Can Wyndham Clark’s hot play lead to another U.S. Open title? | Golf Insider
The toughest test in golf is here.
And when that test is played at Shinnecock Hills in Southampton, N.Y., it’s at another level.
The U.S. Open returns to Shinnecock for the first time since 2018, when Brooks Koepka won at 1-over par, and Zach Johnson said the USGA “lost the course.” The course is one of the most difficult in the U.S. Open rotation.
The wind Thursday is forecast to gust up to 40 mph. Even the best in the game could be in for a long four days.
Here’s a preview of the 126th U.S. Open:
Wyndham Clark is a trendy pick
Denver native Wyndham Clark already has a U.S. Open win on his resume.
Three years ago at Los Angeles Country Club, the Valor Christian graduate burst onto the scene by beating Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler for his first and only major title.
Clark is playing some of his best golf going into the third major of the season. He won the CJ Cup Byron Nelson and added a third-place finish at The Memorial and a tie for 11th at last week’s RBC Canadian Open.
Is he playing better now than he was in 2023? Clark believes so.
“My short game feels just as good and my putting actually feels even better than then,” Clark said about his game on the Smylie Kaufman podcast. “And now the mental game is starting to catch up.
“So I’m kind of at that confidence level that I had in those years. I’m really getting excited for this year.”
Clark also gave credit to new swing coach Pat Coyner, an instructor out of Cherry Hills Country Club, and making a switch to his new PING Scottsdale TEC putter.
“I credit the new putter for helping me get back in the winner’s circle,” Clark said in a PING press release. “The white finish first got my attention and when I started rolling putts with it, it set up easily and gave me immediate confidence.”
The 32-year-old begins his quest for a second U.S. Open title at 11:36 a.m. Thursday. He will be going off the 10th tee with two other U.S. Open winners, Dustin Johnson and Gary Woodland.
Storylines to follow
- Scottie Scheffler goes for the Grand Slam. This is his first shot at completing the Grand Slam. No player has completed the feat on their first attempt since Tiger Woods in 2000 at the Open Championship. Scheffler’s only bad U.S. Open was in 2024 at Pinehurst, where the greens had him guessing. He has three other top 10s and is once again the favorite.
- Rory McIlroy and his recent U.S. Open demons. Yes, McIlroy has a U.S. Open title but it was in a rout in 2011 at Congressional, where he lapped the field. Recently, he blew chances in 2023 at LACC and 2024 at Pinehurst. He did not have a good time at Shinnecock in 2018 when he missed the cut at 10 over.
- The USGA and the course. Shinnecock does not produce low scores and this year is headed to be no different. How hard does the USGA set up the course? In 2004, when Retief Goosen won at 4 under, they had to put water on the greens during the rounds. With a lot of wind predicted, the course will be tough enough.
- What’s the deal with Bryson DeChambeau? The two-time U.S. Open champion has not made a cut in a major championship this season. He really hasn’t been the same player since McIlroy beat him in the final round of the 2025 Masters. Is DeChambeau motivated going into this week? Who really knows?
- Could there be a surprise winner? Nobody predicted J.J. Spaun would win last year at Oakmont. Aaron Rai won the PGA Championship this year. Everybody wants a heavyweight fight between Scheffler and McIlroy, but it’s unlikely that it will happen.
Best tee times
5:30 a.m., Brooks Koepka, Cameron Young, Chris Gotterup — Koepka looked like a good pick before a wrist injury forced him to withdraw from last week’s Canadian Open. Young and Gotterup have won this season and have the game to compete at Shinnecock.
5:52 a.m., McIlroy, Ludvig Aberg, Tommy Fleetwood — Fleetwood fired a 63 in 2018 on this golf course and finished second to Koepka. Aberg continues to be in the mix on the final day of big tournaments but falters down the stretch. The European Ryder Cup trio is very comfortable playing with each other.
6:14 a.m., Scheffer, Spaun, Mason Howell (a) — Scheffler plays with the reigning U.S. Open champ and the U.S. Amateur winner. Players teeing off in the morning will have an advantage as the wind is predicted to pick up in the afternoon.
11:47 a.m., Justin Thomas, Hideki Matsuyama, Xander Schauffele — Three major winners looking for their first U.S. Open. Schauffele is a strong U.S. Open player and is starting to look like the player who won two majors in 2024.
12:09 p.m., Jon Rahm, Jordan Spieth, Justin Rose – Rahm seems focused on playing good golf and not the drama around LIV. All three have won U.S. Opens and know what it takes to win.
And the winner is …
In 2018, the leaderboard was stacked and this year I think we see more of the same. Scheffler and McIlroy will be in the mix but will not take home the title. A U.S. Open win for Fleetwood would be great for his first major win, but he will once again fall short. The winner of the 2026 U.S. Open will be Schauffele. It feels like no one is talking about the two-time major winner who has performed well at U.S. Opens his whole career. He has never missed the cut and has seven top 10s. The victory puts him one short of his own Grand Slam.
What they’re saying
“For me, would it be a dream to win the U.S. Open? Of course. But at the end of the day, the Grand Slam has never been a motivating factor for me. I always just wanted to be the best version of myself, and that got me this far.”
— Scottie Scheffler about winning the Grand Slam this week at the U.S. Open
Skins game
Odds to win U.S. Open
Scottie Scheffler +550
Rory McIlroy +1200
Jon Rahm +1500
Xander Schauffele +1600
Tommy Fleetwood +1800
Matt Fitzpatrick +2000
Cameron Young +2200
Ludvig Aberg +2500
Wyndham Clark +5000
This week in golf
United States Golf Association
U.S. OPEN
Site: Southampton, N.Y.
Course: Shinnecock Hills GC. Yardage: 7,440. Par: 70.
Prize money: TBA ($21.5 million in 2025). Winner’s share: TBA ($4.3 million in 2025).
Television: Thursday, 4:30 a.m.-3 p.m. (USA Network), 3-6 p.m. (Peacock); Friday, 4:30-11 a.m. (Peacock), 11 a.m.-5 p.m. (NBC), 5-6 p.m. (Peacock); Saturday, 8-10 a.m. (USA Network), 10 a.m.-6 p.m. (NBC); Sunday, 7-10 a.m (USA Network), 10 a.m.-5 p.m. (NBC).
Defending champion: J.J. Spaun.
LPGA Tour
MEIJER LPGA CLASSIC
Site: Belmont, Mich.
Course: Blythefield CC. Yardage: 6,611. Par: 72.
Prize money: $3.25 million. Winner’s share: $525,000.
Television: Thursday-Saturday, 1-4 p.m. (Golf Channel); Sunday, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. (CBS).
Defending champion: Carlota Ciganda.
World Golf Rankings
- Scottie Scheffler 16.22
- Rory McIlroy 9.85
- Cameron Young 7.30
- Matt Fitzpatrick 6.76
- Russell Henley 5.68
- Tommy Fleetwood 5.20
- Justin Rose 5.17
- Jon Rahm 4.96
- J.J. Spaun 4.82
- Collin Morikawa 4.82
- Chris Gotterup 4.64
- Xander Schauffele 4.58
- Ludvig Aberg 4.31
- Aaron Rai 4.23
- Ben Griffin 4.20
- Justin Thomas 4.18
- Robert MacIntyre 4.03
- Si Woo Kim 3.94
- Sepp Straka 3.93
- Alex Noren 3.66
- Tyrrell Hatton 3.59
- Harris English 3.57
- Ryan Gerard 3.50
- Hideki Matsuyama 3.49
- Jacob Bridgeman 3.49