Wyndham Clark Joins Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy in Rare Company Following Third Round of 2026 U.S. Open

Wyndham Clark shot an even par score of 70 in the third round of the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills and remained top of the leaderboard.

Wyndham Clark Joins Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy in Rare Company Following Third Round of 2026 U.S. Open

Tiger Woods, Wyndham Clark and Rory McIlroy (Image via Imago)

Wyndham Clark seems to be cruising towards the U.S. Open title. On Saturday, the 32-year-old fired an even par score in the third round at Shinnecock Hills and joined Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy in rare company.

Clark, the 2023 U.S. Open champion, is looking for redemption this year. Last year, the golfer was one of those who missed the cut at Oakmont.

In the tough conditions in 2025, Clark fired scores of 74 in both the first and second rounds and was 8-over par. The cutline of the tournament was 7-over par, meaning that Clark missed the cut by 1 shot.

The American international lost his cool and ended up damaging the locker room. While he later apologized for his outburst, he found himself under intense fan backlash.

This week, the golfer started with a 6-under par score in the first round and followed it with a 1-under par score in the second round. This saw him build a 4-shot lead over second-placed Matt Fitzpatrick.

Clark continued his surge towards the title on moving day with an even par round. On the front nine, he began with a bogey on the first hole before making a birdie on the 5th hole. A bogey on the 8th hole saw him finish the front nine at 1-over par.

Following 4 straight pars to start the back nine, he made a birdie on the 14th and then bogeyed the 15th hole. The highlight moment of the day came on the 16th hole.

On the par-5 hole, he was 275 feet away from the hole after his tee shot. He then hit a fade shot, which landed just a few feet away from the hole.

He converted the eagle putt and opened up a 7-shot lead. On the final hole, he made another bogey and finished with a score of 70 on moving day.

At the end of the day’s play, he joined Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. His 6-shot is the third largest in U.S. Open history after 54-holes. Only McIlroy and Woods have had a much larger lead than Clark after three rounds.

McIlroy had an 8-shot lead heading into the final round at the 2011 U.S. Open. Having collapsed in the final round at the Masters Tournament earlier that year, the Northern Irish made no mistakes this time and secured his first major with an 8-shot win.

Meanwhile, Woods was at the peak of his power in 2000. The former World No.1 had a 10-shot lead after three rounds. He extended this in the final round and finished 15 shots ahead of runners-up Miguel Angel Jimenez and Ernie Els, who both were 3-over par. This is also the largest winning margin in a golf major.

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Wyndham Clark hoping to claim 2nd U.S. Open title on Sunday

Wyndham Clark is nearly there. With an even par score in the third round, the golfer opened up a 6-shot lead at the 2026 U.S. Open. Unless he pulls a Greg Norman, he will likely lift his second major title on Sunday.

Wyndham Clark
Wyndham Clark (Image via X/@UnderdogGolf)

So, why Greg Norman? As per ESPN Insights, Clark is the 22nd golfer to lead a major by 6 or more shots after 54 holes. 20 of the previous 21 went on to win. The only one who lost was Norman in the 1996 Masters Tournament.

With scores of 63, 69, and 71 in the first three rounds, “the Great White Shark” was leading the Masters Tournament by 6 shots. At that point, it seemed all done and dusted.

However, the Australian international suffered a major collapse in the final round. A score of 78 saw him finish 5 shots behind his rival, Nick Faldo, who claimed his 3rd green jacket. This remains one of the biggest collapses in the world of sport.

While Clark has a healthy lead, he will be in the final pairing with Scottie Scheffler. The World No.1 shot a score of 69 in the third round and jumped up to 2nd in the standings.

For him, Sunday will be a huge one. Not only is he chasing the career grand slam, but he will also be celebrating his 30th birthday.

The largest lead Scheffler has overcome is a 5-shot deficit, which he overcame at the 2024 The Players Championship. In this event, he edged out Clark by one shot, who had a brutal lip-out on the final putt. Had that gone in, the event would have gone into a playoff round.

Apart from Scheffler, the others who are within 6 shots of the lead are Sahith Theegala, Tom Kim, and Sam Stevens. Kim will also be celebrating his birthday on Sunday. A miraculous performance could see him achieve the biggest win on his 24th birthday.

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