Quote · The Bill Simmons Podcast
The Giannis Never-Trade and a Mega-Mailbag With Zach Lowe, Plus Wyndham Clark’s Second U.S. Open Title With Joe House
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U.S. Open reactions
At 1:36:06 · chapter starts 1:35:44
Joe House delivers a detailed account of Clark's US Open week. The tournament's outcome was essentially decided Thursday when Clark shot a 64 in conditions that were supposed to favor the field — the winds forecasters predicted never materialized. He then ground out 2 over par over his final three rounds, making clutch par saves from extraordinary positions. [1] — Joe House "Clark played from the lead wire-to-wire at Shinnecock, winning by a stroke on the back of clutch par saves and a decisive eagle on 16 Satur…" 1:38:13 The decisive shot was an eagle on hole 16 Saturday — the only eagle made on that hole all week — which House calls the shot of the tournament. On Sunday, Clark bogeyed the par-3 17th, nearly gifting Sam Burns a playoff, before two-putting from 52 feet on 18 to seal the win. The crowd rooted hard against Clark throughout: his unpopularity traces to a driver-throwing incident that nearly hit a spectator at the PGA Championship and, most damningly, smashing an antique locker at Oakmont with insufficient follow-up remorse. Simmons points out that golf fans constantly complain about boring golfers but then demand jail time when one acts out — House agrees the sport may have needed a villain.
Clark played from the lead wire-to-wire at Shinnecock, winning by a stroke on the back of clutch par saves and a decisive eagle on 16 Saturday. He's deeply unpopular after destroying a locker at Oakmont — but that might be exactly what golf needed.
The US team dominated Paraguay in a way that made even the soccer community take them seriously. McKinney, Balogun, and Jedi Freeman — Antonio Freeman's son — give this squad a charisma and toughness that previous US teams lacked completely.
After his opening 64, Wyndham Clark shot 2 over par across his remaining three rounds at Shinnecock Hills, holding on by a single stroke.
Wyndham Clark's opening 64 at the US Open — shot when the winds were supposed to be at their worst — was the round that ultimately won him the tournament.
According to a real-time search, 24 men have won multiple US Open golf titles, a group Clark joined with his 2026 win.
When Harden left OKC, the Thunder's offer was 4 years for $64 million; Houston immediately signed him for 4 years and $64 million — a bargain given where salaries were heading.
Wyndham Clark had changed his putter at the Masters and was ranked 135th on tour in putting before his US Open win, which relied heavily on clutch par saves.
