Clark builds big US Open lead after Scheffler boosts Grand Slam hopes
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- Wyndham Clark sits at seven under with a six-shot lead after the third round, carding a level-par 70 highlighted by an eagle at the par-five 16th and a closing bogey he called frustrating.
- Scottie Scheffler is tied-second at one under heading into Sunday's final round on his 30th birthday, needing a victory to become just the seventh male player to complete the career Grand Slam.
- Historical context favors Clark: 12 of the last 13 players carrying a 54-hole lead of six shots or more at a men's major have gone on to win, and his cushion is the largest at a US Open since Rory McIlroy's 2011 wire-to-wire victory.
- Rory McIlroy dropped to tied-17th and 10 strokes back after carding five back-nine bogeys in a third-round 73, despite briefly closing within four shots with three consecutive front-nine birdies.
- Sahith Theegala, Sam Stevens, and Tom Kim join Scheffler at one under, while two-time major winner Xander Schauffele is among a group at level par and Matt Fitzpatrick fell to one over after a 74.
Why it matters: Clark is positioned for a wire-to-wire major win with a six-shot 54-hole lead — a margin 12 of the last 13 men with such a cushion have converted — while Scheffler has one round to become the seventh male to complete the career Grand Slam. McIlroy's third-round 73 with five back-nine bogeys leaves him 10 strokes back, effectively ending his title hopes.
