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Wyndham Clark loves the energy of the crowd. He craves the response that comes from making a key putt — like he did to eagle the 16th hole Saturday — or from hitting a strong shot, the type of crowd pop that echoes throughout courses and can be heard from other galleries holes away.
But for the first three rounds of the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, that hasn’t really existed. And Clark, sitting atop the leaderboard with a six-shot lead heading into the final day, picked up on that Saturday.
“It was kind of unfortunate that we’re finishing in the dark and people weren’t really out there because there were some obviously key, big moments,” Clark said following his third round, when he shot an even 70. “And it did kind of get a little flat, so yeah, unfortunately.”
Clark, the leader — and the villain — of the U.S. Open trying to win the tournament for a second time in four years, didn’t tee off until 3:45 p.m. and finished in the waning minutes before sunset.
Some fans also left to catch trains back to New York City in addition to the USGA selling fewer tickets this year, according to Golf Digest.
He joked that he remembered playing with empty seats and limited energy like that on a major Saturday when he was “in, like, 50th place or something.”
Still, Clark, ranked No. 34 in the world, hoped that it would change Sunday. He hoped there’d be a strong atmosphere, and if there is, they’d likely be focused on the final pairing of Clark and Scottie Scheffler — with the world No. 1 chasing from 1-under and trying to complete the career Grand Slam on Father’s Day. They tee off at 2:30 p.m., meaning they’ll likely finish just over an hour earlier than on Saturday.
“Sometimes it made it tough to stay really focused because it seemed like everyone was leaving,” Clark said of the crowd, “and it was like the tournament was over, and I had to keep myself really focused and in the present.”
English (US)