bogey

Not even Shinnecock Hills and its strongest test of the week in the U.S. Open could match the toughness of Wyndham Clark on Saturday.

Clark had a collection of par saves around the turn as Scottie Scheffler was making a move and poured it on with a fairway metal to get within four feet for eagle on the par-five 16th for an even-par 70 that gave him a six-shot lead.

No one has lost more than a five-shot lead in 125 previous editions of golf’s toughest test. Greg Norman in the 1996 Masters is the only player to lose a six-shot lead in any major.

Shinnecock Hills did its part, even after the strongest wind subsided. Only two players broke par in the third round — Emiliano Grillo in 30 mph wind before the leaders teed off, and Scheffler with a 69.

Clark nearly joined them. After all his great saves, he missed a five-foot par putt on the final hole and finished at seven-under 203, the lowest 54-hole score ever at Shinnecock Hills.

Now he has one more round to add another U.S. Open title to the one he captured at Los Angeles Country Club in 2023. At his side will be Scheffler, the No. 1 player in the world, trying to turn Sunday into a most magical day.

Scottie Scheffler watches his shot on the first hole during the third round of the U.S. Open on Saturday at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club.

(David J. Phillip / Associated Press)

At stake for Scheffler is a chance — a long shot at that — to complete the career Grand Slam, on Father’s Day, which happens to be his 30th birthday.

“There’s a lot of stuff going on,” Scheffler said with a smile in his interview with NBC. “A special day. The tournament means a lot to me. Going to go out there and try to do my best and execute. I’ve been fighting like heck all week to stay in this tournament.”

Scheffler, who fell nine shots behind with a pair of bogeys at the start, shot 32 on the back nine by chipping in from 65 feet on the 14th for the start of three straight birdies. His one big lament was missing a 4-foot birdie putt on the final hole.

He moved into the last group when Shinnecock Hills did a number on everyone else.

Sam Stevens, who closed within two shots of Clark on the front, started the back nine with three straight bogeys and closed with six straight pars for a 72. Tom Kim dropped two shots at the wrong time and shot 72. Sahith Theegala had one birdie, one bogey and 16 pars for a 70. That usually works at any U.S. Open, particularly this one.

All of them were at one-under 209, leaving only five players under par.

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — Aaron Rai shifted into high gear Sunday and pulled away from a world-class field with one amazing shot after another until he became the first English-born player in more than a century to capture the PGA Championship.

Rai, who dreamed of being a Formula 1 driver until he turned to golf as a boy, was three shots behind and approaching the turn at Aronimink Golf Club when he delivered a performance worthy of a major champion.

He made a 40-foot eagle putt on the par-5 ninth during a stretch when he one-putted seven straight greens to take the lead.

And on the closing holes when the contenders needed him to stumble, Rai holed a birdie putt of some 70 feet across the 17th green for the clincher.

The 31-year-old Rai, the first player of Indian heritage to win a major, closed with a 5-under 65.

Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Justin Rose, they all had their chances and until they were undone by untimely mistakes or failure to get good looks at birdie. McIlroy, who closed with a 69, played the par fives in even for the week and he chopped up the reachable par-4 13th for a bogey.

Rai, who finished at nine-under 271, is the first player from England with his name on the Wanamaker Trophy since Jim Barnes in 1919, the second edition of this major and the first after World War I.

He wound up winning by three shots over 54-hole leader Alex Smalley and Rahm, who had his best finish in a major since defecting to LIV Golf at the end of 2023. Rahm was slowed by a pair of bogeys on the front nine, and managed only one birdie on the back nine for a 68.

Aaron Rai and wife Gaurika Bishnoi hold the Wanamaker Trophy.

(Frank Franklin II / AP)

Smalley lost the lead with a messy double bogey on the sixth hole, and his best golf was too late. Rai already had his eye on the Wanamaker Trophy.

Justin Thomas made a 16-foot par putt on the final hole for a 65 and pulled him within one shot of the lead as the final group was in the second fairway. For the longest time, as Aronimink got tougher and the pressure got tighter, it looked like Thomas might have a chance.

Like everything else on this final day, Rai ended those hopes, too.

So ended a most remarkable week in the Philadelphia suburbs, where no one could separate themselves on Aronimink. The 22 players within four shots of the lead going into the final round was a PGA Championship record.

From that pack emerged the 31-year-old Rai, with one PGA Tour title, three on the European tour, and no finishes inside the top 15 at any of the majors.

He might not be well known among casual observers, but he is a star in the eyes of his peers for his humility and gracious personality.

“You won’t find one person on property who’s not happy for him,” McIlroy said.

“Super pumped for him and his team,” Schauffele said. “All-world gentleman, no doubt.”

Rory McIlroy hits from the bunker on the 16th green.

(Carolyn Kaster / AP)

He wears two gloves, a habit he started as a kid in England to battle the cold winters when he was practicing — and he was always practicing. Even more unusual for Rai is the plastic covers on each iron, a reminder of his roots.

He once said his father sacrificed to buy the nicest golf clubs and then would clean the grooves with baby oil after his son was done playing. Rai has left the iron covers on since then “to remember where I cam from and to respect what I have.”

Now he has his name on the Wanamaker Trophy and his place in history.