Bryan Armen Graham was at Shinnecock Hills: his report has landed, below, and is a mere click away. At which point, this blog signs off. Congratulations to Wyndham Clark, the 2026 US Open champion! Commiserations to Sam Burns, who is getting closer and closer to US Open glory by the year – his last three finishes are now T9-T7-2 – and Tom Kim, who is back in the big time after a couple of quiet years. And thanks to you for sticking with myself, Dave Tindall and Matt Cooper over the four days. It’s been a blast. See you here for Birkdale next month? OK, it’s a date!

-4: Wyndham Clark
-3: Sam Burns
-1: Tom Kim
E: JT Poston, Keith Mitchell, Scottie Scheffler
+1: Joaquin Niemann, Tyrrell Hatton, Gary Woodland, Sam Stevens
+2: Justin Rose, Aaron Rai, John Parry, Tommy Fleetwood, Xander Schauffele, Sahith Theegala

Then another nod to his locker-bothering antics at Oakmont last year, something he’s taken ownership of and for which he’s clearly sorry. “The first [US Open] was the breakthrough of knowing I can do it … this one was a lot of redemption … last year was so tough … a terrible year … I left this place in shambles … it’s amazing what a year can do … I’m leaving this Sunday as a champion and I am just so blessed … thank you, guys … happy Father’s Day, I love you so much!”

Then the inevitable question about the attitude of the gallery: “Yeah, New York really didn’t like me … I love you guys … but I get it … [some cheering and applause] … some of it is self-deserved … I did some unfortunate things last year that I really regret … I’ve been sorry multiple times and I’m still sorry … hopefully I can win you guys over eventually … but I get it, they’re rooting for Scottie! … grand slams only happen a few times … he’s gonna get it … he’s the best player in the world … but today is my day!”

A broad smile. More applause. That was a classy response given the borderline contempt he’s been subjected to by some sections of the gallery. And to be fair it was reciprocated by the punters who have stayed to watch the trophy hoist and speeches.

Clark is asked by NBC how it feels to lift the trophy again. “Pretty amazing … it seems just like yesterday … pretty similar, two putts to win … surreal, to be honest … I played some ugly golf the last two days but my putter and short game kept me in it … to make all the putts I did with my Ping putter that I love so much has been amazing … it comes down to believing that good things are going to happen and you’re going to make the putt … it’s been a grind … I haven’t played the prettiest golf … to make birdie [on 16] was the pivotal moment.”

The closing ceremony. First up, a silver salver for Wyndham Clark’s caddie, David Pelekoudas. Then the Jack Nicklaus Medals for Ryder Cowan and Jackson Koivun, this year’s co-low amateurs. Then the champion of the 126th US Open, who receives the Jack Nicklaus Gold Medal. Some warm applause at last! Finally the trophy is handed over, and lifted. More of that sweet-sounding applause. Where was that all afternoon? Better late than never!

Wyndham Clark started the day six clear; he was reeled in to a single shot. But he never so much as shared his lead. When he looked like buckling, he pulled some magic out of the hat. Nothing on a par with his 3-wood into 16 last night, that set up eagle, but some stuff that came close: his approach to 10 that set up a momentum-shifting first birdie of the day; his staunch birdie at 16, teasing in a 30-footer from the back of the green, just as Sam Burns and Tom Kim were threatening to finally catch him. A final round of 73 was enough, his work done long before: that 64 on the first day, all of those scrambles yesterday afternoon. It might not have been the prettiest US Open victory; it was certainly one of the grittiest. And all of that while fending off both the world number one and an antagonistic gallery. The toughest round Clark ever played, according to his pops, and he came through with flying colours. He’s now a two-time US Open champion. He’s earned that status.

Clark is congratulated by his caddie, Scottie Scheffler, his partner, several friends and family … and finally, a surprise, his father! Well it is Father’s Day after all. A huge hug. “So glad you could be here,” Clark mutters in his pop’s ear. “I’m so proud of you!” his dad returns. “That was the toughest round you ever played, and you were such a worker!” Tears and smiles. Clark deserves this sweet moment. He’s been through the wringer today, and come out smiling.

Scheffler tidies up for his par. A final round of 71, and that’s a tie for fourth at level par. And then …

Scheffler very nearly does chip in, as well. A delightfully judged clip bounced into the bank and rolled out to four feet. And then over to Clark, who has two putts to win the US Open … and he strokes it up to tap-in distance! A clenched fist as he celebrates his certain win, though he’ll not tap in before Scheffler tidies up! Muted applause, bordering on respectability, but that’s all he’s getting for now. Sam Burns meanwhile trudges off the practice green. So close. Again.

Scottie Scheffler won’t be completing the career slam this week. But he receives a warm ovation from the gallery anyway as he walks up to assess his final chip of the week, having bundled his ball through the back of the green. He’ll be desperate to get up and down for a share of fourth place. Chip in, and he’s sharing third with Tom Kim.

Wyndham Clark catches a good lie in the semi-rough to the right of the 18th fairway. Upon hitting his nine-iron, he reacts like he’s made a grievous error, moaning in despair. But his ball reaches the green. A good 50 feet from the pin, but it’s uphill, and two putts will secure the 32-year-old from Denver his second US Open in four years!

Tom Kim dribbles his birdie putt towards the hole at 18. No birdie, but that’s a kick-in par for a 70. Third place at the US Open: happy 23rd birthday, Tom!

-4: Clark (17)
-3: Burns (F)
-1: Kim (F)
E: Poston (F), Mitchell (F), Scheffler (17)

Wyndham Clark bogeyed 18 last night. He can’t afford the same outcome now. And he doesn’t start well, carving his tee shot towards the fescue on the right. But the ball, which initially looks like scampering from the fairway, through the first cut, and into the tall stuff, stops a couple of feet short of the proper nonsense. Not perfect, but not a killer either. Up in the clubhouse, Sam Burns can’t sit still. If he doesn’t win this, he’ll see those putts at 17 and 18 again and again when he closes his eyes tonight. So close.

Clark steps up to take his putt … but he doesn’t like it, and withdraws. When he gets back into his routine, he still looks a little twitchy … and sends a nervy putt slipping by on the left. He tidies up for bogey, but it’s now just a one-shot lead going up the 72nd. Just! He’d have taken that at the start of the week, but perhaps not at the start of this round, given that six-shot advantage. But here we all are. The crowd cooed their approval at the miss, by the way. Of course they did.

-4: Clark (17)
-3: Burns (F)

Clark is left with a putt of 70 feet. He lags it up to six. Another test upcoming. The business end of the US Open. Meanwhile up on 18, Tom Kim, having split the fairway with his tee shot, sends his second to six feet. Too late for glory, but he allows himself a warm smile anyway. It’s been a good week, and it is his birthday after all. Third place at the US Open won’t be too bad a present!

Clark’s tee shot at the par-three 17th finds the dancefloor. Not anywhere near the flag, but then it doesn’t have to be. That birdie on 16 should seal the deal, though nothing on major-championship Sunday is certain until the past putt drops.

Wyndham Clark’s putt from the back of the green rolls up a ridge, then down a fast slope. It looks like stopping short for a second, but somehow keeps on going, and drops for birdie! What an outcome, given the wild tee shot … and how close his approach came to dropping off the back of the green. But fortune favours the brave, and he was certainly that with both approach and putt. It’s a huge birdie, one that’s almost certainly won him this US Open … and shoved a few hollers back down the throats of the gallery that’s been baiting him all day. Tom Kim meanwhile can’t get up and down from sand at 17, and a brave charge from a previously out-of-sorts player comes to a quiet end.

-5: Clark (16)
-3: Burns (F)
-1: Kim (17)

Scottie Scheffler’s uphill 29-footer needs to go in. But like so many of his putts this week, it stops one turn short. The world number one’s been a little too tentative with the flat stick all week. He remains level par, and he’s all but cooked.

Clark from the centre of 16, 144 yards out. He sends his approach a little bit long and left, and the ball threatens to topple off the back. But it stays put on the back edge. Just. So close to potential disaster. Scheffler meanwhile sends his third from thick rough down the right into the heart of the green. He’ll need to make a 30-footer for birdie if he’s to have any realistic chance of making a play-off, his best remaining hope.

Scheffler splits the fairway at 16, then opts to go for the green. Driver off the deck! He carves it off into trouble down the right. Clark then powers out of the thick fescue, back onto the fairway. That’s a great shot, a great result considering the circumstances. And up on 17, Kim’s tee shot dribbles into the bunker to the right of the green. This is all still very much in the balance … but Clark remains in the box seat. No huge mistakes, and this is most likely his title. That’s what he has to tell himself, anyway.

Tom Kim isn’t out of this either! He lays up at the par-five 15th, backing his wedge game. The birthday boy – 23 today – wedges from 127 yards to nine feet, prowls around the putt awhile, then rolls it into the centre of the cup confidently! He yells in delight as the birdie putt drops. He’s just two off the lead, one off the clubhouse lead. The biggest two holes in his life coming up!

-4: Clark (15)
-3: Burns (F)
-2: Kim (16)
E: Poston (F), Mitchell (F), Scheffler (15)

Poor Sam Burns, who enters the scorer’s room a study in dejection. A hige sigh. He sits in the chair, leans back, closes his eyes, and puts his hands to his head. Off comes the cap as he stares at the wall awhile, before finally getting down to the business of signing his card. It could still be the winning card, to be fair. Meanwhile Scottie Scheffler can’t make his birdie effort on 15, and his race is more likely than not run. But he’s not quite out of it yet either. Not least because Wyndham Clark has just yanked his tee shot at 16 into thick rubbish down the left of the par-five. Not a good lie at all.

Wyndham Clark and Scottie Scheffler take turns to land their approaches at 15 pin high, spinning them back to 20 feet. Both left with uphill putts. Clark’s effort is never going in, always stopping a little short, but it’s close enough to tap in for par. Meanwhile up on 18, Keith Mitchell reads the line of his right-to-left slider perfectly … but doesn’t give it enough oomph. It stops one turn short and he tidies up for par. His fourth level-par 70 of the week, and he becomes the first-ever player in US Open history to make par in each of his four rounds!

Sam Burns sends his tee shot at 18 into the semi-rough down the right. Anticipating a flyer, he clubs down, and sends a nine-iron into the front of the green, the ball rolling up to 15 feet. A chance of birdie – and he’ll get a read from Keith Mitchell, whose second stops a couple of feet behind. Should it go in, he’ll post a clubhouse score that will challenge Wyndham Clark to close it out.

Xander Schauffele ends the week at +2. He’ll end the week in the top 15, and that’s the tenth time he’s done that in his ten appearances. What a record, without actually once winning it! It’s a sequence only matched in history by Willie Anderson and Bobby Jones, two bona-fide US Open legends. Tommy Fleetwood flings an arm around him; he finishes at +2 as well. At least Schauffele has a couple of majors to his name; poor Tommy is still looking for his first.

On 17, Burns hangs his head as his pusillanimous prod at his short downhill birdie putt dribbles apologetically towards the hole, then stops short. Par. And it’s a three-putt bogey for his playing partner Keith Mitchell, whose race is now almost certainly run. Par for Tom Kim at 15, but otherwise, the last few minutes have generated some much-needed positivity for the beleaguered leader.

-4: Clark (14)
-3: Burns (17)
-1: Kim (15)
E: Poston (F), Mitchell (17), Scheffler (14)

From 33 feet on 14, Clark nearly makes one of the birdie putts of the week, a big right to left swinger that grazes the right-hand lip. But it somehow stays out. Not even the width of a dimple away. Then Scheffler clips that right-hand lip from similar distance, albeit along a straighter line. He’s got a bit excited with that, though, and it slingshots three feet to the left. And he doesn’t make the one coming back. Almost complete silence as the crowd process their hero’s error. The career slam might have to wait for another year. Clark remains at -4, Scheffler slips back to level par.

Scheffler and Clark both reach the 14th green in regulation. Neither particularly close to the pin. Scheffler was coming in from 200 yards; Clark, who had gone for broke with the big stick, will be a little bit disappointed to end up further away than his playing partner from 150 yards. Putting contest coming up, though with three shots still between the players, time is running out for Scheffler to make his move. Level par for his round so far, he’s not made a move towards Clark today; it’s Clark, at three over today, who has come back towards him.

Sam Burns has clearly decided to go for broke. Win or bust. He whistles a forensic arrow at the par-three 17th straight at the flag, to six feet. A huge chance for birdie that would give him a share of the lead. He was seven behind at the start of play.

Sam Burns with a bounceback birdie on the par-five 16th! He walks in a left-to-right slider from 20 feet and the crowd do their (much more reasonable) thing! We’ve got ourselves a US Open here all right.

-4: Clark (13)
-3: Burns (16)
-1: Mitchell (16), Kim (14), Scheffler (13)
E: Poston (F)

Amid the hubbub, Clark does exceptionally well to bump his chip up from the bottom of the swale to eight feet. He’ll have a chance to salvage his par. Before he can have a go, Scheffler’s left-to-right birdie slider dies a death one dimple shy of the cup. A few joules more, and that was birdie. Scheffler turns with an agonised look on his face; he knows holes are running out. But Clark does him a favour by letting his par putt slide by on the low side. Off go the crowd again, delighting in his misery. This is getting both old, and increasingly embarrassing.

-4: Clark (13)
-2: Burns (15)
-1: Mitchell (15), Kim (13), Scheffler (13)
E: Poston (F)

Pantomime nonsense at sporting events is all good and well. But this is getting really uncomfortable to listen to now. Scottie Scheffler’s second into 13, sent pin high to 20 feet, is met with love. Wyndham Clark’s approach topples off the back, ever so slowly, and the groans when the ball threatens to stop on the green, followed by the delighted cheers when it speeds away down the slope, are a bit much. The gallery need to raise their game.

Out of nowhere, a careless three-putt bogey for Sam Burns on 14. That could be extremely costly with holes running out. Back on 12, Scottie Scheffler nearly holes his birdie putt. [FX: BEDLAM] Then Wyndham Clark narrowly misses his effort. [FX: TUMBLEWEED] It’s getting a bit too much on the nose, this.

-5: Clark (12)
-2: Burns (15)
-1: Mitchell (15), Kim (12), Scheffler (12)
E: Poston (F)

There are reports of some fans getting hoicked off the property for sledging Wyndham Clark. He’s getting the full treatment from a few members of the gallery. One punter screams “GO WYNDHAM!!!”, though it’s not 100 percent clear whether that’s sarcasm as his tee shot at 12 disappears into semi-rough. Either way, that particular doofus is quiet when Clark whips out a chip to 12 feet. His ball is right by Scottie Scheffler’s, and the world number one will give him a read.

Some missed birdie putts. Sam Burns on 14, Tom Kim on 12, Scottie Scheffler and Wyndham Clark on 11. The pressure cranking up and up and up. The crowd becoming even more obvious in their preferences, too: a few cheers as Clark missed his birdie chance, whoops as Scheffler tidies up for par, next to nothing as his playing partner does the same. Some residual ill-feeling for Clark beating up on his locker at Oakmont last year, perhaps.

Par for JT Poston at the last. He signs for a superb 67, and becomes the new clubhouse leader at level par. His playing partner John Parry bogeys and that’s a 69 for a +2 finish. Parry is part of an impressive English contingent at the top end of the leaderboard, alongside Tyrrell Hatton (+1), Justin Rose (+2) and Aaron Rai (+2). Tommy Fleetwood (+2) and Matt Fitzpatrick (+3) are still out there too.

Scottie Scheffler is in the zone. After rolling in that birdie putt on 10, he sends his tee shot at the par-three 11th to the left of the flag, the camber taking the ball back to the right, ten feet past. Good birdie op. But not as good as the one Wyndham Clark sets up for himself: he fires over the flag, the spin taking his ball back to six feet. The gallery don’t boo exactly, but there are groans as Advantage Wyndham is established. Scottie clearly the crowd favourite, and though that’s been obvious from the very first shots of their round, it’s beginning to get a little bit more pronounced. Again, this could either work for or against both players. How much Brooks Energy does Clark have within?

The golfing gods smile kindly on Scheffler’s moment of sporting largesse. He rattles in his 15-footer for birdie, and suddenly the pressure is on Clark, whose four-footer looks twice the distance. But he pours it in. Once again, it’s notable that the gallery whoops and hollers when Scheffler sinks his birdie putt, but not when Clark makes his. Tough crowd, but that’s the entertainment industry for you.

-5: Clark (10)
-3: Burns (13)
-1: Mitchell (13), Kim (11), Scheffler (10)
E: Poston (17)

Tom Kim responds to dropping a stroke on 10 by hitting one of the shots of the day at the par-three 11th. A gentle fade from 154 yards to a couple of feet. He’ll tap in for birdie to bounce back to -1. Meanwhile back on 10, Scottie Scheffler sends his second to 15 feet, a fine result given the carnage that’s occurred on and around this green this week. But Wyndham Clark trumps him with a glorious wedge in, the ball gripping 15 feet past the hole and spinning back to four feet. Scheffler, already up on the green, and to his great credit, offers a thumbs-up back down the fairway to Clark. A lovely sporting moment! And what a shot from Clark.

The new PGA champion Aaron Rai finishes well. A long birdie rake across 17, followed by par at the last, and that’s a final round of 69. He ends the week at +2 and that’s a very respectable return for a man playing in his first major championship as a major champion. The gallery give him the flowers he’s due. A class act, as ever.

JT Poston, who missed a tiddler on 15 to move to -2, can’t get up and down from the back of 17 and drops back to level par. The small margins between glory and ending up in the pack. Bogey meanwhile for Tom Kim at 10; he slips back to level par as well. There are now just three players under par, which is just how the USGA like it.

-4: Clark (9)
-3: Burns (13)
-1: Mitchell (13)
E: Poston (17), Stevens (11), Kim (10), Scheffler (9)

If Wyndham Clark’s nerves are jangling, his short game isn’t betraying them. From the thick rough at the front of the 9th green, he lobs high and confidently into the air, the ball landing softly a couple of feet shy of the cup and nearly rolling in. That would have been a proper US Open moment. Not quite up there with Tom Watson on 17 at Pebble in 1982, but something nonetheless. He’d have grabbed par with both hands before taking the shot, though. Scottie Scheffler doesn’t hit his birdie putt from 15 feet and what looked most likely to be a two-shot swing ends up in a half. Clark remains -4, Scheffler level par.

Clark can’t reach the green with his second from the rough at 9. His ball lands in the thick strip of rough guarding the front of the green. Scheffler turns up the heat by clipping his iron from the middle of the fairway pin high. It’s a half-chance for birdie; a two-shot swing between these players is eminently possible here.

Sam Burns finds the thick stuff down the right of 12. He sends his second scampering to the edge of the green, then nearly drains his Texas Wedge. He’ll take that par to remain at -3. Meanwhile back on 9, Scottie Scheffler batters a drive down the middle, but Wyndham Clark’s tee shot ends up in the first cut to the right of the fairway, and mostly disappears. The leader is three over for his round today and continues to look ragged. He got away with a wild long game yesterday, but it’s not entirely clear whether this is sustainable. When it all comes down, it may prove that he started the day with enough shots in his back pocket. But right now, he’s treading a thin line.

Wyndham Clark lags his long putt at 8 to a couple of feet, and wastes not too much time over the par putt. In it goes. Scottie Scheffler reads his 15-foot right-to-left birdie curler perfectly … but doesn’t hit it! He taps in. Both players move on, four shots between them.

Gary Woodland signs for a 68. That’s the 13th round under par already today; there were only two players to break 70 yesterday. That puts the 2019 champion in a tie for the clubhouse lead at +1. Meanwhile Rory McIlroy, who fought his way into contention on Thursday, and Friday, and Saturday, carelessly letting things go south each time, finishes his week with an underwheming 73. He’s +6 and he’ll always have Congressional.

Bogeys on 7, then, for both players in the final group. But Scheffler will be much more content with the way it all unfolded, making his missable putt after taking two to escape from sand, Clark missing a short one for his par. And now on 8, Scheffler is on in regulation, while Clark, having found a fairway bunker … well, he gets on as well, but he wasn’t in any position to go for the flag, and aiming for the meat of the green, is a long way away. Concern etched across his face. He’s not got his best stuff here at all.

It’s Scheffler’s turn to make a damage-limiting putt. He guides in his right-to-left bogey curler on 7 … then Clark shoves his downhill four-footer right of the cup and a couple of feet past! He makes the one coming back, but that was an extremely nervous stroke. And on that subject, JT Poston misses a putt from similar distance on 15 for birdie. He remains very much in this at -1, but what an opportunity to put some scoreboard pressure on the leaders. However Keith Mitchell, who dropped a stroke at 10 having failed to get up and down from the swale, birdies 11, and this US Open continues to bubble away. No procession here!

-4: Clark (7)
-3: Burns (11)
-1: Poston (15), Mitchell (11), Kim (8)
E: Scheffler (7)

Scottie Scheffler splashes out delicately from the bunker at 7. Too delicately. His ball topples back into the trap, and though he gets out with his second attempt, he’ll need to make a 15-footer for bogey. Wyndham Clark by contrast whips up decisively to four feet, and this could be a matchplay double-whammy for the world number one.

Scheffler and Clark both find the bunker guarding the front-left of the par-three 7th green. But while the former’s only just squeaks in, looking for a while like it was dead on line for the pin, the latter slam-dunks into the trap. The leader continues to make some big tee-to-green errors … though it’s not cost him dearly. Yet. He remains ahead thanks to that street-fighting short game, which by the looks of things will continue to be stress-tested over the closing two-thirds of his round.

Forget that bit about putting. Both players opt to chip up. Clark leaves his effort ten feet short, giving Scheffler the green flag to get more aggressive. Which he does, and he should be tidying up from a couple of feet. Another big pressure putt for Clark … and he makes them more often than not. And so he does here, the confident roll ensuring a bobble halfway along the route to the cup doesn’t divert the ball offline. Scheffler makes his par, and it’ll be Clark who’ll be the happier right now. But his game is getting a little tatty under these extreme tournament conditions. If at any point his putter goes cold, he’ll be in a spot of bother.

Having got to within one shot, Sam Burns immediately cedes ground. His chip at 9 races eight feet past the hole, and he’s left with a treacherous downhill par putt. He dribbles it down, but it slides off to the right. Bogey, and Clark’s lead is two again. The iron in at fault there. Burns still out in an impressive 32 strokes, mind. Meanwhile back on 6, Clark and Scheffler both send fine approaches into the heart of the green … only for the camber to slowly take both balls away from the flag and off the putting surface to the right. No bunker, and both will most likely putt from where they are, with Clark going first to offer his opponent a read.

-5: Clark (5)
-3: Burns (9)
-1: Poston (14), Mitchell (9), Scheffler (5)
E: Fleetwood (9), Grillo (7), Kim (6)
+1: Niemann (F), Hatton (F), Woodland (17), Parry (14), Morikawa (11), Schauffele (9), Stevens (7)

… so having said that, Sam Burns makes his first big mistake of the final round. From the centre of the fairway at 9, he underhits his approach, and his ball topples back off the front. It stops in a thick collar of rough. Meanwhile a final-hole bogey for Tyrrell Hatton, the result of finding the long stuff with his tee shot. That’s still an impressive closing round of 67, and at +1 he’s got a fair chance of another top-ten finish at the US Open. He’s got two of them on his resumé already. Hatton joins Joaquin Niemann in the clubhouse lead.

Clark makes a good fist of his 25-foot par effort, but it’s always staying high on the left, and there goes another shot. Meanwhile it’s a careful two-putt birdie for Scottie Scheffler, and suddenly everything has changed. Meanwhile Emiliano Grillo takes a hesitant prod at a short par putt on 7 to slip back to level par. We’ve got a US Open on our hands, ladies and gentlemen!

-5: Clark (5)
-4: Burns (8)
-1: Poston (13), Mitchell (8), Scheffler (5)
E: Hatton (17), Fleetwood (9), Grillo (7), Kim (6)

Wyndham Clark bumps up from the back of 5, take II. This time he nearly skulls it, and he’s fairly fortunate the ball stops 25 feet past the flag. A little more juice, and he’d have found himself in the bunker. Meanwhile Scottie Scheffler stands and watches, while on 9, Sam Burns splits the fairway. This feels like a crucial long par putt coming up for Clark. He’s got to limit the damage to bogey.

Sam Burns is on the charge! He tramlines a 50-footer across 8 and that’s his fourth birdie on the front nine! The 29-year-old from Louisiana came so close last year, and now he’s got to within two of the lead today. Meanwhile back on 5, Wyndham Clark faces a difficult pitch up from the back of the green … and doesn’t bump it all the way up. It comes back down the slope towards him, and all of a sudden, this US Open is on.

Wyndham Clark, the adrenaline flowing, fizzes an eight-iron through the 5th green and over. Down the bank, into some light rough. Collin Morikawa took a couple to get back up from there. Scottie’s up next, and perhaps spooked at what he’s just seen, only just makes it onto the green. But that’s the careful play, and he’ll have a look at eagle from the best part of 40 feet.

Clark made some other-worldly up and downs yesterday, but that scramble might be the most important of all. Had he dropped a stroke, there would have been a sense of the field closing in a bit, the pressure further ratcheted up. But that’s kept everyone at arm’s length. However one more player has just joined the red-figure club: Emilaino Grillo, who curls in a 20-footer on 6 to move to -1.

JT Poston rakes in a Texas Wedge from off the front of 12. He moves into red figures. Meanwhile yet another birdie for Tyrrell Hatton, this time at 16. A bogey for Tommy Fleetwood, who fails to get up and down from a greenside bunker at 7. Then coming through afterwards, Keith Mitchell nearly makes a 30-footer for birdie, but must remain at -1. And then Wyndham Clark rolls in his left-to-right slider from 15 feet to save par! That’s a quite outrageous up and down. His long game hasn’t been all that this weekend; his short game has been out of this world. Par for Scheffler.

-6: Clark (4)
-3: Burns (6)
-1: Poston (12), Mitchell (6)
E: Hatton (16), Fleetwood (7), Schauffele (7), Grillo (5), Kim (4), Scheffler (4)

What looked like hardpan from distance is in fact trodden-down grass. So it’s a decent enough lie for Wyndham Clark, who has caught a fair few breaks while going off piste yesterday and today. But you’ve got to take advantage of these things, and that’s what he does, yet again. A lovely crisp lob to 15 feet, about the best he could expect in sending his ball over a cart path and a bunker, the pin tucked in behind. If he escapes with a par here, everything and anything will seem possible.

Is the pressure getting to Wyndham Clark? He sends his drive at 4 into a fairway bunker, then carves his second over the gallery to the right, the ball bounding off a cart path and landing on some hard pan. He spins around in disgust and shakes his head. It’s certainly a hole that can take a chunk out of you: Sahith Theegala has just made double on it to crash down the standings to +1. Scottie Scheffler gets on in regulation, and here’s another big matchplay-style moment coming up.

Some admin regarding action passed. Tommy Fleetwood might live to regret a short birdie putt missed on 5; he’s nevertheless going well, a clean card through six holes and five behind Clark. Collin Morikawa knifed a wedge from a greenside bunker at 5, then failed to get up from the bottom of a swale behind the green, en route to a bogey six … but he’s bounced back with a long birdie rake across 7. He’s level par. And Tyrrell Hatton birdies 15: he’s three under for his round today and at +1 shaping up for another impressive showing at the US Open, following last year’s tie for fourth.

Scottie Scheffler hasn’t enjoyed himself on the front nine this week. He’s currently cumulatively five over going out, and sending his tee shot into the deep fescue down the left of 3 won’t help that stat. He whistles his second into greenside sand, and doesn’t get particularly close with his splash out. But he rolls in the putt, and pumps the air with his fist. He’s clinging on at the moment, but with Wyndham Clark missing a 15-foot birdie putt, he’s lost no ground despite that scrappy hole. He remains level par, six behind the leader.

-6: Clark (3)
-3: Burns (5)
-1: Fleetwood (6), Mitchell (5), Kim (3), Theegala (3)
E: Morikawa (7), Schauffele (6), Stevens (4), Scheffler (3)

JT Poston has inserted himself into the equation. The 33-year-old from North Carolina is in good form, having won the Memorial Tournament a couple of weeks ago, and he’s just carded four birdies in five holes to hit the turn in 32 strokes. He’s level par, as eagle-eyed readers will have already noticed. Meanwhile Sam Burns and Keith Mitchell take turns to roll in mid-distance putts on 5 for birdie; they’re -3 and -1 respectively.

Joaquin Niemann pars his way home and signs for a 66. What a performance from the brilliant Chilean. What that septuple-bogey 11 (!) on Thursday might have cost him. He’s the new clubhouse leader at +1.

Wyndham Clark putts up from the fringe at the back of 2 to four feet. That’s a fine effort, but it still leaves a tricky short bogey putt with right-to-left break. He makes the putt, but only just; a more tentative prod would have sent that wide left. Scottie Scheffler’s birdie putt nearly drops, but par will have to do. Meanwhile on 3, Sahith Theegala rolls in a 20-foot right-to-left slider to get into the red at -1 … and Tom Kim follows him in for a birdie of his own to join him at -1.

-6: Clark (2)
-2: Burns (4)
-1: Fleetwood (5), Kim (3), Theegala (3)
E: Poston (9), Schauffele (5), Mitchell (4), Stevens (3), Scheffler (2)

Clark whips up and over a bunker, onto the green. But the slope takes his ball off the back. Only just, but two putts from there will be a result. As the ball left the putting surface, a sizeable section of the gallery cheered loudly: they’re obviously behind Scheffler. This sort of thing can either get in a player’s head – see Colin Montgomerie passim – or fuel them to greater things. Let’s see which way this goes.

Clark goes for a gentle fade into the par-three 2nd. But he sends it straight left, so much so that it clears the tallest fescue to the side of the green. It’s still in thick rough, though. The same mistake he made on 17 last night, but this time there’s no camera podium from which to get relief. On Sky, Paul McGinley calls a double-cross, suggesting that could be something that will get into his head, given what happened yesterday on 17. Clark looks a little concerned, especially as Scheffler then does exactly what he was trying to do, a fade that lands on the front-left portion of the green, the camber of the putting surface bringing his ball round to 17 feet. Big chip from the rough for Clark coming up; he’s been up to the task more often than not this week.

Clark can’t make his birdie putt, which shaves the left lip. But that’s a nerve-settling opening par, the hole played without fuss or drama. Then Scheffler, to almost funereal silence, shoves his par putt wide right. He stands there scratching his head in confusion as Clark bounds off to the next tee with an extra spring in his step. That couldn’t have gone much better for the leader, missed birdie putt notwithstanding.

-7: Clark (1)
-2: Burns (3)
-1: Fleetwood (1)
E: Morikawa (4), Mitchell (3), Stevens (2), Kim (2), Theegala (2), Scheffler (1)

Scheffler needs a fast start to eat into Clark’s lead and apply some matchplay-style pressure. But his second into 1 takes a hot bounce off a downslope and disappears over the back, into a thick fringe. He’s got to whip out high, and does very well, getting to within six feet. But that’ll be a tester to save par … and Clark has stuck his approach pin high to 15 feet. A birdie attempt coming up, and a possible two-shot swing. This could nix any hope of Scheffler gaining momentum from the get-go!

Up on the green, Tom Kim and Sahith Theegala both make disappointing – and frankly careless – three-putt bogeys. They slip back to level par. Heading the other way: Sam Burns, who follows up birdie at 1 with another at 3. Burns came so close last year, leading after 54 holes at Oakmont, but his final round was an almost literal wash-out of 78. Burns is on course to best last year’s tie for seventh.

-7: Clark
-2: Burns (3)
-1: Fleetwood (4), Scheffler
E: Morikawa (4), Mitchell (3), Stevens (2), Kim (1), Theegala (1)

♪ ♫ ♬ “Happy birthday to you / Happy birthday to you / Happy birthday dear Scottie (30), Happy birthday to you! ” ♪ ♫ ♬ It’s the final match of the 126th US Open. Scheffler belts his tee shot down the middle. Wyndham Clark, who was a bit wayward off the tee yesterday, takes iron for safety and finds the fairway as well. Everyone’s out! It’s on! More cheers for Scottie than Clark, by the way, which will partly be a popularity thing – America loves a winner, and Scheffler’s on the brink of a career slam – but also from a desire to witness a sporting contest. Nothing personal, Wyndham. That’s showbiz!

♪ ♫ ♬ “Happy birthday to you / Happy birthday to you / Happy birthday dear Tom Kim (23), Happy birthday to you! ” ♪ ♫ ♬ The penultimate pairing take to the tee, and it features the birthday boy Tom Kim. There’d be few more popular winners if the young Korean made it today, and he’s on the 1st in regulation, as is his playing partner Sahith Theegala, whose victory would go down very well with the gallery too. See also: Tommy Fleetwood, who knocks his wedge at 3 from 144 yards to four feet and tidies up for his second birdie in a row. Just the five more for another final-day 63 at Shinnecock, then! He’s -1.

The defending champion JJ Spaun didn’t make the weekend. Last year’s runner-up did, though, and Robert MacIntyre has finished his week with a level-par 70. He’s +7, and wouldn’t be human if he’s still not cursing Viktor Hovland for giving Spaun a read ahead of that tournament-winning putt. Meanwhile in other European news, Justin Rose has just made three birdies in a row, on 11, 12 and 13, to rise up the standings to +1. A top-ten finish within reach for the 2013 champ.

There have been quite a few shots of both Wyndham Clark and Scottie Scheffler going through their practice routines. Clark wedging an alignment stick through the loops of his trousers for real-time hip analysis; Scheffler missing a few short putts, which doesn’t augur well. Meanwhile here’s more good news for Clark courtesy of David ‘Not That One’ Howell: “The scoring variance has continued to be lower than in prior US Opens here, and low variance is obviously what a six-shot leader wants. Secondly, finding fairways doesn’t seem to be as important today. Lots of players have been scoring over par while hitting most fairways, and several of today’s best rounds have come in spite of missing a few. Considering that Clark has historically not been the straightest off the tee, it’s reasonable to assume he might find the fescue a bit under pressure, but that might not be a death sentence today.” Speaking of belt loops, any old excuse to enjoy the greatest zinger ever told …

Another final round of 63 in a US Open at Shinnecock is statistically, realistically too much to ask of Tommy Fleetwood. Surely. But he’s just raked in a long birdie putt across the par-three 2nd to join the group at level par in short order. Just the six more birdies needed. What better excuse to refresh the leaderboard for the first time in this report?

-7: Clark
-1: Scheffler, Theegala, Kim, Stevens
E: Fleetwood (2), Schauffele (2), Mitchell (1), Grillo
+1: Niemann (14), Woodland (9), Morikawa (2)
+2: Rose (12), Griffin (11), Hatton (11), Bhatia (8), Rai (6), M Fitzpatrick (2)

A lovely moment on 18 as the 17-year-old amateur Miles Russell walks up 18. The youngest player in the field is on in regulation, and having hit his approach, wears a smile as wide as Long Island itself as his caddie hands his official vest and bag of clubs over to his dad. Father and son make the last walk up the fairway together, and that is such a sweet moment. Russell Sr. (not that one, Pulp fans) helps Miles line up his final putt, a long right-to-left swinger that nearly drops. A tap-in for par and a final round of 70. He finishes the week at +7. His playing partner today, fellow amateur Jackson Koivun of North Carolina, birdies for a 68 and finishes at +5. He’ll be keeping an eye on what Ryder Cowan gets up to: the only player left who can beat Koivun to Low Amateur status and the Jack Nicklaus Medal has bogeyed 2 and is currently +3 overall through 4.

Joaquin Niemann might be the one to take advantage of the relatively benign conditions. Out in 33, the Chilean, much touted as a major champion in waiting, has subsequently birdied 10 and now 13 to move to four under for his round, and +1 overall. He’ll be cursing his opening round of 78, and that toddler’s tanty on the par-four 6th, at which he took 11 strokes. A septuple bogey! Two tee shots out of bounds, a back-and-forth with the referee in a doomed attempt to get relief from fire ants in the fescue, and a two-shot penalty for a coptered club. Oh Joaquin! He’s currently +1 for the tournament, and in theory, if we factor out the butterfly effect and linear nature of history, would now be just one off the pace sans meltdown. A lesson for all you kids out there: keep your cool, it pays in the long run. (Though it is fun to launch a club in a fit of pique. Well, it is. It might not be right but it is. I don’t write the rules.)

Ludvig Åberg birdies the last for a final round of 66. Another major championship of what-ifs for the young Swede, who it’s easy to forget is still only making his 11th major-championship appearance this week. He ends the week at +3 and is the new clubhouse leader. Some more proof that there’s a score out there for the chasing pack. Only problem being, it’s also out there for Wyndham Clark, and look at the 64 he shot on Thursday when the wind was down.

Meanwhile here’s a reminder of how easily a six-shot advantage can be whittled away on a major-championship Sunday …

… plus memories of Brooks Koepka nearly letting a seven-shot lead slip. Suffice to say, Wyndham Clark, as dominant as he’s been so far, won’t be taking anything for granted just yet.

A six-shot lead, though. Courtesy of an old Joy of Six, here’s the story of how Arnold Palmer came from seven back in 1960 (though to be clear, 54-hole leader Mike Souchak was only two ahead of the field going into the final round).

“You’re dead,” scoffed golf writer Bob Drum. He’d just been asked by Arnold Palmer, two times a Master but yet to land his national title, if a final-round 65 could win the US Open. “Nah, you’re too far back, Arnie. That would do nothing.” Palmer threw his half-eaten cheeseburger down – it was lunch between the third and fourth rounds of the 1960 tournament at Cherry Hills near Denver, the final 36 holes in those days all played on the Saturday – and left the locker room in the lofty state of high dudgeon.

In fairness to Drum, his was a reasonable, if slightly tactless, response. Palmer came into the Open as the favourite, fresh from winning at Augusta, but he pushed his opening tee shot into a ditch, double bogeyed the first hole, and never quite got going. He’d putted poorly, and after three rounds was seven shots behind the leader Mike Souchak. There were 13 other players in between the two, including four-time winner Ben Hogan, Gary Player, former champ Julius Boros, the pop singer Don Cherry (!) and a promising young amateur called Jack Nicklaus. Yep, Arnie was dead.

Except, of course, Arnie wasn’t dead. Steam trailing from his lugs – “I was a little angry at Drum and his attitude,” recalled Palmer – he took to the first tee and attempted to drive the green at the short par four. His ball rolled to 20 feet. He didn’t make the eagle putt, but birdie was a good enough start. Come the 4th, he’d made four of them in a row. By the 7th, he’d made another two, by which point he was jigging across the turf in a syncopated manner, repeatedly tossing his visor into the air in celebration. A shot was dropped at 8, but he still reached the turn in 30 strokes, a new tournament record.

That pique-fuelled charge – followed by one last birdie at 11 – was enough to land Palmer the title. Souchak, unnerved by the ear-splitting noise generated by Palmer’s gallery – which now included Drum, the player greeting the hapless scribe on his arrival with a raised eyebrow and a wry “fancy seeing you here!” – fell apart. Young Nicklaus briefly held the lead but, callow and nervous, naively elected to putt over a ball mark and three putted, all momentum lost. Finally Hogan, who had hit 34 out of 34 greens in regulation on the final day going up 17, dumped his approach in water while striving too hard to nudge ahead of Palmer, then got wet again from the tee at the last. Palmer’s seven-shot comeback was the greatest in US Open history, the visor he launched on the final green still, it’s said, in orbit. Nice that Arnie celebrated so well while the going was good, because a mere six years later, he would, unlike his cap, come crashing back down to earth.

There were only two rounds under par yesterday. Emiliano Grillo shot 67 in the windiest of the conditions; Scottie Scheffler carded 69 after coming home in 32 strokes. It was tough. And it’s tough again today, of course … just not so tough. There isn’t as much wind, and though the greens are still hard and fast, there’s already been evidence that something is out there for someone. Maybe it’s already been done, because already there have been three sub-70 rounds this morning/afternoon, one more than the whole of Moving Day. Peter Uihlein, who shot 80 yesterday, has finished his week with a 66, a score that’s only been bettered in this tournament so far by Wyndham Clark (64), Collin Morikawa (65) and Joaquin Niemann (65), and matched by Xander Schauffele (66) and Dustin Johnson (66). James Nicholas has followed up yesterday’s 82 with 69. And Ben James has shot 67. So it’s on. Possibly. Another final round of 63 for Tommy Fleetwood? Let’s rule nothing out. An 83 is realistic too.