Leaderboard
1. Wyndham Clark (-7)
T2. Scottie Scheffler (-1)
Sam Stevens (-1)
Sahith Theegala (-1)
Tom Kim (-1)
T17. Rory McIlroy (+3)
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Wyndham Clark takes a six-shot lead into the final round of the US Open
Clark finishes with a bogey, shoving a poor putt past the hole. This was nonetheless an outstanding performance on a brutally tough day at Shinnecock Hills, an even-par 70 having sat on the lead since Thursday.
Only two players shot under-par for their round on a day the wind howled and the greens were made firm. Emiliano Grillo had the low round of the day with 67, while Scottie Scheffler carded a 69 to squirm his way into the final group tomorrow.
But for all of Scheffler’s brilliance, he needs Clark to implode tomorrow. On the basis of the first 54 holes, that looks improbable.
The only major lead of six shots ever to be surrendered was Greg Norman’s at the 1996 Masters.
Rory McIlroy briefly rose to the top three and within a couple of shots of Clark, but a turbulent back-nine means he is fully 10 shots back.
Thanks for following our live coverage: report and reaction from Shinnecock Hills will follow from our golf correspondent, Philip Reid.
Sam Stevens makes par on the last, the primary implication of which is that Scottie Scheffler will be in tomorrow’s final group with Wyndham Clark. Albeit with a monstrous deficit.
“What the hell just happened, Dub”, says Clark to himself on the 17th tee. It’s a par-three, the wind has died, and yet Clark has yanked his iron miles left. But he gets a break: his ball hit a TV camera and came to a rest in front of its stand, which allows him free relief. A friendly lie helps him get up and down for yet another par.
Wyndham Clark makes eagle; leads by seven
Goodness me. Clark, from the fairway of the par-five 16th, carves a stunning fairway wood that pitches to the front of the green and rolls to four feet. He knocks in the eagle putt and Wyndham Clark leads the US Open by seven shots with 20 holes remaining.
Goodnight.
Well, out of nowhere, Clark makes a very sloppy bogey on 15.
Meanwhile, Sahith Theegala birdied the final hole to sign for 70 and finish the day at one-under.
As it stands, if someone can’t get to two-under, then Scottie Scheffler will be alongside Clark in tomorrow’s final group. Clark has so far remained largely impervious to pressure, but playing alongside Scheffler - who is aiming for the Grand Slam on what will be his 30th birthday - is about as heavy as things come.
The wind has largely relented, and Clark takes the opportunity to hit a towering cut from the fairway into the 14th green. The ball rests a few feet from the hole and he knocks in for birdie.
Back to even-par for the day, and he’s now six shots clear. This is looking like a blowout.
Wow, Clark gets up and down for another remarkable par on 13. That’s a mega save, for ahead of him, second-placed Tom Kim has made bogey to extend his lead to five.
There were 10 players under par at the start of play, whereas only four remain under par as it stands. Clark, however, is taking every punch Shinnecock is throwing.
Clark is standing on the 13th tee, cursing himself and seemingly trying to play his driver like a concertina. He has sliced his drive way right and into a gnarly tangle of fescue. Eek.
McIlroy is in a horror position on the final hole after another poor approach, landing in the fescue. From there he leaves himself a chip from the back of the green, which he plays beautifully, meaning a tap-in bogey to finish out his round.
Just like yesterday, McIlroy came apart on the back nine, today playing them in five-over. Tomorrow he will need a Clark implosion and now even that may not be enough.
Elsewhere:
- Tommy Fleetwood posted an even-round of 70 to sit at +1 for the tournament
- Tyrrell Hatton is the best-placed LIV golfer, albeit off the pace at +4 for the tournament
- Justin Rose is also at +4 after a round of 73
- Jordan Spieth is further off the pace at +6
- Ludvig Aberg endured a torrid day, shooting 76 to drift to +7
Ooohhh Scottie. From the middle of the fairway he hit a stunning wedge to within five feet, but he misses the birdie opportunity. He posts the clubhouse lead with a one-under round of 69 that began bogey-bogey but was ignited by that wondrous birdie run between holes 14 and 16.
Clark meanwhile just won’t blink. He goes into the right-side bunker on 11 but he gets up and down with another super chip and another nerveless putt.
The good news keeps on rolling for Wyndham Clark, as second-placed Sam Stevens bogeys to drop four shots off the pace.
McIlroy follows Scheffler into the same left-side bunker on the penultimate hole, and like Scheffler he gives himself a testy putt for par. Unlike Scheffler, he makes it. McIlroy may be eight behind Clark, but he’s only four from second place.
To contextualise the quality of Clark’s par save on 10:
Clark has found the same trouble as McIlroy on the 10th: a monster drive to the foot of an elevated green; a pitch that can’t hold said green and skids down the slope on the opposite side. Unlike McIlroy, Clark plays a delicious bump into the bank of the slope, and the ball five feet past the hole. That gives him a look at an unlikely par...and the ball rolls around the lip of the hole before going dunk. That is one hell of an up-and-down by Clark. He leads by three.
Scheffler loses his momentum. He goes into the left-side bunker on the par-three 17th and can’t get up and down, thus handing a shot back.
McIlroy has meanwhile missed a birdie look on 16. His wheels have come off on the back nine for a second-straight day. He has to hope Clark slips back towards him across the final nine holes.
A bogey for Tom Kim and a double for Schauffele on 10 means Scheffler now has solo third.
Surrounded by the Scheffler roars, Clark keeps his nerve. He makes a steely putt from seven feet for par on nine.
Sensational Scottie Scheffler. He attacks the sixteenth green with a fairway wood and just carries the front-left bunkers. Fortune favours the brave: the ball kicks forward and rides a mound to roll within 13 feet.
He doesn’t drain the eagle, but that’s a third-straight birdie and he moves to a tie for third.
McIlroy’s sudden struggles around the green abide: he’s taken a horrible chip on 15 and it’s caused him to drop another shot. That is a fourth bogey in six holes since making the turn.
Stevens doesn’t accept his gift from the usually-baleful Shinnecock, thwacking a putt that doesn’t trouble the hole.
Clark, meanwhile, has seen his tee shot off nine disappear in the rough.
Danger here. Clark makes his first error for some time, knifing his approach from the eighth fairway into the left-side bunker, and he can only get down for a bogey.
Stevens, now only two shots back, gets a big break: his approach to nine kicks off the green and is heading miles off the green before the ball kicks against the pin and dies within birdie range.
Back-to-back birdies for Scheffler
The world number one has caught fire, rolling in a putt for another birdie on 15. It gets him to under-par for the tournament; six back from Clark.
Oh dear. McIlroy’s challenge is now going into reverse, as he skids a three-foot putt for par by on 14. He’s down for bogey, over-par, and further from Clark than the start of the day.
Next to pump his fist is Wyndham Clark. Having flown the treacherous seventh green, he leaves himself a horrible downhill putt for par...and makes it. He is giving the field no hope at the moment.
Scottie Scheffler is pumping his fist and yelling C’mon! He opened bogey-bogey and has sputtered about without momentum since, but he has suddenly found it, chipping in from the back of the 14th green. It moves him back to even-par.
Things are going tremendously well for Clark, it must be said. Nobody is yet making a charge - McIlroy’s putative challenge has stalled with bogeys on 10 and 12 - while Clark has steadied himself on the greens, while continuing to find safe passage from the rough. His latest steely par is on the sixth.
McIlroy, meanwhile, is leaning on his hunkers in exasperation, as he sees a birdie putt on 13 curl and stop at the hole’s edge.
And just like yesterday, he makes bogey on 12, despite putting himself on the middle of the fairway. His load-bearing putter has finally let him down, a three-putt bogey and now he is seven back from Clark once again. Just where he was at the start of the day.
Clark extends his lead
The leader has definitely steadied. He has an eagle look on the fifth from just 17 feet, and while he sees the putt stop to the left of the hole, he is back to even-par for his round.
The fifth hole continues to offer gifts. Schauffele leaves an eagle effort agonisingly short, but picks up a shot to get back to level-par for his round. Stevens makes birdie too, cutting Clark’s lead to two.
McIlroy does well to hold the green into the teeth of a 20 mph wind on the par-three 11th. Yet again he lags a tremendous putt from 50 feet to get down for a very respectable par.
Leader Clark has definitely steadied since his opening bogey, making par on two, three, and four as he makes his way to the scoreable fifth.
McIlroy moves to the par-four tenth and blasts a 365-yard drive to leave himself just a flick from the flag. Alas: his chip skips across the green and rolls down the opposite slope, and his return effort leaves him all of 30 feet simply to make par. He doesn’t make it, and he drops back to one-under for the tournament.
Clark gets up and down for a mightily impressive par on the third hole, considering he was out of position from the tee. He retains a three-shot lead.
McIlroy is in bother on the ninth, having sent his drive into thick, tangled rough. He performs some impressive escapology, mind, muscling an iron to the back fringe of the green, from where he gets up and down once again. His putter is rock-solid today.
Players ahead of him are slipping back. Schauffele and Stevens have both bogeyed the par-four third, which is effectively playing as a par-five today.
Clark has meanwhile sent his tee shot into the left rough on the same hole.
Clark steadies himself with a confident two-putt par on the second hole. Playing partner Matt Fitzpatrick has opened bogey-bogey to tumble down the leaderboard. Sam Stevens has made an early charge but he has been blowing tee shots left and right and is in fescue trouble on the horrid third hole.
Bogeys for Tom Kim and Collin Morikawa means McIlroy has fourth place all to himself.
McIlroy grimaces and curses himself with a poor wedge from the eighth fairway. His ball lands well left of the flag and rolls away and off the green. No matter: he lags another terrific putt to the flag. Seven back at the start of his round, McIlroy’s deficit is now four.
Clark’s approach to the first is almost perfect, instead it catches the wrong side of a slope and slithers away to the front right edge of the green. His birdie putt is rather tentative, and he sees his par putt drift to the left of the hole.
Sam Stevens has opened with a birdie, meaning Clark’s lead has suddenly been halved!
Three-in-a-row for McIlroy!
Oh, man. McIlroy sticks his approach to 15 feet on the treacherous, par-three seventh - made slightly easier by the wind direction today, admittedly - and pours in the putt.
Three-straight birdies for McIlroy and he’s in a tie for fifth.
The final group has officially teed off, and both Wyndham Clark and Matt Fitzpatrick have found the fairway. Clark has the third-biggest halfway lead in US Open history, and is evidently feeling confident: he walked off the course yesterday and said he was disappointed he wasn’t at 10-under. Let’s see how that confidence survives these conditions.
Meanwhile, the Going Backwards Dept: Ludvig Aberg is six-over through seven; Justin Thomas has gone bogey-bogey across his first two holes; Cameron Young is three-over through 15.
McIlroy drains a monster birdie!
Well now. On the sixth hole, McIlroy finds himself once again putting from the fringe of the green, and this time he sends a gorgeous putt arcing across the green from 66 feet and into the hole! Back-to-back birdies and he moves to a tie for eighth!
McIlroy finds the fifth fairway with a bomb of a drive. Again he has left his approach to the front fringe of the green; again he lags a lengthy putt to birdie range. This time McIlroy drains the putt, and he moves back to even-par.
His playing partner, Maverick McNealy, is meanwhile finding a couple of gears. Back-to-back birdies means he has jumped to a tie for sixth place with Collin Morikawa, who has just teed off.
Ahead of McIlroy, Scheffler misses a chance to pick up a shot on the par-five fifth, ultimately paying for a tee shot that skipped into the rough. He is at +2 and struggling for any sense of momentum.
Emiliano Grillo can lay claim to be the prime mover of the day, signing for a hugely impressive 67 that has catapulted him to even-par for the tournament and a tie for 12th place. He is sitting in that spot along with Tommy Fleetwood, who has played the front nine in one-under having eagled the fifth.
On the fourth, McIlroy has found a generous bunker lie, from which he leaves himself 22 feet for birdie. The putt is up the hill and he leaves it a couple of feet shy, so he remains at +1. Next up is an opportunity on the par-five fifth, which is playing as the easiest hole on the course today.
McIlroy’s accuracy off the tee has massively improved this week, but he has gone into the left rough again on the third hole, which is playing as the toughest on the course.
He leaves himself another long uphill putt from the front of the green, and this time can only roll it to 12 feet, from where he sends the next putt to the right of the hole for his first dropped shot of the day.
The wind is blowing harder than it did across Thursday and Friday, and it’s reflected in the scoring. Of the 60 players currently on the course, only five are under-par for their round. Star performer is Emiliano Grillo, who is four-under through 16 holes and has vaulted himself to a tie for seventh place.
With the wind whipping into his face on the tee box, McIlroy draws a five-iron that rolls off the front of the green. He rescues another par with a superb putt: from 95 feet he leaves himself a tap-in from 13 inches.
Scottie Scheffler started the day tied with McIlroy at even-par and teed off in the group immediately prior. He has started poorly, opening bogey-bogey to drift to two-over.
McIlroy opens with an impressive up-and-down for par. His tee shot drifted into the first cut of rough, which meant his approach shot went scuttling across the green and into a rightside bunker. But a deft chip and now-typically steely putt sees him escape with par.
Shane Lowry isn’t involved this weekend, having missed the cut yesterday. Philip Reid is at Shinnecock Hills for us, and he heard from a alarmingly downbeat Lowry after his round.
Welcome along to our live coverage of the third day of the 2026 US Open at Shinnecock Hills.
Rory McIlroy is the sole Irish challenger, with all of Shane Lowry, Pádraig Harrington, and Graeme McDowell missing the cut.
McIlroy starts the day at even par, fully seven shots behind leader Wyndham Clark, though Clark is alone at the top, with a clutch of players in a tie for second place at three-under.
McIlroy insisted last night that he felt right in the tournament, mainly down to the fearsome challenge of Shinnecock Hills.
This is a moving day that will be buffeted by wind; it’s howling around the course and making scoring extremely difficult. What’s more, having dialled back the greens for the first couple of days, the USGA have now quite literally turned them up to 11: that’s their measurement on the stimp as they seek to sate fans’ desire for some characteristic US Open carnage.
McIlroy has just teed off alongside Maverick McNealy, with Clark teeing off with Matt Fitzpatrick in the final group at 8.45pm Irish time.
We’ll be taking you through the whole night’s drama.
Get in touch - gavin.cooney@irishtimes.com.
