Golf-Clark looks to build halfway lead in promising US Open campaign

By Amy Tennery

SOUTHAMPTON, New York, June 20 (Reuters) – Wyndham Clark will look to pad his four-shot lead in the third round of the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills on Saturday after a stellar start on the famously trick course in Southampton.

The 2023 champion Clark, who was seven under par at the halfway point, will head out at 3:45 p.m. ET (1945 GMT) alongside the 2022 winner Matt Fitzpatrick.

Fitzpatrick shared the second spot on the leaderboard after Friday with twice major winner Xander Schauffele, Sam Stevens and Tom Kim, with a three-under-par performance through 36 holes.

Americans Schauffele and Stevens form the penultimate pairing that tees off at 3:34 p.m. ET, while South Korea’s Kim plays alongside two-times major winner Collin Morikawa of the United States at 3:23 p.m. ET.

Lurking seven strokes back after Friday at even-par, world number one Scottie Scheffler will hope to keep alive his bid for a career Grand Slam at 2:01 p.m. ET with his compatriot Brian Harman.

The early pairings got underway on Saturday morning after two days of tough, windy conditions that tested some of the field’s most experienced competitors, including former champion Brooks Koepka, who made the cut at his last 11 U.S. Open starts but did not reach the weekend this time around.

The cut came in at four over par, with 67 professionals and five amateurs advancing.

Clark, who is looking to turn the page on an embarrassing locker room incident at last year’s tournament, does not have history on his side as he sets out on Saturday: no second-round leader at the last four U.S. Opens has gone on to win the tournament.

(Reporting by Amy Tennery in Southampton, New York)