Wyndham Clark gives himself breathing room with final US Open day ahead

First, Wyndham Clark held off a version of Shinnecock Hills Golf Club that featured a firmer course with faster green speed Saturday.And then, with Scottie Scheffler making a push for history with a strong back nine, Clark gave himself a bit of breathing room from the world No.

1, too.Clark, who won the tournament at L.A.Country Club in 2023 and then took on a villainous role last year when he destroyed a locker at Oakmont Country Club, did everything he could to avoid falling into the Shinnecock tracks that others succumbed to.

He shot even par to sit at 7 under for the weekend, creating the distance he needed to establish a commanding lead with an eagle putt on the 16th hole.He leads Scheffler and a group of others by six shots in a field that features Clark and then a sizable gap before reaching anyone else.“We’ve been battling hard for a few days,” Scheffler said when asked about whether he feels good going into Sunday, “and I did a good job of keeping myself in the tournament.

I’ll need a really nice round [Sunday] if I’m going to try and catch Wyndham.”It was poetic, in a way, that Scheffler said that last sentence.As if he knew what would happen on the 16th hole around an hour after he finished his round, when Clark sank his eagle putt to move to 8 under.

And if anything, Clark demonstrated that his dazzling opening round — when he fired off a 6-under 64 — wasn’t a fluke.He birdied the fifth hole Saturday to gain a stroke, bogeyed the eighth to lose it and then moved back to 7 under with a dazzling second shot on the 14th hole that curled back to within 5 feet of the pin after hitting the green.This wasn’t like Rory McIlroy, who fell out of contention with a 5 over on the back nine to fall to 3 over for the tournament.

This wasn’t like Cameron Young, the world No.3 who stumbled — again — in his latest chance to contend for a first major title.

This wasn’t like Dylan Wu, who four-putted the first hole in the first pairing of...