Wyndham Clark opened the 2026 US Open with an impressive six-under 64 and backed it up with a one-under 69 to maintain his sole weekend lead at Shinnecock Hills.
His success, however, is not just the result of a few good rounds. Rather, it’s the byproduct of months of work he did with his coach, Patrick Coyner — director of golf instruction at Cherry Hills Country Club and a GOLF Top 100 Teachers.
Reconstruction of Clark’s swing
The pair began working together in September 2025, and according to Coyner, Clark had picked up some bad habits that caused him to stray from the mechanics that helped him win his first major title, the 2023 US Open. One of the biggest problems, he says, stemmed from Clark’s wrist.
“His main arm was really long,” Coyner says. “So his return was much longer and the club’s website was more open.”
From here, Clark’s axis would become steep in transition, and as a result, it would become very narrow. This forced him to pull back from it, which created a lot of spinal tilt from the target and offsets through the shot.
“Being so tilted and stuck, he couldn’t hit the shots he was trying to hit,” Coyner says. “So he either hit a big mistake, or he was going to stop and turn it around.”
This disappointing back-to-back loss wasn’t just killing Clark’s stamina; it was also reducing his self-confidence. According to Coyner, Clark struggled to control his starting lines and often found himself setting up for mistakes instead of committing to his target.
“He almost had to improvise for the hit that was going to happen,” Coyner says. “He was playing more for mistakes.”
Coyner’s plan to get him back on track was simple.
“We really just regained some structure in his lead joint. We shortened the arm swing and added a lot of width,” Coyner says.
Since making these changes, Clark has more control over his clubface and ball flight. While he still does a massive swing, his arm swing is shorter and the face is in a better position.
Back to basics
With the US Open approaching, the focus shifted from rebuilding pace to maximizing performance — especially off the tee.
“The focus now is on driving the ball as straight as we can,” Coyner says.
A key part of that effort was improving Clark’s reach. By refining his visuals and starting lines, Coyner helped Clark believe what he was seeing. Coyner even brought their string (usually reserved for the practice green) to the range to use as a stretching aid.
“It helped him get used to what it looks and feels like to aim properly,” he says.
Reinforcing the idea that sometimes it’s the simplest basics that have the biggest impact.
Preparing for Shinnecock
Just as important as their setup work this week was their preparation for Shinnecock’s extremely demanding conditions.
Coyner, Clark and his caddy, Dave Pelekoudas, used practice rounds to study wind patterns and landing zones to analyze how different fairways would play depending on the future forecast.
As they mapped out their course strategy, identifying where he could afford to lose became a top priority for Clark and his team.
“Finding the best places to lose is a really important part,” says Coyner.
They were so detailed in their preparation that they even described how changing wind directions from round to round would affect recovery shots around the green.
“Understanding how the wind affects your chips, layups and putts is probably as important as understanding how it will affect your full swing,” says Coyner.
Knowing which mistakes would leave manageable opportunities up and down – and which pitches to avoid at all costs – Clark entered the week with full confidence in his game and a clear game plan.
“I think he showed up Thursday knowing he was really comfortable no matter what the course threw at him,” Coyner says. “And that’s a big part of being committed.”
And after entering the weekend in the lead role, it’s safe to say their work is paying off.
