing with back-to-back 73s to finish well down the board.
The Raw Read
If Clark closes this out, and he should from two clear with two to play, it will go down as one of the gutsiest U.S. Open wins in memory, not the cakewalk a six-shot lead promised. He nearly gave it all back, faced a hostile crowd and a charging Burns, and kept answering with the putter when the round threatened to fall apart. That is not pretty golf. It is tough golf.
A win would make Clark a two-time U.S. Open champion, putting him in elite company, and the first wire-to-wire winner of this championship since Martin Kaymer in 2014. But he is not there yet. Two holes at a firm, mean Shinnecock, with the whole crowd against him and Burns posted one back, is exactly the kind of finish where strange things happen. He has one hand on the trophy. Now he has to grab it with both.
This is a developing story and will be updated as the final round concludes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is leading the 2026 U.S. Open?
Wyndham Clark, at 5 under, leads by two shots with two holes to play after a birdie at the 16th.
What did Sam Burns finish at?
Burns shot a 3-under 67 to finish the week at 3 under, one shot back, the clubhouse leader as Clark plays the final holes.
Did Scottie Scheffler complete the career Grand Slam?
No. Scheffler faded on his 30th birthday and finished well back, falling short of the win he needed.
Has anyone ever blown a six-shot final-round lead in a major?
Only Greg Norman, at the 1996 Masters. Clark nearly joined him but recovered on the back nine.
What happens if there is a tie?
The U.S. Open now uses a two-hole aggregate playoff, not an 18-hole playoff, to decide a tie after 72 holes.