SOUTHAMPTON, New York, June 21 : Wyndham Clark held on for a rare wire-to-wire win at the U.S. Open on Sunday, besting fellow American Sam Burns by one shot in a nerve-searing finale at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club.The outright leader after all four rounds, Clark was only the ninth ever true wire-to-wire U.S. Open winner, as he picked up the title for a second time.The 2023 champion seemed nearly untouchable as he started the day at seven under par and six shots clear of the field but struggled to find the fairway on the front nine on the challenging Southampton course.He cleaned up early mistakes to card a three-over-par 73 that left him at four-under for the tournament, and he embraced his loved ones after making an easy putt to clinch it.
Burns, who started the day seven shots back, thrilled the gallery as he mounted an audacious comeback campaign but eventually came up short, carding a three-under-par 67.Clark has been on a mission to win back fans after an embarrassing locker room incident at last year’s tournament and he appeared almost assured of victory until Burns caught fire, sparking a spine-tingling duel.Burns birdied the first, third and fifth holes before draining a near 50-foot putt for another on the par-four eighth. He missed a relatively simple putt on the next hole and made a bogey.As Burns’ form was coming together, Clark’s was falling apart.He drove into the rough en route to a bogey on the par-three second and struggled with the sloped green for another bogey on the par-five fifth. He missed an easy putt to make another bogey on the seventh, making the turn at four under.Clark picked up a shot on the 10th and gave it back on the 13th, before sinking a more than 24-foot birdie putt on the par-five 16th hole, as the once-subdued crowd finally rallied around him, and he held his poise after a final bogey on the 17th.
