One Bad Throw, Two Shots

Hello friends. Wyndham Clark spent Sunday hearing a crowd that did not sound like it wanted him to win.

He won anyway. But the jeers were non stop.

-Harry Carlisle

IN TODAY’S NEWSLETTER we’ll get into:

Clark heard all of it

Wyndham Clark won his second U.S. Open in four years, but Sunday at Shinnecock did not feel like a normal coronation.

He started the final round with a six-shot lead. After five holes, the lead was down to one.

He closed with a 73 and still won by one over Sam Burns.

Clark also became a wire-to-wire U.S. Open winner, which means he led after every round. That sounds comfortable. This was not comfortable

The strange part is the crowd jeered him almost non stop.

Reports said multiple spectators were removed, including one who yelled “Don’t choke Wyndham.” Others cheered Clark’s mistakes while Scottie Scheffler’s Grand Slam chase got the louder support.

There’s a running joke on X right now. Bryson Dechambeau has moved one step closer to the sport’s least wanted Tiger Slam: not holding all four majors at once, but missing the cut in all four. He’s at three straight.

The 17-year-old got the weekend

Miles Russell did more than make his first U.S. Open cut.

The 17-year-old became the second-youngest male amateur since World War II to make the cut at the U.S. Open.

Then Sunday gave the week its best family moment.

On the 18th hole, Russell handed the bag to his dad, Joe, and let him carry it the rest of the way as a Father’s Day surprise.

That worked because a player is allowed to change caddies during a round, as long as he only has one caddie at a time and is not doing it just to get advice.

Russell’s first vivid golf memory was Tiger Woods winning the 2019 Masters. Six years later, his dad was carrying the bag for him at Shinnecock.

That’s a pretty good first major.

When your swing gets quick, try one simple test: picture Ernie Els.

Els was nicknamed “The Big Easy” because his swing looked unhurried, even when he was hitting it hard. That’s the point. Good tempo does not mean swinging slowly. It means the backswing, transition, and downswing stay connected.

Most amateur swings get into trouble when the top of the backswing turns into a panic button.

Try this: Before your next tee shot, make one practice swing where you literally say “Er-nie” as the club goes back, then “Els” as the club swings through. It gives the swing a simple rhythm.

Miyu Yamashita won the Meijer LPGA Classic in a playoff at Blythefield Country Club.

The sharpest detail was the putt that got her there.

Lottie Woad had a 3-foot par putt on 18 to win in regulation. It lipped out. Then Yamashita won the playoff with a 3-footer of her own on the first extra hole.

LPGA money jump: The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship raised its purse to $13 million, passing the U.S. Women’s Open and setting a new high mark for women’s golf.

This week’s Golf Mini is called Roles.

Play the mini crossword →

Niemann’s two-shot penalty actually mattered: Joaquín Niemann finished tied for seventh at +1, but his first-round club throw cost him two shots. The penalty turned his 9 on No. 6 into an 11. Without those two shots, he finishes -1 and ties Tom Kim for third. That is a very clear receipt for one bad reaction.

Keith Mitchell broke even four times: Mitchell shot 70-70-70-70, becoming the first player in U.S. Open history to shoot even par in all four rounds. The first one was the strangest: he started 41-29, which means one nine over 40 and the other under 30 in the same round.

Low amateur was split: Ryder Cowan and Jackson Koivun shared low amateur honors. Low amateur means the best finisher among players who have not turned pro. Koivun now leaves amateur golf with a U.S. Open medal before his pro debut.

Scottie’s Grand Slam wait continues: Scottie Scheffler needed the U.S. Open to complete the career Grand Slam. He finished tied for fourth, which sounds strong until you remember he was chasing the one major he still does not have.