Xander Schauffele Claims 2026 U.S. Open Is Wyndham Clark’s to Lose

Wyndham Clark continued his dominance at the 2026 U.S. Open on Saturday. As the golfer opened up a 6-shot lead after 54-holes, Xander Schauffele claims that this tournament is now Clark’s to lose.

Clark, the 2023 U.S. Open winner, was 6-under par through 16 holes on Thursday when the play was suspended. On Friday, he completed his first round and shot 64 before playing his second round.

With 3 birdies and 2 bogeys in Round 2, Clark sat at the top of the leaderboard and led the tournament by 4 shots. On the moving day, the American international remained in control.

On the front nine, he was 1-over par with 2 bogeys and 1 birdie. On the 14th hole, he carded his second birdie of the day. However, he then proceeded to bogey the 15th hole.

The big moment for him came on the 16th hole. Following his tee shot, he was 275 feet away from the hole on the par-5 setup. He then hit a huge fade shot that landed just a few feet away from the hole. The 32-year-old converted the putt for an eagle and opened up a 7-shot lead.

WYNDHAM CLARK YOU ARE RIDICULOUS!

A huge fade to a few feet from 275!

That left for eagle. pic.twitter.com/0RilsBicgr

— U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 20, 2026

On the final hole, he made another bogey and wrapped up the day with a score of 70. Despite that late bogey, he has a 6-shot lead, the 3rd largest lead in a U.S. Open after three rounds.

Wyndham Clark finished round three of the U.S. Open with a 6-shot lead‼️

That's the third-largest U.S. Open lead after 54 holes, behind only Rory McIlroy in 2011 (8) and Tiger Woods in 2000 (10), both of whom went on to win the major 👀 pic.twitter.com/oQ9ibzGYLU

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 21, 2026

With the way things are going, 2-time major champion Xander Schauffele believes Wyndham Clark will emerge as the winner on Sunday.

Kind of the way this is turning out, it’s all in Wyndham’s hands, really. If he plays a really solid round of golf tomorrow, if he shoots even par or 1-over or 2-over, he’s going to win the golf tournament. That’s how I think it’s going to pan out.

Xander Schauffele said regarding Wyndham Clark

Schauffele was in contention for the tournament after the second round. Following a score of 71 in the first round, he shot 66 on Friday and was 4 shots behind Clark and tied for second place along with Matt Fitzpatrick, Tom Kim, and Sam Stevens.

However, he suffered a bump on the back nine in the third round. Double bogeys on holes 10 and 12 saw him go 5-over par for the round. With two birdies on the 13th and 15th, he managed to bring down his score to 3-over par. Eventually, he finished the day on T6, 7 shots behind Clark.

Ahead of the final round, 4 golfers are tied for 2nd place and are chasing Clark. One of them is World No.1 Scottie Scheffler, who is eyeing a career grand slam on his 30th birthday.

Wyndham Clark claims it is “nice” to have a 6-shot lead over Scottie Scheffler

Wyndham Clark will enter the final round alongside Scottie Scheffler and hope to claim his 2nd U.S. Open title. While speaking with the reporters, the golfer claimed it was “nice” to have a 6-shot lead over the 4-time major champion.

Scheffler, who started the day T11 with scores of 72 and 68, carded a round of 69 on Saturday. This saw him jump up 11 positions in the leaderboard and find himself 6 shots behind Clark.

While the lead is a big one, there has been one instance where a player failed to win. As per stats by ESPN Insights, Clark is the 22nd player to have a 6 or more shots lead in a major tournament.

20 of the previous 21 have gone on to win, except Greg Norman, who suffered a major collapse in the 1996 Masters Tournament. So Clark knows that a huge lead is a good thing to have over Scheffler.

Yeah. Scottie is the best player in the world, and he’s going to play probably really good. He always does, but it’s nice to have a six-shot lead on him.

Wyndham Clark told the reporters

At 7-under 203, Wyndham Clark will carry a six-stroke lead into the final round of the U.S. Open over Scottie Scheffler, Sahith Theegala, Tom Kim and Sam Stevens.

— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) June 21, 2026

Clark has previously experienced a comeback of Scheffler. At the 2024 Players Championship, Clark was among one of the those who were in contention.

On the final hole, he had a brutal birdie putt miss as the ball lipped out. Scheffler thus finished 1-shot ahead of him after starting the day 4-shots behind him and 5 shots behind the leader, Xander Schauffele.

Wyndham Clark hoping to become the 8th golfer to go wire-to-wire at the U.S. Open

Wyndham Clark is eyeing a historic triumph on Sunday. A win would see him become just the 8th golfer to go wire-to-wire at the U.S. Open.

In the long history of this major tournament, only 7 players have been the outright tournament leader from the first round and gone on to win the title. They are Walter Hagen (1914), Jim Barnes (1921), Ben Hogan (1953), Tony Jacklin (1970), Tiger Woods (2000, 2002), Rory McIlroy (2011), and Martin Kaymer (2014).

Wyndham Clark is looking to become the first wire-to-wire U.S. Open champion since Martin Kaymer at Pinehurst in 2014.

— U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 21, 2026

Earlier this week, Clark expressed that he was looking for fan redemption at this tournament. Last year, he lost his cool after missing the cut by 1-shot and destroyed a locker room in a fit of rage. He did apologize for his actions later.

Unless something drastic happens on Sunday, the golfer will likely lift his second U.S. Open title. He will tee off at 2:30 p.m. EDT.

Also Read:

• 15x Major Champion Tiger Woods Seen Grinning After Checking Out of Rehab Program in Switzerland
• Scottie Scheffler Claims Completing Grand Slam Is Not a Motivating Factor for Him at 2026 U.S. Open