Even par has been a good score at Shinnecock Hills and it was a good score for Wyndham Clark, who owns a six-shot lead heading into the final round. We saw a bit of a push from Scottie Scheffler, who is tied for second with Sahith Theegala, Tom Kim, and Sam Stevens, but it’s going to take a pretty big collapse for Clark to surrender the lead.
While the weather conditions were okay, the course played very tough, as Emiliano Grillo (67) and Scheffler (69) were the only players to finish a round under the par of 70. That doesn’t leave a lot of hope for somebody going low tomorrow, but you never know.
U.S. Open final-round tee times
VSiN’s golf experts offered their third-round observations and final-round predictions . . .
Matt Youmans
Larry Bird walked into the locker room before the NBA 3-point Contest in 1988 and famously said, “Which one of you guys is shooting for second?” Wyndham Clark should do the same Sunday morning at Shinnecock Hills. He’s up six and it’s game over. Clark’s eagle on the 16th drove the nail into the coffin and made certain it’s a shootout for second place.
You drive for show and putt for dough and Clark is doing both this week. He made 55 feet of par putts in the third round, including big ones on 9, 10 and 11. The putting stats matter most. Scottie Scheffler might as well be holding a live snake in his hands instead of a putter. Scheffler has hit some spectacular shots only to miss a ridiculous number of short putts. He looks lost on the greens and it’s frustrating to watch.
In the 1990s through around 2015, there really were few reasons for bettors to watch a foregone conclusion such as this on Sunday. Prior to the DraftKings/FanDuel era and the growth of the markets, Las Vegas books didn’t offer top 5, 10 and 20 props. Veteran golf oddsmakers Nick Bogdanovich and Jeff Sherman might have posted a few props and that was it. Player matchups always have been plentiful, but not finish position props. That’s what I’ll be watching Sunday, when TV ratings will suffer.
The futures wagers will be a significant loser. I did play some on Clark +185 and Xander Schauffele +650 late Friday night, but Xander faded fast. As for pre-tournament plays, I bet Scheffler top 5 and 10, Tommy Fleetwood top 10, and Matt Fitzpatrick and Schauffele top 20.
World Cup soccer has been easier to bet than golf this week. We move on to my favorite major, the British Open, in July.
