The American repeats his success in 2023. At Shinnecock Hills he overtakes Burns and Scheffler. Disappointment McIlroy
Wyndham Clark is the 2026 US Open champion. At Shinnecock Hills, near New York, the American from Denver repeated his success in 2023 and joined the club of the greats, because winning a Major can also be a coincidence, but doing it twice and on such a difficult course is more than a confirmation, it is a consecration. He sent to the archives a total score of 276 points (-4; 64, 69, 70, 73). For him it is the fifth victory on the PGA Tour and the fact that two of these came at the US Open is testimony to an iron character. The birdie on the 16th seemed decisive and seemed to banish the hopes of a comeback of those chasing him: Clark had started the fourth round with a 6 stroke advantage over the second, Scottie Scheffler, and throughout the day he had made people fear the worst as he saw his treasure disappear little by little, until the gap became just one length. On the 16th the birdie put him two ahead, then on the 17th a bogey called everything into question and he appeared on the tee of the 18th with the minimal advantage. But it is in those moments that the true champions emerge: the final par was enough to guarantee him success and a celebration that promises to be endless.
the psychologist
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Wyndham Clark is not a crowd favorite, to put it mildly. On social media he is often insulted by the usual haters of the web, his fault is that he is unable to control his anger: at last year’s Pga Championship he threw the driver behind him after a bad shot and a month later at the US Open he broke a locker due to the disappointment of having missed the cut. And since they’re all good at giving lessons sitting in armchairs, shooting Clark has become a very popular sport in the USA. But for someone like him who lost his mother when he was just 19 years old, the mother who took him to play golf when he was just 3 and who had always been his first fan and the reason that pushed him forward, for someone like him who has been through similar tragedies and has been strengthened by them, social malice is just background noise. To put the pieces of his life and career back together he has long been followed by a psychologist, Julie Elion, who also follows him on the practice field to give him advice. Keyboard haters aside, it is undeniable that at Shinnecock the audience was rooting for his rivals engaged in a sensational comeback attempt, Sam Burns and Scottie Scheffler. However, the world number 1 paid dearly throughout the week for a somewhat questionable form on the greens. And if the putt doesn’t work you can’t win tournaments. Sam Burns finished second, last year he entered the last nine holes of the US Open with a three-shot margin and then threw away his entire advantage before a super performance by JJ Spaun who overtook him. This time he started the final round seven shots behind the leader, Clark, and hoped until his last breath to match Arnold Palmer who had been the last to recover such a deficit in 1960. Burns gave himself two chances for birdie at the 17th and 18th, but wasted both and the final -3 was not enough. Also in fourth place was Keith Mitchell who achieved a historic score with 4 par rounds (70, 70, 70, 70), something no one has ever done in 126 editions of the US Open.
cursed field
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In 2023, Clark won by one stroke over McIlroy and three over Scheffler. A situation not too different from that of Shinnecock where he beat Burns by 1 and the Korean Tom Kim by 3. It must be said that Shinnecock Hills did its duty as a “champion eater”. The beautiful course on Long Island, a couple of hours’ drive from Manhattan, confirmed its reputation as a cursed course. Lots of wind, hard greens, high and punishing rough, treacherous slopes. It is no coincidence that only three players finished the tournament under par. After all, the US Open is always organized to be the most difficult of the 4 Majors and Shinnecock is already difficult on its own, it doesn’t need strange inventions to put the players in difficulty. It is the only course that has hosted the US Open in three different centuries – the first time in 1896, then in 1986 and 1995, finally in 2004, 2018 and this year – and only the best are capable of taming it. The design is still that of William Flynn from 1931, a spectacle of nature and the architect’s ability to respect it. Before yesterday only 4 players in five editions had been able to play under par. Yesterday another 3.
bad weekend
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Rory McIlroy’s tournament was mediocre and throughout the week he alternated great shots with really serious blunders, but typical of his game. Well placed at the end of the first round, on defense in the second, on Saturday and Sunday he scored 6 shots (+3 both days) which kept him away from the top of the leaderboard. But this year he has already won the Masters, he can console himself by thinking about his collection of Green Jackets. And then there’s still TheOpen next month at Royal Birkdale in Liverpool to make up for it.
a cursed hole
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The story of Joaquim Niemann, the Chilean player who will be at the Italian Open this week, is crazy. His was an excellent tournament, he could have even won if he hadn’t run into a mishap on the first day on the 6th hole, a par 4 which he closed in 9 strokes due to two drives that went out of bounds. In his anger he hurled the iron he was holding away, resulting in the judges giving him a two-stroke penalty for “misconduct” so his 9 turned into an 11. Seven strokes lost on just one hole. He finished the tournament at +1 in seventh place, if he had simply made par on that hole he would have finished at -6, in the victory zone. But history is not made with ifs… As he himself said: “If my grandmother had had wheels she would have been a tram…”.
only one Italian
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Filippo Celli had qualified for the US Open with a third place at the Final Qualifying in mid-May. Unfortunately, the only blue on the field failed to make the cut by a single shot. It was his first Major as a professional – he had played The Open at St. Andrews as an amateur – and he paid for the emotion especially on the first day, which ended with a double bogey, five bogeys and two birdies. A good second round ended in par wasn’t enough.
the gift
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What could be nicer than caddying for your son on his debut in the US Open. June 21st is Father’s Day in the United States and the very young Miles Russell gave his father a very special gift. Russel is an amateur, he is only 17 years old, he managed to pass the cut and play at the weekend. On the last hole he surprised his father, when his caddy – Ramon Bescansa – took the clubs off the strings, took off his bib and handed everything over to dad Jose who, very excited, accompanied his son throughout the last hole. Miles Russell had obtained permission from the USGA. Joe Russell was unaware of the plan. Russel finished in 39th place with an absolutely respectable +7 total. If he plays like this at 17, who knows what he will be able to do when he grows up. And how many gifts will he be able to give to his father…
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