Scottie Scheffler at Shinnecock Hills on Wednesday – image USGA / Dustin Satloff
It took Rory McIlroy just nearly nine years between his 2014 Open Championship and the 2025 Masters Tournament to complete the Grand Slam of Golf but this week if Scottie Scheffler was able to join six other golfers as Grand Slam Champions then it would have been just under a year since his win at the Open Championship which had him just the US Open short of joining Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlory in completing that feat.
Just over four years ago, in 2022, Scheffler broke through for his first major title when winning the Masters that year. He then won the Masters again in 2024, but he closed in on the Grand Slam when he won the Open and the PGA Championship in 2025, and as the favourite this week at Shinnecock Hills, he could well complete the remarkable milestone in extra quick time.
By his standards, Scheffler is having a lean year, but only by his standards, as a win, three runners-up and two 3rd place finishes would be a dream for any other of the game’s greatest players.
Scheffler spoke earlier this week about the possibility of such a career milestone by the age of 30 (he is actually 30 on Sunday) and had this to say.
“It’s kind of a funny thing. It’s like, yeah, if I win this tournament, that would be amazing, but I think then I show up the next week, and it’s like, okay, now Scottie’s won the grand slam, he’s won all these golf tournaments. Now, where do we go from here?
“So no matter what, I think as a player and as a professional athlete, you’re never going to live up to the expectations of people. I think sometimes that’s a little bit of the fallacy in our sport is like, if I win the U.S. Open, then I’m going to be satisfied. I’ve won all the tournaments, and my career is essentially over, and I’ve accomplished everything I could want to accomplish. But I think the goal posts are always just moved further and further.
“If you took my career from where I was as a college player, I would have extremely overachieved being in this position. I wasn’t the best college player. I had a decent college career, but by no means was I a can’t-miss type of prospect.
“The guys who turned pro at the time were better than me. There were guys, you look at Collin Morikawa and Hovland and Matt Wolff, those guys were winning tournaments immediately when they turned pro, and I had a little bit of a slower burn in terms of the development of my career.
“For me, would it be a dream to win the U.S. Open? Of course. But at the end of the day, like I — the grand slam has never been a motivating factor for me. I always just wanted to be the best version of myself, and that got me this far.
“So when it comes to this golf tournament, like I said, I’m going to step on the first tee and remind myself I’ve done everything I possibly could in order to play well, and now it’s just a matter of going out there and trying to execute and kind of going back to enjoying the competition versus feeling like you have to win for some reason.”
The comments resembled earlier comments on the impact of winning last year’s Open Championship as he tried to keep a lid on expectations, or perhaps he sees golf is only part of his life, along with family and faith and not the be-all and end-all, although I guess it is easy to say that when in his position.
“I always felt like The Open (British) would be one of the hardest ones for me to win because, as I said earlier, I didn’t have a lot of experience playing over there in the UK.
“Growing up, I played a lot of golf here in the States. I didn’t really play much internationally at all. For me, not having the experience on links golf, I would have said that would probably be the most difficult for me to win.
“I always had self-belief. I always believed that I could win golf tournaments out here. I always had that belief in myself that I could accomplish some nice things in the game of golf.”
So how does the world number one (by some margin) rate his game this season?
“I’d say I feel like I’ve been close most of the year. I feel like I just haven’t been as sharp as I needed to be. I think the margins in this game are so small. For me to be winning a lot of tournaments, you’ve got to just be really, really sharp.
“I feel like maybe I’ve just been a touch dull, because I think statistically I think I’m maybe leading the FedExCup, I think I’m leading the strokes gained statistics, so by no means is it a bad year. Is it up to the play I’ve had the previous couple of years? Probably not, but it’s not far off.
“I would say a lot of it is just the sharpness, and that can come from a variety of things. But sometimes, like, I’m either not making the momentum putt, or I make a sloppy bogey somewhere, or I hit an iron shot a touch thin instead of really solid, and all of a sudden it ends up in the bunker, and I make bogey instead of hitting a really good shot and making birdie.
“The margins are just so small, I think in this game. I feel like this year I’ve been what I would describe as close.”
Scheffler outlined his thoughts on Shinnecock Hills, which he is playing competitively for the first occasion, having not qualified for the event in 2018. This will be his 9th US Open Championship with a best of runner-up to Matthew Fitzpatrick in 2022. He was also 3rd in 2023.
“It may look like a links course. I don’t think it really plays like one. Links golf is really interesting in the sense that once you get the ball onto the green, most of the greens are pretty flat and they’re fairly slow compared to these greens, just because you have so many elements. Those golf courses are naturally always firmer as well.
Links golf is one of those things where once you get the ball on the green, it’s actually fairly easy. There’s not a ton of slope on the greens. These, you can be in the middle of the green and be like, ” Wow”, I don’t know how I’m going to two-putt from here. I think it may look like links golf, but doesn’t necessarily play like it.
In all of these shots here, there’s a lot of false fronts on the greens, and it’s not really easy to run it up. On this golf course, the challenge is you still have to play a lot of shots into the air and then control your spin in the wind as well. That’s really the challenge here.
I think links, a lot of times, you can hit just really, really low shots and kind of run it around everywhere. Around this golf course, I’m not really sure that necessarily works. It may, on a couple of holes, but for most of the holes, you’ve still got to be hitting the ball up in the air in order to hold the greens.
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Karis Davidson starts brilliantly at Hazeltine National
Karis Davidson in action during round one – image Scott Taetsch PGA of America
27-year-old Gold Coast golfer, Karis Davidson, continues to make significant strides in her LPGA Tour career, three weeks ago finishing as the joint leading Australian when 22nd at the US Women’s Open in Los Angeles after gaining the last spot in the field there, and, now, producing a stunning opening round of 65 at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in Minnesota.
Beginning her round at the 10th hole of the Hazeltine National Golf Club’s layout, Davidson made the turn in 32 and then added four more birdies and a bogey on her way in to be at 7 under and two shots from the lead of Korean Ina Yoon.
Scottish-born and raised till the age of 13, Davidson, who first joined the LPGA Tour in 2022 after several seasons on the Japan Ladies Tour where she essentially flew a lone Australian flag, has made all of her ten cuts in 2026 on the LPGA Tour, improving some 90 positions in the Rolex World rankings standings as a result.
At the US Women’s Open, Davidson gained a late start as a result of Celine Boutier’s win in the preceding event, opening up an opportunity for a first alternate from qualifying, and Davidson was the lucky recipient. She took full advantage by finishing 22nd and earning the second biggest cheque of her career to date on the LPGA Tour (US$133,000)
I definitely hit a lot of fairways, hit a lot of greens, and my putting was pretty on today,” said Davidson. “Really felt like I was going to hole everything. So it was a pretty perfect round.”
When asked what the difference has been in her very consistent season in 2026, Davidson responded;
“Well, I think — that’s a good question. I think I’ve been working on myself. Like mentally finding out what I enjoy off the course, I think, has really helped me on the course, because now I feel like I can enjoy it more.
“I think I just need to keep enjoying it and just try and hit the best shots I can; just really embrace the experience. I think it’s pretty special to be up top after day one, so I’m just going to embrace it.”
Minjee Lee is the next best of the Australasians at 1 under and tied for 27th, while Hannah Green, Robyn Choi and Grace Kim are at even par.
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Hannah Green enjoying being back at Hazeltine National
Hannah Green – file image – several factors in her favour this week
West Australian Hannah Green is one of four Australians to have won the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, this week’s staging of the event with the now biggest purse in the female game (US$13 million) has special memories for the 29 year old as it was at this venue, the Hazletine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota, where Green prevailed by one shot to win not only her first major title but her first LPGA Tour event.
On Wednesday, Green was asked her thoughts on the week thus far and was in a positive frame of mine when she addressed the media at a venue where she now has a membership.
“Yeah, it’s been great so far. This is actually my first time being back since 2019, which is a little sad. I wish I had come up here and used my membership a little bit more.
“But the course is in great condition. It definitely feels like a major championship test when we come back here. We had a little bit of rain yesterday. I was fortunate to kind of miss that in the morning.
“But the course is looking good, and I feel like my game is in good shape, so hopefully I can play well again and defend this golf course.
“I think it’s nice to come back to venues where we have played before, but also play new ones. Obviously, we’re playing Congressional (next year), all these really amazing golf courses, obviously, here in Hazeltine.
“I’m just going to try and not put too much pressure on myself and kind of suck it up while I’m out there tomorrow morning.
“It’s nice to kind of relive those moments in the practice round. I do hit a lot further than I used to back then. I spoke to someone, and they just said pretty much hit it in every divot that you hit last time, and I said, I hope that I can hit it a little bit further than I used to back in 2019.
“I tend to play well at venues where I’ve had success. I guess you can see that in Wilshire and Sentosa where I’ve won. So I think that has an advantage for me this week, because no matter how I’m perhaps performing, I can kind of use the positive memories in a good way. I think I’ll probably need to use that this week, being a major.
“I’m not typically the most consistent off the tee and hit a lot of fairways, so that’s something I’ve been working on with my coach, who is here with me this week to get ready. I do feel like I hit it further than I did in 2019, so that will be helpful.
“But I putted really, really well that week, and I think that’s kind of the key here at Hazeltine. Yes, you want to hit fairways and greens, but I think they’re quite tricky to read. So making sure you leave yourself as many uphill putts as possible will probably be a big difference versus a downhill putt, so hopefully I can do that this week.”
When Green did win in 2019 she became the 29th-ranked player in the female game, but having added seven further LPGA Tour titles since. she is the 8th-ranked player entering this week, thanks to a great start to 2026 when winning twice in Australia, once in Asia and once in Los Angeles.
Green has not played as well in recent weeks as she did earlier in the year, but she has not played badly all the same, and given the background she has at the venue and the significantly greater standing she enjoys in the game, she must be a consideration to contend again at Hazeltine National Golf Club.
Hannah Green has a 8.17 tee time on day one.
Can Minjee Lee or Hannah Green add to Australian KPMG PGA success?
Seven Australians and one New Zealander will tee it up in this week’s 3rd major of the year in women’s golf, the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, now established as the richest tournament in women’s golf, with prizemoney boosted to US$13 million (the largest purse in the women’s game).
Hannah Green, Minjee Lee, New Zealand’s Lydia Ko, Grace Kim, Karis Davidson, Cassie Porter, Robyn Choi, and Gabi Ruffels get the chance to tee it up and compete for a portion of that lucrative purse.
The Hazeltine Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota, hosts the event for the second time, having first hosted the championship in 2019, when Hannah Green defeated Sung Hyun Park by one shot to win her first and only major to date.
Green has, of course, been in fine form in 2026, more especially earlier in the year when she won four titles in Australia, Asia and the USA. As a result of that great start to the year, Green reached an all-time high of #5 in the Rolex Rankings, but since she has slipped to 8th, although given her standing in the game and obvious love of Hazeltine Golf Club, she must be considered a good chance to contend again.
Minjee Lee arrives as the defending champion, having defeated Channettee Wannasaen and Auston Kim by three shots last year. Lee also finished runner-up to In Gee Chun in 2022.
“I mean, really, the only thing that I remember mostly is the heat and the wind,” said Lee when asked to look back on last year. “I just remember it being such a gruelling week, and for it to be a long week, it went by really quickly, I think just because it was so hot, and I was really tired after every day.
“Also I remember holding that trophy come Sunday. So it was very nice to have all my family and my friends there celebrating with me afterwards, too.”
Lee has not recorded a top twenty in her last five starts this season, so there is concern as to her current form.
Lydia Ko played the event well in her earlier years on the LPGA Tour, recording a 2nd and 3rd place finish, but in more recent years, she has had just one top ten in her last nine starts. Ko’s form has been mixed in recent starts, with two missed cuts in her last four, but a solid 10th-place finish here in 2019 suggests she could do better this week.
Grace Kim played well in Michigan last week when she finished tied for 7th, and she does have a major championship to her name, albeit a lesser one. But while her most recent starts have been encouraging, it is hard to imagine the Sydneysider contending for this title.
Cassie Porter continues to establish herself on the LPGA Tour, finishing an impressive 5th last week in Michigan. She has three top tens on the LPGA Tour this season, and while contention in a major might be a little beyond her at present, she is on track for that to be a reality in the future. She is a much better and more experienced player than was the case when she missed the cut on debut in the event last year.
Karis Davidson has played well in recent weeks and was the leading Australasian, along with Grace Kim, when 22nd at the US Women’s Open and played well when 12th in Michigan last week.
Robyn Choi and Gabi Ruffels round out the numbers amongst the Australasians, Ruffels struggling with her game in 2026, while Choi has mixed her form this year with several missed cuts but a top ten a few weeks ago. Choi has missed the cut in her two starts in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
Perhaps surprisingly, Stephanie Kyriacou has not made the field, her disappointing year on the LPGA Tour in 2026, where she has missed 9 of 12 cuts after a great start to the year, when winning a Webex Series event in Sydney, working against her chances of playing the event.
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Hazeltine National Golf Club – image PGA of America / Gary Kellner
Wyndham Clark holds on grimly to win 2nd US Open title
A second US Open trophy, three years after his first – image Jeff Haynes USGA
Wyndham Clark took a six-shot lead into today’s final round of the US Open at Shinnecock Hills and would eventually emerged as the one-shot winner over Sam Burns, with another two shots back to Tom Kim, while Scottie Scheffler, J.T Proston and Keith Mitchell tied for 4th, one shot behind Kim.
Leading wire to wire (leading after each of the four rounds), Clark becomes the ninth player to do so in the history of the US Open. Martin Kaymer, Rory McIlory, and Tiger Woods (twice) are the only other players to do so in the last 55 years.
“Man, I mean, the first one was amazing, and this one seems even better,” said Clark, referring to this being his second win in the championship. “I think especially after such a sour taste last year in this championship, to have some redemption and win this again is — I mean, gosh, it’s almost surreal.”
“To be honest, I was really frustrated that I made some bogeys coming in,” said Clark, referring to his slow finish on Saturday. “I did everything I could to get over that because I thought I could have been, you know, at 9-, 10-under, which would have been a little better of a cushion with the best players in the world right behind me.
“Then this morning it’s just the anticipation. You have a pit in your stomach, and you just can’t wait to get out there. So it’s nerve-wracking, but once you get inside the ropes, you kind of get into your business. I kind of took care of business a little bit.”
Large margins can be problematic for a leader, as Clark would quickly find out on an increasingly firming layout. With dropped shots by him at the 1st and 5th holes, he found himself just two clear of Burns, who was seeking redemption from losing a 54-hole lead himself twelve months ago and made a fast start today.
The margin was reduced to just one when Clark bogeyed the 7th, but Clark hit a stunning approach to the 10th and holed from 4 feet to move two clear again.
Ahead on the golf course, Burns was seemingly the only danger to Clark as challenges from those further behind came and went, but when Burns bogeyed the 15th, the margin had increased to three before Clark bogeyed the 13th for the lead to be just two.
Burns birdied the par-5 16th from 18 feet, and the margin was just one. Burns great final round effort continued with excellent shots to both the 17th and 18th, but he was unable to convert putts from 10 and 15 feet at both, and when Clark, after an extraordinary escape from the rough at the 16th, holed a 25-foot downhill for birdie, he led by two.
Clark found the green at the 17th but was left with a lengthy 65-foot birdie putt. He ran his first putt to 5 feet, and when he missed his par-saving attempt, the margin was just one ahead of Burns, who had completed his round more than 30 minutes earlier.
Clark teed off at the 72nd hole with a one-shot lead but found the right rough. The lie was, however, good enough for him to find the green, albeit 60 feet from the hole. He needed a two-putt par to secure his second US Open Championship title, and when he ran his approach putt within a foot of the hole, the job was all but done.
Clark will move from 34th in the world ranking to inside the top ten perhaps as high as 8th when the revised rankings are announced later today but not only is it this win that signifies his return to the level of golf which has seen him as high as 3rd previously, it has been an excellent run of foirm generally in recent weeks which has seen him win the Byron Nelson and finish 3rd in the Memorial in recent starts.
Clark’s accidental meeting with new coach Pat Coyner earlier this year has yielded some very special results and guarantees the 32-year-old yet another Ryder Cup appearance after first being on the US team in 2023.
Clark not only had to battle a fast-finishing Sam Burns but also a rather hostile New York crowd, and he had this to say on the matter.
“Man, they definitely didn’t want me to win. It’s pretty rare in an Open Championship or a major to have fans kind of boo against your shots or cheer for bad shots.
“Yeah, I mean, that was tough, but I also like — I mean, sometimes being the underdog is nice. I was in ’23, and I kind of did the same thing. Anytime someone said something negative to me, I replaced it with something positive. You know, some of it’s self-deserved. I kind of brought it on myself, but I also get it, too. Scottie was going for the career Grand Slam, and it hasn’t happened very often.
“Yeah, it was tough, but I’m proud of myself that I battled through. I mean, things really could have gotten away from me. I stood tough. Yeah, I would have liked to have won by more, but as long as you win, it doesn’t matter.”
The performance of the week outside that of the wire-to-wire winner, Clark, was undoubtedly that of Chilean Joaquin Niemann, who, after a round of 78 on Thursday, which included two balls out of bounds and a two-shot penalty for club throwing at the 6th hole, he finished with rounds of 65, 72 and 66 to eventually finish in a share of 7th place. Simply stunning.
“I was not trying to offend anyone,” said Niemann, referring to his club throwing penalty. “I think it was something more — it was more something kind of like against me. I was frustrated. I had my expectations, which are always super high. I was playing good golf. I knew it was going to be a tough week, a long week, a challenging week.
“After seeing that and knowing that the best score I could do was an 8, it kind of frustrated me a lot. I’m not happy doing that. I’m not proud about throwing a golf club. I get I deserve it in a way; I don’t know. But there’s nothing I can do. I feel like I learned from it.”
“The only Australasian to make the cut was Ryan Fox, whose final round of 68 saw him leap 24 places to finish in a share of 23rd. A bogey at the last after a missed 9-foot par putt cost Fox his best US Open finish (previous best 19th), but it was an impressive effort all the same.
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Wyndham Clark – is six shots enough at Shinnecock Hills?
Wyndham Clark will take a six-shot lead into tomorrow’s final round of the US Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, Long Island, after a missed four-foot par putt on the last hole gave his closest pursuers perhaps a glimmer of hope.
Clark, who led by three after the first round, four after 36 holes and now six, bogeyed the opening hole today. Sam Stevens, playing in the group ahead and starting four shots back, birdied the first to cut the gap to two.
That was as close as the chasers came in round three. Clark reached the turn in one-over 36, then produced a superb display of par-saving golf before moving to eight under for the tournament at the par-five 16th, where his 250-yard approach finished four feet from the hole and he converted for eagle, the first of the week at that hole
Clark’s 36-hole challengers had largely fallen away by the time he stood over his second shot from the rough on the 18th with a seven-shot lead. A three-putt from the edge of the green reduced the margin to six, but he still left the course in firm control.
Clark was visibly frustrated with his play after his missed par putt at the last, but he had composed himself by the time he reached the media centre.
“It was very up and down, holy smokes,” he said. “I hit some good shots; I hit some terrible shots. I was a little frustrated with some of the execution.
“At the end of the day, I improved my lead, which is awesome, and I shot even par on a very tough golf course.”
“The more time passes after the round, the more accepting I am of some of the mistakes I made. Overall, it was a good day.
“I’ve become much better at moving on, treating each shot as its own challenge rather than dwelling on how I got there. Now I focus on the shot in front of me, embrace the challenge and try to hit the best shot I can.”
“That is huge in golf. In the past, especially when I was playing poorly, I let previous shots or holes affect the next one. Improving that has probably helped me the most.”
Leads of this size can be difficult to manage, with players often unsure whether to protect the advantage or keep pushing. Clark has been in contention before, although when he won at Los Angeles Country Club in 2023, he was tied for the lead after 54 holes before beating Rory McIlroy by one shot.
Clark must now manage a six-shot lead while playing alongside one of his nearest challengers in tomorrow’s final round: world number one Scottie Scheffler.
“Scottie is the best player in the world, and he is probably going to play very well,” Clark said. “He always does, but it is nice to have a six-shot lead on him.”
“I’m going to keep approaching it the same way. If I execute, stick to my process and hit the shots I know I can hit, I like my chances.”
“We’ll address that when we get to it. I’m not focused on my lead; it is more about reaching a number that I believe will give me a strong chance.”
Several players remain within reach if Clark falters tomorrow. Eleven are between six and eight shots off the lead and a strong under par finishing round might just put the cat amongst the pigeons in the event of Clark struggles.
Scottie Scheffler emerged with a back nine of 32 today as seemingly Clark’s biggest threat. Scheffler opened with consecutive bogeys but put together an outstanding back nine, which could have been so much better and the final day even more intriguing but for two missed putts from inside 6 feet at the 17th and 18th.
I mean, I’d rather be leading (laughing),” said Scheffler when asked his thoughts about tomorrow.
“No, I mean, after three days, like I said, I’ve been — we’ve been battling hard for a few days, and I did a good job of keeping myself in the tournament. I’ll need a really nice round tomorrow if I’m going to try and catch Wyndham.
“I have an opportunity to go out there and have a great round and give myself a chance to win the tournament.”
Not only is it Father’s Day tomorrow, but it is Scheffler’s 30th birthday, and whether he can celebrate both occasions with a victory remains to be seen.
It might seem like a fait accompli tomorrow, but strange things happen on Sunday in major championship golf and tomorrow might yet be a fight to the finish.
Before this week, 21 players have had a 6+ shot lead entering the final round of a major championship. Twenty went on to win. The exception is Greg Norman at the 1996 Masters (shot 78 in the final round and lost to Nick Faldo by five strokes).
Ryan Fox, the only Australasian to make the weekend, lost virtually no ground with his round of 74 to be at 7 over and tied for 47th.
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Joaquin Niemann’s bizzare Friday at Shinnecock Hills
Joaquin Niemann – rebounded from hissy fit – image Australian Golf Media
One of the more bizarre stories to come out of day two of the US Open at Shinnecock Hills was that of Chilean Joaquin Niemann, who late in his opening round on Thursday, recorded a quintuple bogey 9 at his 15th hole, but unfortunately, that would not be the end of the story for the 27-year-old.
Niemann’s two out-of-bounds tee shots meant he was playing his 6th shot to the par 4, and when that came up short of the green, he expressed his frustration by throwing a club in disgust.
After completing his round on Friday morning (he was caught up in the suspension of play for darkness on Thursday), he was approached by a USGA official who advised Niemann he would incur a two-shot penalty for an infringement of a rule introduced recently for major championship golf. Thus, the score of 9 became 11 and Niemann signed for an opening round of 78.
The LIV Golf player could have been forgiven for feeling his chances of making the weekend were gone, but, with five birdies in his first six holes in round two, he eventually finished with a round of 65, and at 3 over for the championship, he has finished safely inside the cutline in 46th place.
“I mean, I hit it two times out of bounds on the right, two bad swings, said Niemann. “Then, yeah, got pretty frustrated. I’m not someone that like to be in that behavior. I’m the first one to judge myself when I don’t behave on the golf course.
“Yeah, that was a misbehave from my part. I felt like a little bit extra penalized with two-shot penalty, but I think it is what it is. I think I’m going to learn from it. It definitely kind of helped me a little bit to have a better round today.
“I hit two terrible tee shots, came out of nowhere. Hitting the golf ball at 8:30 p.m., I felt like my body wasn’t quite there. Yeah, I had a bad lie on the third tee shot in between the fairways, and it was a pretty bad lie.
“I saw a lot of ants there, and I was just asking the referee if they were fire ants, and like, he say, no. To be honest, I was pretty — I wasn’t angry asking him. I was pretty normal, pretty chill, because I knew I needed to keep going and try to shoot the less possible.
“After that shot, I hit it, I lay up, and the whole frustration went inside me. I think they blew the horn already. I’m not sure if they did or not, but after I hit that shot, yeah, I was — like all the frustration that came inside me and had my club in my hand, and I couldn’t resist to throw it away.
“Yeah, I mean, I was looking around. There were no people, obviously. No one there. I’m not proud of it, but yeah, I mean, sometimes, you know, all the expectation of trying to play well and things don’t go your way, you get frustrated, and that was me there.
“I mean, obviously, I finished my round this morning. I had three holes left. Signed my scorecard, and then a referee came up to me and said, I need to talk to you. I was, like, sure. I knew I had misbehaved, but I feel like everybody had some, and it’s never going to anything major like a two-shot penalty, you know?
“So, yeah, I mean, he started talking to me. They considered with the whole committee that it was the right decision to give me a two-shot penalty, which I was trying to argue back and try to not get the two-shot penalty.
“But, yeah, I mean, it’s their decision, and I feel like, yeah, I wouldn’t be happy seeing players throwing clubs and behaving that way so yeah, I mean, I agree.”
Niemann’s rebound and attitude have to be admired, given that he likely felt his 2026 US Open campaign was over for the two-time PGA Tour event winner and the 2023 Australian Open Champion. It is highly unlikely, but who knows, a couple more rounds of 65 and who knows just where he might end up.
Wouldn’t that be a story?
Clark extends lead at Shinnecock Hills – Fox safely makes weekend
Wyndham Clark surveying a putt today – image Dustin Satlof USGA
2023 Champion, Wyndham Clark, has control of the US Open at Shinnecock Hills, returning to the course early this morning to complete his opening round of 64 and then adding a second round of 69 to be at 7 under and ahead by four.
Clark was up at 4.00 am to complete his round after play had been called late in his opening round at 8.30pm on Thursday.
He finished off his opening round with pars to finish with his round of 64 to lead by three over Mathew Fitzpatrick and Gary Woodland, and then, after a slow start to his second round, put together a second round of 69, including a 25-foot birdie putt at the last, to lead by four over Matthew Fitzpatrick and Xander Schauffele when he walked off the course.
Later, Sam Stevens and Tom Kim joined the group at 3 under and four off the lead, with Collin Morikawa another shot back.
Only eleven players are under par at the halfway stage, but a massive 34 players are within just four shots of the lead, and so, subject to Clark’s performance over the weekend, so many of that group must still feel they are very much in the hunt.
Included in that large group are Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy at even par, both no doubt feeling that, although seven from the lead, they are very much in contention for a second US Open in the case of McIlroy and the chance to complete the Grand Slam for Scheffler.
Ryan Fox – in action during today’s second round – image Dustin Satloff USGA
Of the six Australasians who teed it up on Thursday, only one, Ryan Fox, has made it to the weekend, the New Zealander adding one late birdie on his return to the course this morning to finish his opening round and then completing a second round of 73 to be at 3 over and tied for 46th and safely inside the cutline of 4 over par.
An agonising four-putt double bogey at his 7th hole on day two put paid to an otherwise impressive effort, but he is still well enough placed given the congestion amongst the field, Clark aside.
Cameron Smith and Lucas Herbert are at 6 over, Min Woo Lee at 7 over, and Adam Scott at 8 over. Jason Day was forced to withdraw halfway through his opening round with back issues.
Clark is steadily rebuilding his reputation after one or two temper tantrums on the golf course, including at last year’s US Open, when he missed the cut by one and took his anger out on the locker room at Oakmont.
“Yeah, I’ve gotten a lot of grief since last year, rightfully so,” said the leader. “The unfortunate thing is that’s not who I am, what happened last year.
“I’m hoping I can win back the fans that I had or some new fans because it was a terrible incident. You know, I really feel like I can show people that I’m fun and outgoing, I’m fierce, competitive, love the game, respect the game, and I just had a bad moment. Hopefully, I can win those people back.
“Yeah, I definitely feel like I’m in a better place. Hopefully a great weekend and a great rest of the year, maybe I’ll gain all those fans back.
“I was on top of the world in my game at least when I won the U.S. Open and then had some good years. Then the next thing you know, I’m apologizing for breaking a locker the year later.
“I just think with the mental game there’s ebbs and flows. If you think of it as climbing Everest, sometimes you go up, sometimes you have to go down to go back up.
“I think that’s kind of what happens both on the golf course and off the golf course. Right now I’m trending back up, which is nice. So, yeah, I kind of look at it that way.
Clark seemingly lost his way after his major championship breakthrough at the Los Angeles Golf Club but pays a lot of credit to his improved play of late to meeting his coach, Patrick Coyner, earlier this year.
His most recent results, which have included a win at the Byron Nelson and a 3rd place at the Memorial, tell the story of his game getting back to where it was.
“Well, Pat, it’s pretty crazy,” added Clark. “I’ve been on my own for three years with my golf swing, and I just got a membership at Cherry Hills. Pat just started working there as an instructor. I didn’t really know him. I kind of knew a lot of people — kind of knew of him.
“I was hitting balls one day and just asked him, like, hey, what do you think? He goes, honestly, I mean, I look at a few things that how you’re swinging in ’23 and ’22, and you’re way longer, you’re kind of cupped, your wrist isn’t flat, X, Y, and Z. He goes, if we could just get you back to ’23 by the start of January 1, like some of those moves, and then continue to get better as the year goes on, and he’s done that.
“I mean, I’ve gained so much control with my irons. Now I think of myself as a good iron player. Now I’m starting to hit driver a lot straighter.
“So if I can hit it in the fairway, I feel like I’m pretty deadly.”
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Cassie Porter shares second place in Michigan
Queensland’s Cassie Porter, playing her second season on the LPGA Tour, is just one off the pace at the halfway stage of the Meijer LPGA Classic, the 23-year-old adding a second round of 68 to her opening 67 to be alongside brilliant English rookie, Lottie Woad, and one behind Jing Yang.
Porter’s best finish in 33 starts to date on the LPGA Tour was 4th in China early in her rookie season, and she also finished 5th earlier this season at the Fortinet Founders Cup. This weekend provides the opportunity for a potential breakthrough win for Porter, who gained access to the LPGA Tour via the Epson Tour in 2024.
“I think obviously we all have one goal in mind, and, I mean, you’re not holding the trophy, you know what I mean, on a Saturday.
“So I’ve got nothing to defend. I don’t have a position to uphold. It’s just I’m going to play the best golf I can and see where that lands me on Sunday afternoon.
“I’m just looking at the big picture. That’s kind of my thing, just being able to stay grounded. As long as I do all I can and what’s in my control, that’s all I can really do. I can’t really control how other people play or the conditions.
“So, yeah, just taking each moment, each shot as it comes. As I said, see how that places us on Sunday afternoon.”
Of the other Australians, Grace Kim is at 4 under and tied for 21st, Karis Davidson at 3 under and Hannah Green and Minjee Lee at 2 under.
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Wyndham Clark leads disrupted opening round at Shinnecock Hills
Every reason to be smiling after his impressive start – Wyndham Clark – image USGA/Logan Whitton
At 8.25 pm local time, round one of the 2026 US Open at Shinnecock Hills was suspended due to darkness, play having been delayed for two hours much earlier in the day when fog caused the suspension of play after play had been under way for just 30 minutes or so.
When play was called, Wyndham Clark had saved par from a bunker to the left of the 7th green (his 16th hole of the day) to remain at 6 under par, and he headed to the clubhouse with, still, two holes to play, holding a four-shot lead over a large group at 2 under, four of whom had yet to finish their opening rounds.
Amongst that group at 2 under were four former US Open champions, namely Dustin Johnson who had just double bogeyed his 15th hole, Matthew Fitzpatrick who has 12 feet left for a possible birdie at his 16th hole when he returns tomorrow, Gary Woodland who has a 30 footer for birdie at his 16th hole and Jon Rahm who is playing the 14th hole and is 74 yards from the hole with his 3rd shot at the par 5.
So things might change when those yet to finish return to the course early on Friday morning, but Clark has been simply brilliant in his opening round effort.
Making the turn at 3 under 32, Clark bogeyed his 11th hole, but then came two birdies and an eagle in his next three and with two holes to play, his four-shot lead might even be extended when he completes his round.
“Obviously, getting off to a great start was good,” said Clark. “Birdieing the first two was really nice. Then I kind of had a little bit of a lull, but made some great par saves. It was great birdieing 18 (his 9th).
“Then a little mishap, missed a shorty on 1 and then a bogey on 2, but then got into a nice rhythm. Yeah, everything was kind of clicking. We were definitely fortunate with the wind laying down. Overall, a good round.
“I would say when I got my tee times on Tuesday, I was like, oh, it could be a tough draw. That two-hour fog delay was very helpful, and it was really nice it laid down. So it definitely helped those last six, seven holes we played.”
There are several other heavyweights at 1 under and five from the lead including Rory McIlroy who faced the force of the winds through much of his round of 69. When he finished his round, it appeared that he might very well be amongst the day one leaders before the winds lessened later in the day and the demanding layout became just a little bit more generous.
Ryan Fox heads the Australasians at this stage – image USGA
The leading Australasian at this stage is Ryan Fox, who was putting together an impressive opening effort when he fought his way to 1 under through 12 holes before bogeys at his 15th and 16th holes and a par at the 17th had him at 1 over and in a share of 29th with one hole to play on Friday morning.
Adam Scott, playing his 100th consecutive major, finished with a round of 73 to be at 3 over and in a share of 76th, shares the second leading Australasian position with Min Woo Lee, who has four holes to play in round one tomorrow.
Lucas Herbert finished with 74, Cameron Smith 75 and Jason Day was forced to withdraw with a back injury after playing several holes.
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Scottie Scheffler ambivalent on Grand Slam glory
Scottie Scheffler at Shinnecock Hills on Wednesday – image USGA / Dustin Satloff
It took Rory McIlroy just nearly nine years between his 2014 Open Championship and the 2025 Masters Tournament to complete the Grand Slam of Golf but this week if Scottie Scheffler was able to join six other golfers as Grand Slam Champions then it would have been just under a year since his win at the Open Championship which had him just the US Open short of joining Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlory in completing that feat.
Just over four years ago, in 2022, Scheffler broke through for his first major title when winning the Masters that year. He then won the Masters again in 2024, but he closed in on the Grand Slam when he won the Open and the PGA Championship in 2025, and as the favourite this week at Shinnecock Hills, he could well complete the remarkable milestone in extra quick time.
By his standards, Scheffler is having a lean year, but only by his standards, as a win, three runners-up and two 3rd place finishes would be a dream for any other of the game’s greatest players.
Scheffler spoke earlier this week about the possibility of such a career milestone by the age of 30 (he is actually 30 on Sunday) and had this to say.
“It’s kind of a funny thing. It’s like, yeah, if I win this tournament, that would be amazing, but I think then I show up the next week, and it’s like, okay, now Scottie’s won the grand slam, he’s won all these golf tournaments. Now, where do we go from here?
“So no matter what, I think as a player and as a professional athlete, you’re never going to live up to the expectations of people. I think sometimes that’s a little bit of the fallacy in our sport is like, if I win the U.S. Open, then I’m going to be satisfied. I’ve won all the tournaments, and my career is essentially over, and I’ve accomplished everything I could want to accomplish. But I think the goal posts are always just moved further and further.
“If you took my career from where I was as a college player, I would have extremely overachieved being in this position. I wasn’t the best college player. I had a decent college career, but by no means was I a can’t-miss type of prospect.
“The guys who turned pro at the time were better than me. There were guys, you look at Collin Morikawa and Hovland and Matt Wolff, those guys were winning tournaments immediately when they turned pro, and I had a little bit of a slower burn in terms of the development of my career.
“For me, would it be a dream to win the U.S. Open? Of course. But at the end of the day, like I — the grand slam has never been a motivating factor for me. I always just wanted to be the best version of myself, and that got me this far.
“So when it comes to this golf tournament, like I said, I’m going to step on the first tee and remind myself I’ve done everything I possibly could in order to play well, and now it’s just a matter of going out there and trying to execute and kind of going back to enjoying the competition versus feeling like you have to win for some reason.”
The comments resembled earlier comments on the impact of winning last year’s Open Championship as he tried to keep a lid on expectations, or perhaps he sees golf is only part of his life, along with family and faith and not the be-all and end-all, although I guess it is easy to say that when in his position.
“I always felt like The Open (British) would be one of the hardest ones for me to win because, as I said earlier, I didn’t have a lot of experience playing over there in the UK.
“Growing up, I played a lot of golf here in the States. I didn’t really play much internationally at all. For me, not having the experience on links golf, I would have said that would probably be the most difficult for me to win.
“I always had self-belief. I always believed that I could win golf tournaments out here. I always had that belief in myself that I could accomplish some nice things in the game of golf.”
So how does the world number one (by some margin) rate his game this season?
“I’d say I feel like I’ve been close most of the year. I feel like I just haven’t been as sharp as I needed to be. I think the margins in this game are so small. For me to be winning a lot of tournaments, you’ve got to just be really, really sharp.
“I feel like maybe I’ve just been a touch dull, because I think statistically I think I’m maybe leading the FedExCup, I think I’m leading the strokes gained statistics, so by no means is it a bad year. Is it up to the play I’ve had the previous couple of years? Probably not, but it’s not far off.
“I would say a lot of it is just the sharpness, and that can come from a variety of things. But sometimes, like, I’m either not making the momentum putt, or I make a sloppy bogey somewhere, or I hit an iron shot a touch thin instead of really solid, and all of a sudden it ends up in the bunker, and I make bogey instead of hitting a really good shot and making birdie.
“The margins are just so small, I think in this game. I feel like this year I’ve been what I would describe as close.”
Scheffler outlined his thoughts on Shinnecock Hills, which he is playing competitively for the first occasion, having not qualified for the event in 2018. This will be his 9th US Open Championship with a best of runner-up to Matthew Fitzpatrick in 2022. He was also 3rd in 2023.
“It may look like a links course. I don’t think it really plays like one. Links golf is really interesting in the sense that once you get the ball onto the green, most of the greens are pretty flat and they’re fairly slow compared to these greens, just because you have so many elements. Those golf courses are naturally always firmer as well.
Links golf is one of those things where once you get the ball on the green, it’s actually fairly easy. There’s not a ton of slope on the greens. These, you can be in the middle of the green and be like, ” Wow”, I don’t know how I’m going to two-putt from here. I think it may look like links golf, but doesn’t necessarily play like it.
In all of these shots here, there’s a lot of false fronts on the greens, and it’s not really easy to run it up. On this golf course, the challenge is you still have to play a lot of shots into the air and then control your spin in the wind as well. That’s really the challenge here.
I think links, a lot of times, you can hit just really, really low shots and kind of run it around everywhere. Around this golf course, I’m not really sure that necessarily works. It may, on a couple of holes, but for most of the holes, you’ve still got to be hitting the ball up in the air in order to hold the greens.
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