It was downright ugly at times on Sunday watching the US Open leader play his final round in front of dozens of obnoxious, heckling New York City area golf fans.

In the end, it was Wyndham Clark getting the last laugh.

He two-putted from nearly 60 feet on the 18th hole to edge a late-charging Sam Burns by one stroke to win the 2026 US Open golf title.  

Wyndham Clark led the tournament field by a whopping six shots entering Sunday’s final round at Shinnecock Hills on Long Island.  He was at 7-under par and paired in the final round with the crowd favorite, Scottie Scheffler (-1).

Those brash New York golf fans were quite aware that:

a. World #1 golfer Scottie Scheffler was trying to win his first US Open to complete a career Grand Slam.

b. Scottie Scheffler (who has two young children) was playing on Father’s Day Sunday – which also happened to be his 30th birthday.  The crowd sang “Happy Birthday” to him on several occasions during the day Sunday.

c. Wyndham Clark (who won the 2023 US Open) caused significant locker room damage one year ago at the US Open in Pennsylvania after missing the cut.  He apologized for his temper outburst several times afterwards and paid to repair the damage.

d. Wyndham Clark’s now-famous temper could, perhaps, be exploited.  The New York crowd might be able to get under his skin during Round #4 and help him lose a six shot lead in the final round.

The fans nearly got their wish

Clark bogeyed three of his first seven holes on the opening nine to squander most of his lead.  Shreveport’s Calvary Baptist Academy and LSU product Sam Burns did just the opposite on Sunday.  Burns started the final day at even par and seven shots behind the leader.  He birdied three of the first five holes to quickly move into second place and turn the back nine of the US Open into a tightly contested match.

Police arrested a number of New York area golf fans who were openly taunting and pulling against Wyndham Clark early during Sunday’s fourth and final round.

One arrest came on the #4 tee box after one fan yelled “Don’t choke, Wyndham!”

Any shot which Clark hit which failed to reach the fairway or green at Shinnecock Hills was met with cheers from many in the crowd on Sunday.   He dropped three shots to par to finish at -4 and won by a single stroke.  

Afterwards, Clark openly addressed the rudeness of many fans during the final round.

“New York really didn’t like me.  I love you guys.  But, you know, I get it.  I did some unfortunate things last year that I really regret, and I’ve been sorry multiple times…maybe I can win you guys back over eventually”, said the two-time US Open champion.

That new (and very heavy) putter carried Wyndham Clark to victory this weekend

The heaviest putter in use at this weekend’s US Open belonged to the winner.

Using something called an “Eye Q” alignment, the new putter from Ping is destined to become the hottest product on the market this summer.  Wyndham Clark just won his second event in the past two months using it. He legally adds lead tape to the bottom of his flat stick to make it even heavier.

The golf putter manufacturer and Clark agreed to an exclusive contract with this particular model just days before the US Open started last week.

Talk about good timing – for both parties.

Wyndham Clark’s incredible putting success on both Saturday and Sunday saved countless pars and kept him from falling back to the field.

You, too, can own this putter.  For the low, low price (just joking) of $397, the Scottsdale TEC Alley Blue model from PING is now available nationwide.

Sam Burns keeps getting closer to winning his first major championship

That naughty New York crowd should have gotten behind hard-charging Sam Burns instead of holding out hope for a Scottie Scheffler rally which never came.

Sam Burns shot a 3-under par 67 in windy conditions as he navigated the treacherous Shinnecock Hills greens as well as anyone in the field.  His second place finish is the third consecutive year where he has finished inside the top 15 in the US Open.  Burns’ birdie putt on the 18th hole trickled by the cup by only an inch.  In the end, it would have resulted in a tie for first place with Wyndham Clark had the Burn’s birdie putt dropped into the cup

Sam Burns was distraught after missing the putt.  However, he takes away a record second place prize of $2,430,000 as a consolation prize.

Meanwhile, Keith Mitchell set a unique record which may never be tied

Thursday’s opening nine holes at Shinnecock Hills found Keith Mitchell posting a nightmarish 6-over par score of 41.  On his second nine of the day, he turned it around to shoot a record of 6-under par 29! 

How’s that for a nifty even par 70?

Mitchell posted another 70 in Round 2 to make the cut at even par.  Then he shot a 70 on Saturday in Round 3.

Keith Mitchell completed his fourth round on Sunday with, yes, another 70!  His 70-70-70-70 finish established a US Open record for posting four consecutive even par scores.

Mitchell tied for fourth place with Scottie Scheffler and J. T. Poston.  He will receive an automatic invitation to next year’s US Open to be played at Pebble Beach in northern California.

About NBC’s biased coverage…

I am old enough to remember when Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus dueled each other on the golf course in the late 1960’s and into the 1970’s.  The limited television camera coverage of that era did not permit the networks to show every single shot from golf’s two biggest stars.  That gave viewers a chance to become familiar with other top players in the field.

NBC’s cringe worthy pom-pom waving on behalf of Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler this weekend was truly over-the-top.

Saturday saw Rory moving up the leaderboard into contention on the front nine after carding three consecutive birdies. That’s when NBC’s commentators hoisted one plaudit after another as to Rory’s golfing brilliance.

Sadly for NBC, McIlroy then shot a 5-over par 40 on the back nine to drop out of contention heading into Sunday.

Sunday’s final round featured the New York fans razzing eventual winner Wyndham Clark.  I also noticed that NBC’s announcer team of Dan Hicks and PGA veteran Kevin Kisner were nearly as critical as they critiqued nearly every wayward shot during Clark’s final round.

Time after time, Wyndham Clark responded with a clutch chip shot or a lengthy putt to save his par.  The NBC announcers acted as if Clark was simply lucky to have survived another calamity.

Would they have the same things had the golfer been named Tiger Woods?  Of course not.

Winners – Wyndham Clark, Shinnecock Hills, and SwampSwami!

Congratulations to Wyndham Clark for going wire-to-wire and never surrendering the lead during the final 54 holes of this year’s US Open.  A few wayward tee shots and approaches on Saturday and Sunday caused a lot of heartburn, but Clark deserved this year’s trophy.

Shinnecock Hills is a brilliantly designed golf course and becomes extremely difficult when the winds come up.

One of America’s oldest courses proved its worthiness again this week.  This year’s event featured significant widening of several fairways after the players grumbled following the 2018 US Open held here.  The result?  Wyndham Clark’s 4-under par winning score was a five shot improvement over the +1 final score posted by 2018 winner Brooks Koepka.  Clark capitalized and used every inch of those wider fairways this week.

Finally, it’s time for ol’ SwampSwami to take a bow!

Yours truly listed Wyndham Clark as the hottest player in the field coming into the US Open during last Wednesday’s post. I’m just pleased that I didn’t jinx him.  

Congratulations to Wyndham Clark! 

As Jerry Reed once sang, When you’re hot, you’re hot!

The post “Win ‘em” Clark Ignores NY Knuckleheads – Claims 2nd US Open Title appeared first on SwampSwamiSports.com.