Wyndham Clark, the 2023 U.S. Open champion, will attempt to extend his four-shot advantage when the third round gets underway Saturday at Shinnecock Hills in Southampton, New York. Clark, sitting at seven under par after 36 holes, is scheduled to tee off at 3:45 p.m. ET alongside 2022 U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick.
Fitzpatrick finds himself tied for second place at three under par, sharing that spot on the leaderboard with two-time major winner Xander Schauffele, Sam Stevens, and Tom Kim. Schauffele and Stevens will play together in the second-to-last pairing, teeing off at 3:34 p.m. ET. Kim is paired with two-time major winner Collin Morikawa, with their round beginning at 3:23 p.m. ET.
World number one Scottie Scheffler sits at even par — seven strokes behind Clark — and will need a strong performance to keep his Grand Slam hopes alive. Scheffler tees off at 2:01 p.m. ET alongside fellow American Brian Harman.
Saturday morning’s early pairings got underway following two difficult days of blustery conditions that challenged even the most seasoned players in the field. Among those who didn’t survive the cut was former champion Brooks Koepka, who had made the cut at each of his previous 11 U.S. Open appearances but was unable to advance to the weekend this time. The cut line was set at four over par, with 67 professionals and five amateurs moving on to the final two rounds.
Clark enters Saturday’s round carrying some extra motivation, as he looks to move past an embarrassing locker room incident that occurred at last year’s tournament. However, he faces a notable statistical hurdle: no player who led after the second round at any of the last four U.S. Opens went on to win the championship.
