SOUTHAMPTON. NY. When Wyndham Clark’s mother Lise died on August 2, 2013 at the age of 55 after a battle with breast cancer she urged her son — age 19 and a college golfer at Oklahoma State at the time of her passing — to “play big.”

The loss had a profound impact on Wyndham and caused him to leave OSU in the hope of finding his future bearings. A career as a touring golf professional was not assured.

The words “play big” remained a center point for Clark and his pro golf career elevated itself in a big-time manner when winning the 2023 US Open at Los Angeles CC. In January, 2024, Clark created the “Play Big” foundation as a lasting memory of his mother and all other women facing breast cancer.

The road for Clark has not been a straight line and he has faced a series of personal potholes along the way. The well-documented anger outburst at the 2025 US Open at Oakmont was a headline sensation for all the wrong reasons. In a fit of rage Clark destroyed two lockers at the Pittsburgh-area club that set in motion the kind of headlines that leave lasting scars and can either postpone or forever derail one’s future in pro golf.

Clark committed himself to getting his personal life in order. Honoring the words his mother encouraged him to follow — play big.

Arriving at the 126th US Open at Shinnecock Hills, Clark’s golf game was peaking. He won The CJ Cup Byron Nelson in May with a final round score of 60 and 254 total – one shy of the all-time PGA Tour scoring record for 72 holes. A top five finish at The Memorial followed and at the RBC Canadian Open, the week prior to Shinnecock, he finished T11.

Still, the general feelings for Clark were anchored around the outburst at Oakmont – even though clear steps were taken by him to correct his serious error. Some even opined his win at LACC was one of those situations that can be defined as a one-time fluke.

The opening round at a windy and ever challenging Shinnecock Hills made the loudest counterpoint statement possible as Clark used his golf clubs by playing big and scoring a six-under-par 64. Clark would forever remain at the top of the leaderboard and become just the 9th player to win a US Open by leading after each round without any ties at the conclusion of any day’s play.

Clark’s journey during the final round was hardly smooth sailing and uneventful. His six-shot lead would evaporate and no less challenging was his pairing with world number one player Scottie Scheffler.

Clark scored a three-over-par 38 on the outward nine and as he approached the back nine, the stack of competitors lurking intensified. A free fall in golf can sometimes result in hitting the ground hard with no figurative parachute to stem the slide. Securing the lead for such a long duration of the event and then to see it possibly crumbling can be the hardest thing to overcome. The mind can race uncontrollably – the self-doubt can inflict a paralysis that can inflict total inability to focus.

The par-4 10th at Shinnecock Hills presents clear strategic options with its roller coaster fairway and elevated elusive green. Clark showed his resolve in opting for a high-risk play in using driver and he executed flawlessly leaving him an equally challenging short 60-yard wedge shot to the putting surface. Again, Clark played a brilliant approach to 10 feet and even after Scheffler stroked his birdie putt into the hole, it was Clark who matched him with his own dexterity with the flatstick and a much-needed birdie.

The memory of his mother’s words — “play big” was now Clark’s rallying cry.

The challenge to close out any golf event is no small feat. The final trio of holes is noteworthy for the varied combination of challenges presented. When Clark arrived at the 16th – his once large lead had whittled down to a single shot.

Clark’s tee shot at the par-5 was pulled left and settled in the always unpredictable primary rough that envelopes the fairways at Shinnecock Hills. After a lengthy discussion with his caddie David Pelekoudas – the two started working together earlier in 2026 — Clark affirmed he could extract his golf ball from the deep grass and get back into position. Pelekoudas asked Clark to affirm his intentions and once done — smartly backed away and give Clark the opportunity to showcase his considerable golf talents.

Clark made a mighty blow and the ball — and the surrounding grass — was dislodged. An 8-iron approach show left him 25-feet for birdie. The putt was hardly routine – rising upward for a portion of its length before gathering speed downward. The stroke was played superbly – finding the bottom of the hole.

Play big indeed.

Even with that success – Clark faced two holes requiring equal attention and sound execution. Clark’s 9-iron approach to the penultimate par-3 was played haphazardly and even after reaching the green left him nearly 70-feet to negotiate for his par. A resulting three-putt narrowed the lead to a single stroke.

Winning a major championship does not happen without some element of good fortune.

Sam Burns, the man who played well at Oakmont last year with a T7 finished, made a final round move but narrowly missed crucial makeable birdie putts at both the 17th and 18th holes that could have added even more pressure on the shoulders of Clark.

With the stage set Clark had to score no more than a four on the final hole to win the championship. That was the same scenario he encountered at LACC. His tee shot found the first cut of rough and while his approach reached the green, he still had to navigate the 52-feet in length in no more than two shots to accomplish the task.

The stroke was flawless – leaving no more than a foot. The resulting tap-in solidified Clark’s redemption on so many levels. The validation of a second major – in a US Open no less and on a venue as thorough as Shinnecock Hills — places the 32-year-old in a far higher standing in the sport.

To Clark’s credit he had to overcome a less than glowing reception from certain people in the gallery. Several were removed from the property because of vocal criticism directed at him throughout the final round.

But Clark followed the game plan Jack Nicklaus demonstrated when winning the 1962 US Open at Oakmont and vanquishing local hero Arnold Palmer. Clark metaphorically did what the Golden Bear had done. Placed blinders on and keept the focus squarely on what he could control.

Clark’s achievement was celebrated by a number of his closest supporters but one specific encounter on the 18th green mattered even more so. His father Randall had flown overnight from Denver to be present for his son. The embrace by the two was emotional and clearly memorable given the timing of Father’s Day and the magnitude of the accomplishment. Father and son honoring the achievement but also validating the words a late mother had wanted her son to always remember.

Play big.

***

News of Note from the 126th US Open

• Wyndham Clark entered this week as the No. 34 ranked golfer in the Official World Golf Rankings. This year marks the fourth year in a row that a player ranked outside the Top 20 has won: Wyndham Clark (#32 in 2023), Bryson DeChambeau (#38 in 2024) and J.J. Spaun (#25 in 2025).

• Clark is just the second player, since the inception of the OWGR in 1986, to win the US Open twice while being ranked outside the top 30 both times. Lee Janzen is the other (#36 in 1993 and #41 in 1998).

• Burns fired a final-round 67 after starting seven shots back, while Scheffler, seeking the career Grand Slam on his 30th birthday, struggled to gain momentum and shot even-par 70 to finish four back.

• Clark led the field with five putts made from beyond 20 feet and delivered a pivotal 25-foot birdie on the par-5 16th. He became the 24th multi-time US Open champion and matched Retief Goosen’s Shinnecock Hills scoring record of 4-under.

• Wyndham Clark is the ninth true wire-to-wire winner of a US Open (outright leader after all four rounds)

• Fewest starts to win two US Opens:

• The final round scoring on Sunday was 71.389, which is the third-lowest final round in US Open history behind 2019 at Pebble Beach (71.190) and 2015 at Chambers Bay (1.293). It was the lowest scoring average in the history of the US Opens played at Shinnecock Hills GC (22 rounds)

• Keith Mitchell has become the first player in US Open history to post four rounds of even par.

• Jackson Koivun’s 68 is the lowest final round by an amateur in the US Open since Viktor Hovland shot 67 (-4) in 2019 in the final round at Pebble Beach (finishing T-12). Koivun is the first amateur to break 70 in the final round in the US Open at Shinnecock Hills GC. The previous low was 73, by Sam Randolph in 1986.

• Sam Burns was the runner-up this year after finishing T9 at Pinehurst in 2024 and T7 at Oakmont CC last year. He is the only player to finish among the Top 10 each of the last three years.

• Scottie Scheffler finished in a tie for fourth this week. It marks his 17th Top 10 over his last 22 major championship starts! The only other players to do that since 1950 are Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.

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