U.S. Open Round 3 updates: Wyndham Clark separates late on Moving Day

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. -- The U.S. Open is officially Wyndham Clark's to lose.

Staked to a four-shot lead entering the third round at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, Clark put forth a masterful short-game performance and authored a signature shot on the par-5 16th to break free from his closest pursuers. Clark's even-par 70 kept him at 7-under for the week, and he'll take a six-shot lead over four other players, including Scottie Scheffler, as he looks to lift the U.S. Open trophy for the second time in the last four years.

Our on-site team was documenting the action throughout the day, from the gusty winds that welcomed players in the morning to Clark putting the finishing touches on his round as the sun set. Read below for updates from throughout the day, and be sure to check back on Sunday for more insight as Clark tries to keep Scheffler and others at bay.

8:00 p.m. ET: A short miss for par on No. 18 will cut Wyndham Clark's lead to six, but he's still going to be the man to beat on Sunday. Clark turned in an even-par 70 and, in a week where only five players are currently in red figures, he has yet to be over par for a single round. A second U.S. Open title is within reach, as only Greg Norman (1996 Masters) has coughed up a six-shot lead at a major championship. But in order to finish the job he'll need to stare down the world No. 1, as Scottie Scheffler will join him in the final pairing with his eyes set on completing the career Grand Slam. It's sure to make for a compelling finale here on the shores of Long Island. Alongside Scheffler at 1-under and tied for second are Tom Kim, Sam Stevens and Sahith Theegala.

-- Will Gray

7:30 p.m.: It turns out that Scottie Scheffler didn't even have the best shot of the day on No. 16. That honor belonged to Wyndham Clark, who may have authored his signature moment with a 275-yard approach that bounded in front of the green and rolled to within 5 feet. The subsequent eagle lifted Clark to 8-under and gave him a seven-shot cushion heading into the final 20 holes of the tournament. We're bordering on historic territory now, as only Tiger Woods (2000) and Rory McIlroy (2011) have led by more than seven after 54 holes of a U.S. Open.

-- Will Gray

7:00 p.m.: Two players making the most of an unexpected opportunity this weekend at Shinnecock Hills are Tom Kim and Sahith Theegala. Theegala told reporters after the third round that he wasn't sure he would make the field this week, having missed three of the last five majors, but he was high enough on the FedExCup points list to qualify. Kim, on the other hand, had to go to a 36-hole qualifier in Dallas to punch his ticket to Shinnecock Hills. Each battling through injuries and rough patches of form in recent months, they're now among a select few players in red figures at 1-under as they look to chip away at Wyndham Clark's lead. Theegala has never finished better than T27 in this event, while Kim finished T8 at the 2023 U.S. Open at Los Angeles CC - when Clark lifted the trophy.

-- Will Gray

5:45 p.m.: Scottie Scheffler just hit one of the shots of the tournament, but he couldn't quite pay it off. The world No. 1 hit his approach from 274 yards on the par-5 16th hole to within 15 feet, setting up a two-putt birdie. The eagle would have lifted him to 3-under, but he's still at 2-under and tied for third, four shots behind Wyndham Clark as Clark heads for the back nine. Scheffler has not dropped a shot since No. 2, and the 14-hole stretch of birdie-or-better play is a new career best for him at the U.S. Open. His bid for the final leg of the career Grand Slam remains very much alive.

-- Will Gray

5:15 p.m.: The title bid may be drawing to a close for Rory McIlroy. A 3-foot miss for par on No. 14 was his second short miss in the last three holes. The progress made with his run of three straight birdies on Nos. 5-7 has withered away, as he's back to 1-over for the day and the week. In between the two bogeys on Nos. 12 and 14, he nearly drove the green - uncorking a 354-yard drive into the greenside bunker, but couldn't convert his birdie attempt as his putter has gone cold at just the wrong time. McIlroy finds himself eight shots adrift and moving in the wrong direction in his bid for a second major this year and seventh of his decorated career.

-- Will Gray

4:15 p.m.: This golf course is hard - just ask the leaders. Wyndham Clark opened with a bogey, while Matt Fitzpatrick bogeyed each of his first three holes. Everyone in the last four groups (eight players total) made at least one bogey across Nos. 1-3. There are only nine players still under par for the tournament, with just five players better than 1-under. Chief among them: 2011 U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy, who salvaged par on the difficult par-4 ninth hole despite a wayward tee shot into thick rough. He headlines the group at 2-under that's now tied for third, with Sam Stevens alone in second (3-under) and Clark still setting the pace (6-under) as the leaders head to the fourth tee and the Ulsterman heads for the back nine.

-- Will Gray

3:45 p.m.: Can Wyndham Clark manage the stress of the lead and the test of Shinnecock Hills? We're about to find out. Clark and Matt Fitzpatrick are out on the golf course, both just hitting their first tee shots. Clark was getting loads of positive encouragement from his mental coach, Julie Elion, while out on the range. Managing his mental state will be more important than the swing today.

-- Paul Hodowanic

3:00 p.m.: With the leaders about to tee off, the two biggest names in the chase pack remain stuck in neutral. Scottie Scheffler opened with a pair of bogeys, and at 2-over both for his round (through three holes) and the tournament, he has now fallen outside the top 25 and trails Wyndham Clark by nine shots. It's been a similar story for Rory McIlroy, who dropped a shot on No. 3 after a wayward drive. He's now back to 1-over, both for the day and the week.

-- Will Gray

2:30 p.m.: There's been a fleeting glimpse of red figures on the Moving Day leaderboard, and it's coming from Argentina's Emiliano Grillo. The veteran entered the day at 3-over, 10 shots back, but reeled off four straight birdies on Nos. 6-9 - only the second player to do make four straight birdies this week. That got him to 4-under on the day and 1-under for the tournament. Grillo gave one back at No. 10, but a birdie on No. 16 got him back under par and inside the top 10. Should he maintain his current trajectory over the closing stretch, he's certain to climb the standings this afternoon while watching from the comfort of the Shinnecock Hills clubhouse.

-- Will Gray

2:00 p.m.: It's getting fun now. Scottie Scheffler just teed off. Rory McIlroy is right behind him. The wind is still up, though not as strong as it was this morning. Just got back from chatting with Dylan Wu, who had the worst of it as the first group off. He found it to be playing "very, very tough and that’s what you want in a U.S. Open.” He also said he had to just laugh at some of the "impossible" situations he found himself in on his way to shooting 82. Wu said the greens continued to firm up as the round went along. His 9-iron into the 18th bounded 25 yards. As I've been saying, that will be the defense as the top players get rolling this afternoon.

-- Paul Hodowanic

12:30 p.m.: We've talked a lot about how difficult it is out there, but good scores are still possible. Michael Kim just shot 3-under 32 to rocket up to even-par overall. The wind is already slowing a little bit, and for how difficult Shinnecock is, it's still fair. If you hit fairways and greens, you're going to have a chance to make a birdie. Kim has hit all eight fairways and eight of 10 greens. That's the recipe.

-- Paul Hodowanic

11:30 a.m.: Let's take a quick look at the forecast for the rest of the day. The wind is up right now and gusts were around 40 mph as the first few pairings got rolling. The wind is not expected to remain that intense. As the top part of the leaderboard tees off, winds are expected to sustain between 10-20 mph with gusts ranging from 20-30 mph. That's still enough to cause some issues, but the bigger factor at that point will be the greens. With high winds this morning, the greens are quickening and drying out, and by this afternoon, they could be glassy. That will be the bigger storyline. Expect a lot of tenative puts this afternoon.

-- Paul Hodowanic

11:00 a.m.: Back inside after a glorious two-hour stroll to begin the day. Hard to overemphasize how different it feels out there. It's the gustiest I've felt all week. Thought it could be fun to walk with the first pairing, so that's what I did with Dylan Wu and Jacob Bridgeman. It paid off. Wu hit driver off the first tee, and the ball went only 224 yards. Why? The wind has flipped completely from the first two days, which will make it much tougher. Shinnecock members will tell you that when they get this wind direction, they don't even play. They just hang out in the clubhouse and play cards. Wu found that out quickly. He five-putted the first green and made quadruple bogey, then made bogeys at the second and third holes. He hit the fairway on the fourth, and as he walked off, he proclaimed, "I'm going to break 100 today." As of this writing, Wu is 9-over through eight. Come on, Dylan. Aim higher. You can break 90 today!

-- Paul Hodowanic

10:48 a.m.: It's official, folks. We have our first birdie of the day. It only took 108 minutes of play and 68 total holes. Caleb Surratt made birdie at the par-5 fifth, the first in the field since 8:21 p.m. of Friday's second round.

-- Paul Hodowanic

9:00 a.m.: Here are some of the highlight pairings to follow today.

• 10:17 a.m.: Jackson Koivun (a), Miles Russell (a)
• 10:55 a.m.: Jordan Spieth, Joaquin Niemann
• 11:06 a.m.: Russell Henley, Dustin Johnson
• 11:50 a.m.: Cameron Young, Sungjae Im
• 12:50 p.m.: Ludvig Åberg, Tommy Fleetwood
• 2:01 p.m.: Scottie Scheffler, Brian Harman
• 2:12 p.m.: Rory McIlroy, Maverick McNealy
• 3:23 p.m.: Collin Morikawa, Tom Kim
• 3:34 p.m.: Xander Schauffele, Sam Stevens
• 3:45 p.m. Wyndham Clark, Matt Fitzpatrick

-- Paul Hodowanic