SOUTHAMPTON, NY – Six golfers have won career Grand Slams and on Father’s Day 2026, the day he turns 30, Scottie Scheffler has the chance to become the seventh. Through three rounds of this 126 US Openhere at Shinnecock Hills, Scheffler is one under par and in a four-way tie for second, six shots behind the 54-hole leader, Wyndham Clark.
Should Wyndham Clark win this tournament? Of course you should. But there is something not quite right about the word MUSTand there is something not quite right about the big Sunday majors. They can get into the leader’s head. They are not reliable.
Clark, the 2023 US Open winner, has led after the first, second and third rounds here. Bullets get heavier and heavier. Big drops get even heavier. Three days from wind golf it can make your head throb. The long wait of the leader for a moment of noon can lead to inappropriate thoughts.
That’s all a roundabout way of saying that Scottie Scheffler’s chances of winning his first US Open on Sunday and completing the career Grand Slam aren’t entirely remote. Would it be a win from him? of course. But not an impossible shot. A Sunday 66 may be enough. Golf is a numbers game and, of course, a head game. You cannot separate the two.
“I think it’s appropriate to understand what’s at stake,” Scheffler said early Saturday evening, with Clark still on the course. The sentence is such an insight into how his mind works, about his ability and desire to get things right. “I’ve worked really hard for a long time to have a chance to win golf tournaments and win major championships. I think understanding the moment and giving it your best shot is all part of the process.”
The man wasn’t faking anything. The man doesn’t fake anything.
Ernie Els was watching from home in South Florida. In his World Golf Hall of Fame career, Els won two US Opens and two British Opens. He loves Shinnecock Hills, with all its noise and rolling, with all its temptations for “Golf in the Kingdom.” He loves Shinnecock Beach’s deep sandy bunkers and its fairways that show up in every shade of brown and green. Shinnecock brings two Open Rota courses, or two in particular, to mind for Els: Royal Portrush, where Scheffler won the Open last July, and Muirfield, where Els won the 2002 Open.
Els knows something Scheffler may find out Sunday: The mentality and skill that paves the way for an Open win can pave the way for a U.S. Open victory. No US Open wins. A US Open win at Linksy Shinnecock Hills.
“I think Sunday’s setup will favor Scheffler, I think it’s better for his higher ball flight,” Els said. Sunday’s pin positions are likely to be much more demanding than they have been so far, and the course is likely to be, by far, stronger. The harder the course, the better for Scheffler and every follower. The prospect of a career Grand Slam finish, Els said, will be positive for Scheffler.
It took Tiger Woods three years to win the career Grand Slam. Jack Nicklaus four are needed. Gary Player needed seven. Ben Hogan needed eight. It took Gene Sarazen 13 years. Rory McIlroy needed 14. If Scheffler wins on Sunday, he will have completed a career Grand Slam in four years – four years and two months, to be exact – and will have done it in his first chance. He won the Masters in 2022 and ’24, and he won the PGA Championship and British Open last year.
“It might look like a links golf course because there’s no trees and you have that kind of grass, but I don’t think it necessarily plays like (a links course),” Scheffler said. “You can hit some linksy shots, but overall, the ball is still in the air on this golf course. The ball has to be hit in the air, especially to keep these greens.”
So, in conclusion, combining Els’ and Scheffler’s comments: On Sunday at Shinnecock, we’ll get some of both British and American golf.
Scheffler and Clark are in the final doubles of the day on Sunday, at 2:30 p.m. Clark will play, at some level, to make us all forget how he crashed into that locker at Oakmont last year.
Scheffler is playing for something far more glorious.
Michael Bamberger welcomes your comments at Michael.Bamberger@Golf.com.
