The Punter's US Open Debrief: Wire-to-wire Wyndham doubles up at Shinnecock

---

14:40 - June 22, 2026 - All the in-play details from final round at Shinnecock

Having led the US Open by two strokes after round one, and by four at halfway, the 2023 winner, Wyndham Clark, went into Sunday's final round with a substantial six stroke advantage.

But after a fast start by Sam Burns - who traded as short as 1.564/7 on the Betfair Exchange to win the event 12 months earlier at Oakmont - accompanied by a pair of bogeys by Clark at holes two and five, the lead had been cut to just one.

Burns lost his momentum at the ninth hole when a poor approach led to a bogey five, but the gap was back to one when Clark bogeyed the par three seventh.

J.T Poston was matched at a low of 20.019/1 as he made a run from deep but he played his last six holes in one-over to finish tied for fourth, alongside Keith Mitchell and the world number one, Scottie Scheffler, who never really looked like winning after he opened the final round with a dropped shot.

Clark, who was a 60.059/1 chance before the off, steadied the ship nicely with a birdie at the par four 10^th.

The two leaders both dropped another shot, Burns at 15 and Clark at the 13^th, but when Burns hit his tee-shot to the par three 17^th to inside 10 feet, after he'd birdied the par five 16^th to get back to within one, it looked like the momentum might be with him. However, he hit a poor putt that never threatened the hole.

Burns' putt to tie Clark on the 72^nd hole narrowly missed and Clark gave himself some much needed breathing space with this brilliant birdie at the par five 16^th after a poor drive.

WYNDHAM CLARK! HUGE!

An unlikely birdie after his tee shot found the fescue. pic.twitter.com/RLO84XIltX

-- U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 21, 2026

Clark three-putted the par three 17^th from 60 feet to drop back to -4 and just one in front of Burns but he kept his cool superbly, parring the last to become the sixth wire-to-wire winner in the last 30 years.

He's now the fifth man to win the US Open at least twice this century, emulating Tiger Woods (three times), Retief Goosen, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau.

He was far from popular with the New York crowd, following an incident at Oakmont last year when he damaged lockers in frustration after he'd missed the cut, but he was a popular pick with the punters before the off given he was an in-form past champion at a juicy price.

Tom Kim, who finished alone in third on -1, traded no lower than 11.010/1, while Scheffler was matched at a low of 3.3512/5 during Saturday's third round.

Burns was matched at as short as 1.111/9 during the final round, but I can only assume someone has made a trading error as he should never have been backed at such a short price.

---

10:30 - June 21, 2026

Wyndham Clark has twice won on the PGA Tour after a final round of 60 - at the weather-shortened AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am two years ago and at last month's CJ Cup Byron Nelson - so he knows how to go super-low but he also knows how to grind and yesterday's level par 70 around Shinnecock was an incredible performance given the circumstances.

Leading the 126th US Open by four at the start of the day and with the wind blowing harder than predicted, Clark hung tough all day and if he goes on to lift the trophy for a second time, after winning it at the Los Angeles Country Club three years ago, it will be the three-hole stretch of holes around the turn on Saturday that he'll look back on with pride.

Emiliano Grillo, who moved up 40 places into a tie for sixth with a remarkable three-under-par 67, and Scottie Scheffler, who shot a one-under-par 69 to climb into a tie for second, were the only two men to break par in round three so Clark's level-par 70 was a brilliant performance.

The eagle three at the par three 16^th that saw his lead stretch to seven was a hole to remember but it was his tremendous par saves at nine, 10 and 11, after he'd dropped a shot at eight, that kept him on track.

EAGLE!

The first 3 at 16 this week.

Wyndham Clark leads the U.S. Open by SEVEN. pic.twitter.com/AopGRzQlLN

-- U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 20, 2026

He dropped a shot at the 18^th which saw the lead reduced to six but he's in an incredibly strong position with just 18 to play.

Here's the 54-hole leaderboard with prices to back on the Betfair Exchange at 10:15.

Wyndham Clark -7 1.434/9
Scottie Scheffler -1 7.87/1
Sahith Theegala -1 40.039/1
Tom Kim -1 46.045/1
Sam Stevens -1 60.059/1
Xander Schauffele Ev 34.033/1
Sam Burns Ev 42.041/1
Keith Mitchell Ev 95.094/1
Emiliano Grillo Ev 140.0139/1
Tommy Fleetwood +1 70.069/1
Matt Fitzpatrick +1 80.079/1
Collin Morikawa +1 110.0109/1
+2 and 260.0259/1 bar

---

Odds-on leader fairly priced with 18 to play

Clark is clearly the man to beat, and he looks a very fair price to get the job done at 1.434/9 on the Betfair Exchange.

If we disregard Jon Rahm's withdrawal at the Memorial Tournament in 2021, when he tested positive for Covid when six clear through 54 holes at Muirfield, only five of 30 men have failed to convert a six-stroke 54-hole lead on the PGA Tour over the last 30 years.

Greg Norman famously lost the US Masters 30 years ago having led by six, Sergio Garcia failed to convert at what's now called the Truist Championship in 2005, Spencer Levin at the Phoenix Open in 2012, Dustin Johnson at the WGC HSBC Champions in China in 2017, and most recently, Collin Morikawa at The Sentry three years ago.

We've already seen three men convert a six-stroke lead on the PGA Tour and all three were a much shorter price than Clark is here.

Cameron Young was trading at 1.211/5 before going on to win the Cadilac Championship in May, Jacon Bridgeman, at the Genesis Invitational in February, was trading at 1.241/4 and Justin Rose was available to back at just 1.061/18 when he led the Farmers Insurance Open by six in February.

The US Open is obviously a bigger deal than any standard PGA Tour event and it's hard to believe that Clark can continue to save pars like he has done over that last couple of days, but he should be shorter than he is and 1.434/9 is very fair.

I've got mixed feelings about Clark today. I've got a soft spot for him as I backed him to win the US Open at 120.0119/1 three years ago but I probably should have backed him this year too at 60.059/1 given I've been onboard in each of his last three tournaments.

I backed him at 33/134.00 at halfway when he won the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, at a ludicrously big 120.0119/1 when he finished one shot shy of the playoff at the Memorial Tournament (matched in-play at {2.0]), and at 24.023/1 to win last week's Canadian Open, when he was disappointing in round four, shooting 70 to fall from third place and two back to tied 11^th, beaten by six.

He lost control of his driver last week in Canada and that was what put me off a bit for this week, but it's hard to see him getting beat now with such a massive lead.

Scheffler should prove to be a stubborn opponent as he attempts to secure the career grand slam on his 30^th birthday but if there's any value to be had, it's a little further down the leaderboard.

Raymond Floyd, in 1986, and Corey Pavin, in 1995, both won the US Open by two strokes having trailed by three with 18 to play but Retief Goosen won by two here in 2004 having led by two, and Brooks Koepka had been tied for the lead with a round to go when he shot 68 on Sunday to win by one, so we haven't seen anyone win here from miles back but Tommy Fleetwood came close eight years ago.

---

Is Fleetwood poised for another flying finish?

The Englishman shot 63 on Sunday to climb from tied 23^rd to second, beaten by one, so he won't have given up hope of winning his first major.

There are only two strokes separating the 11 players below Clark so we could see all sorts of drama if the leader struggles and Fleetwood at 70.069/1 could be the man to capitalise.

In addition to his flying finish here in 2018, he lost a playoff at the Shenzhen International in 2017, having trailed by eight with 18 to play, and he won the Nedbank in 20019 having sat 12^th and six off the lead with a round to go.

---

09:20 - June 20, 2026

After the fog delay on Thursday morning, the afternoon starters on day one of the 126^th US Open had the inconvenience of returning to the course very early on Friday to finish off their opening rounds before almost immediately beginning their second but on average, they've enjoyed an advantage of 0.88 of a stroke over those drawn AM-PM and five of the top-six, including the runaway leader, Wyndham Clark,  were on the PM-AM side of the draw.

Here's the 36-hole leaderboard with prices to back on the Betfair Exchange at 9:10.

Wyndham Clark -7 3.02/1
Xander Schauffele -3 8.27/1
Matt Fitzpatrick -3 8.27/1
Tom Kim -3 32.031/1
Sam Stevens -3 42.041/1
Collin Morikawa -2 19.537/2
Sam Burns -1 30.029/1
Justin Thomas -1 34.033/1
Sahith Theegala -1 90.089/1
Harry Higgs -1 400.0399/1
Scottie Scheffler Ev 14.527/2
Rory McIlroy Ev 20.019/1
Level par and 60.059/1 bar

As many as 10 players are under-par at the midway point but that number is highly likely to shrink quite considerably over the weekend.

Greg Norman was the only player under-par at the halfway stage of the 1986 edition at Shinnecock, won by Raymond Floyd with a one-under-par total of 279, and Dustin Johnson, who led by four on -4, was the only man under-par at halfway when Brooks Koepka won here in 2018 with a +1 - 281 total, but when Corey Pavin won here in 1995, Norman again led after 36 holes, on -5, and 10 players were at level par or better at halfway, and Pavin, who finished on level par, was the only player not to be over-par after 72 holes.

And with scores ranging from -1 to -6, there were 11 players under-par at the midway point of the 2004 edition here but at the end of the week, the winner, Retief Goosen (-4), and the runner-up, Phil Mickelson (-2), were the only players not to post an over par total for the week.

US Opens are always a grind and although the forecast suggests we won't get too much wind over the weekend, I suspect it's still going to be a slog.

---

Stats suggest the leader is opposable

The obvious place to start is with the frontrunner, Clark, who leads by four.

That's a big lead but there are plenty of reasons to think he's a bit too short at 2/13.00.

Clark is the 20^th player to hold a four-stroke lead on the PGA Tour in the last 10 years and he's looking to become the seventh to convert.

Dustin Johnson, here in 2018, is one of the 13 to fail to win and Clark is also included in the list of four-stroke 36-hole leaders to lose.

He led the Players Championship by that margin at halfway in 2024 before he shot 70-69 over the weekend to lose by a stroke to Scottie Scheffler.

That was one of three occasions that he's held a clear lead at halfway and he's yet to convert.

Looking back at the four 72-hole stroke play winners at Shinnecock, all four winners have been trailing at halfway.

Raymond Floyd sat tied for fourth and four off the lead in 1986, Pavin sat tied 11^th and six behind the leader, Norman, in 1995, Retief Goosen was tied fourth and two adrift in 2004 and Brooks Koepka was five back and tied for fourth in 2018.

Things can go wrong fast at Shinnecock. Jon Rahm, who was the only man not to drop a shot in round one, was bogey-free through the first 23 holes of the championship and he was matched at a low of just 7.06/1 but he's not going to be here for the weekend after he played his last seven holes of round two in six-over par.

Clark's lead is sizable, but he holed some long putts yesterday and he caught a few breaks off the tee. I'm happy to oppose him and the one I like at the midway point, is the world number one, Scheffler.

---

Birthday boy the value at halfway

The pre-event favourite, Scheffler, who's bidding to complete the career grand slam tomorrow, on what is his 30^th birthday, didn't putt as well as he did on day one yesterday if the stats can be believed but he did find more greens, and that bodes well heading into the weekend.

Scheffler starting events slowly has been a bit of a theme of late and trailing by seven in a tie for 11^th, he won't be panicking yet.

He won the Procore Championship in September last year having sat 14^th and eight adrift at halfway, and after winning the American Express in January (his last victory) he finished third at the Phoenix Open and fourth in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, beaten by one and two strokes, having trailed by seven and nine strokes at halfway.

He lost a playoff to yesterday's in-play pick, Matt Fitzpatrick, at the RBC Heritage, having sat 14^th and seven back at halfway and he was beaten by just one at the US Masters the week before that having trailed by 12 after 36 holes!

If he can continue to find the putting surfaces with regularity (ranked sixth for Greens In Regulation in round two) he's going to be there or thereabouts at the finish and he's fairly priced at 14.527/2 given he's no bigger than 11/112.00 on the High Street.

---

10:50 - June 19, 2026

Day one at the US Open at Shinnecock Hills provided a perfect example of why we shouldn't get too wrapped up with the early weather forecasts.

It had looked highly likely that strong and blustery winds would cause havoc yesterday and the USGA responded by keeping the greens well watered before the off.

The late starters looked like they would get the worst of the weather but that wasn't how it transpired.

The wind did blow but not to the extent expected and it was early fog that caused a two-hour delay in play and not high winds.

As a result of the delay, the last groups out have only played 11 holes of their opening rounds, but it looks like the PM starters have caught a break as they currently average more than a stroke less than the morning wave and it's an afternoon starter, Wyndham Clark, that shows the way.

Clark, who has been in fine form of late, is currently six-under through 16 holes. He leads by four and he's trading at what looks a generous 1.111/9 on the Betfair Exchange to end round one in front.

Assuming Clark does hold a clear advantage at the end of the round, he's going to be the 19^th player to hold a clear lead after round one at a US Open over the last 30 years and they have a decent strike-rate.

Last year's winner, JJ Spaun, was just one clear after 18 and he was the sixth of the 18 clear first round leaders to go on and win.

That's a strike rate of 33% and we've seen as many as five players win wire-to-wire over the last 30 years, suggesting Clark is a fair price at 4.84/1 on the Betfair Exchange but I'm not convinced.

---

Clark hasn't fared well from the front

If he does lead at the end of the round, this will be the fifth time he's led after 18 holes on the PGA Tour, and his record is very poor.

Having led by two after round one, he finished 34^th at the Phoenix Open in 2020 and having led by a stroke after 18 holes, he finished seventh in the Canadian Open in 2022.

This will be the third time this year that he's held a clear lead on the PGA Tour after the opening round and he hasn't kicked on.

He finished 16^th at the Phoenix Open after leading by one and he finished 22^nd in the Arnold Palmer Invitational after he'd led by two after round one.

---

Slow starters have claimed the spoils at Shinnecock

The furthest any winner of the US Open has trailed by after round one this century is six strokes and 23 of the 26 winners have been within four strokes of the lead after 18 holes but slow starters have claimed the spoils at Shinnecock.

The 1896 edition was held over just 36 holes and the winner, James Foulis, who won by three, was tied for the lead after round one but the last four winners here have all started slowly.

Although they both won by two strokes, Raymond Floyd was outside the top 20 and five off the lead after an opening 75 in 1986 and Corey Pavin sat outside the top 40 and six adrift after a first round 72 in 1995.

Retief Goosen, who also won by two strokes, shot 70 to sit tied for 20^th and four off the lead in 2004 and the front two in 2018, who were separated by just a stroke, Brooks Koepka and Tommy Fleetwood, both sat tied for 46^th and six off the pace when they opened up with a pair of 75s.

Clark, who won the US Open in 2023, looks opposable at the price given all the data and his cause isn't helped by the proximity of so many other former US Open champions.

The 2019 winner, Gary Woodland, the 2021 champ, Jon Rahm, the 2022 winner, Matt Fitzpatrick, and my 320.0319/1 Find Me a 100 Winner pick, Dustin Johnson, who won the US Open 10 years ago, are all currently sitting tied for second on -2 and the 2011 winner, Rory McIlroy, sits tied for ninth alongside the two-time winner, Bryson DeChambeau.

There are currently 17 players under par and as many as 28 on level par or better but I can see that changing dramatically over the next three days.

In the previous four 72-hole editions of the US Open at Shinnecock, only three men have ended the week under-par. The 1986 winner, Floyd (-1) and the first and second in 2004, Goosen (-4) and Phil Mickeslon (-2).

---

Fitzpatrick the play after day one

Given how congested the leaderboard is below Clark currently, it's tempting to leave the event alone for now and see where we are at halfway.

The last four winners at Shinnecock have all made a decent move in round two and it should be a much easier leaderboard to assess at halfway.

Pavin sat tied for 11^th and he was still six adrift at halfway but Floyd, Goosen and Koepka all sat tied fourth at the midway point, trailing by four, two and five strokes respectively so waiting another 24 hours makes sense, but Fitzpatrick looks a fair price at 9/110.00 on the Betfair Exchange.

The 2022 winner, who has already won three times this year, finished second last week in Canada and he returns to the course with a chance to get to -3 as he has an 11-footer for birdie on the par four eighth.

It's going to get much tougher as the week goes on and Fitzpatrick is equipped with all the tools to cope with a grind.

---

Bookmark Betting.Betfair for golf betting tips every week

---