SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — It is a chance. No matter how unlikely it may be. No matter what adjective is attached to it. No matter the number of strokes between him and the top, the subject remains the same.
Chance.
And it is that very chance that belongs to Scottie Scheffler.
Wyndham Clark grabbed hold of the U.S. Open trophy on Saturday evening as the wind laid down, the crowds processioned out and Shinnecock Hills turned ripe for the picking. As shadows grew longer and the hour more golden, Clark’s lead en route to the silver grew with both.
On a day where only two players broke par before him, Clark nearly became the third before a short miss on the last made his even-par 70 official. An eagle on the par-5 15th pushed his lead out to seven. The margin he will sleep on is half a dozen instead.
An environment that was already on the quieter side due to later tee times and a logistical nightmare for fans to get home was just about put to bed in the arms of Clark’s stranglehold. Most of the oxygen was taken out of the championship. But not all. Life can still be injected back into it. The flatline can start beeping again and largely due to the man who will share the spotlight in the final pairing with Clark on Sunday.
The world No. 1.
Scheffler came into this week facing his first opportunity to complete the career grand slam. As he puts his head on the pillow Saturday night and wakes up on Sunday morning, that opportunity still exists.
That in itself is rare.
2026 U.S. Open tee times, pairings: Complete schedule for Round 4 on Sunday at Shinnecock Hills
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“It’s appropriate to understand what’s at stake. I’ve worked really hard for a long time to have a chance to win golf tournaments and to win major championships,” Scheffler said. “Yeah, I think understanding the moment and giving it your best shot I think is all part of the process.
“Like I said, we want to be in these positions. This is why we practice and play, to have the opportunity to win golf tournaments, and that’s what tomorrow is. I have an opportunity to go out there and have a great round and give myself a chance to win the tournament. Going into tomorrow right now I think I’m five shots back, but we’ll see what happens as the day goes on. I could be 7 shots back and could be 3 shots back. I don’t know what it’s going to be.”
Phil Mickelson may have finished runner up in this championship on six separate occasions — including here in 2004 — but none those represented a plate appearance with the grand slam on the line. In fact, his best result after raising the Claret Jug in 2013 was a T28 the very next year. He finished inside the top 50 only one time after that.
Jordan Spieth is a Wanamaker Trophy away from completing his collection. He finished third at Bethpage Black in 2019 for his best result in his quest, but even the three-time major champion has admitted the performance was flash and mirrors and never did he feel like he had a true chance.
That leads us to the man who completed the task most recently in Rory McIlroy. After he collected the first three major trophies, he had six top-10 finishes in the Masters before he finally slipped on the green jacket last spring. Of those results, however, the 2018 tournament was his lone quality opportunity as he played in the final pairing with eventual champion Patrick Reed.
For the early portions of Saturday’s round, it appeared as if Scheffler’s chance had slipped through his grasp. He started his day by making a 10-foot putt for bogey. Another square came calling on the very next and before Clark had even stepped onto the golf course, Scheffler’s score to par was nine worse than the leader’s.
A missed opportunity on a rare scoring look on the par-5 5th did not help the cause. Noise swirled with the wind around the property but none of it was at the back of Scheffler’s until it was. He did what most everyone else could not do and found the putting surface on the par-4 10th from down in the valley with just a wedge in hand.
Three holes later, he evaded arrest, stole from the cookie jar and chipped in for birdie from long of the 14th green. The first Scheffler roar. Another came on the next. And one more on the par-5 16th where he held a fairway wood against the right-to-left wind to find the surface in two. A roar came with his second, but did not follow suit with his third as his eagle putt could not find the bottom of the cup. Still, his birdie grew hope.
“You can hit a lot of good shots and end up in some spots where you’re going to be frustrated with the result, but I think that’s part of the U.S. Open test,” Scheffler said. “We did a good job of staying patient and stealing some shots where we could. The back nine definitely stole a couple shots.”
Clark’s advantage at the 54-hole mark is rare. The six-stroke margin trails only Tiger Woods’ 10-stroke edge in 2000 and McIlroy’s eight-shot lead in 2011 as the largest since World War II. It has been a historic performance up to this point and more can be made should a second U.S. Open trophy be hoisted above his head.
In all likelihood, Clark wins this championship. It’s true, 18 holes is a lot of golf — especially in a major championship — and anything can happen, but it is also true that six strokes is an awful lot. He’s playing some of the best golf of his life, is confident and can’t miss with the putter in hand. He has a major pedigree and has done this before.
And while a chance to crown a U.S. Open champion comes around every summer, a chance to anoint a new grand slam champion does not. A historic lead does not make that any less true tomorrow because the opportunity still exists — no matter how slim it may be, it still remains in the realm of possibilities with 18 holes to play.
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