Scheffler’s Grand Slam Dream Put on Hold
Scottie Scheffler has the Masters, The Open Championship, and the PGA Championship. He just needs the U.S. Open to finish the career Grand Slam, and the crowd at Shinnecock dearly wanted to watch it happen on Sunday. Paired with Clark in the final group, Scheffler played respectable golf and finished at even par for the week, tied for fourth with Keith Mitchell and J.T. Poston. It wasn’t his day, and he knew it. Still, handling that crowd — which was very much his crowd — without getting swept up in it showed something. He’ll be back, and the question will come up again soon enough.
Miles Russell’s Father’s Day Moment
Forget the leaderboard for a second. Miles Russell is 17 years old. He was the youngest player at Shinnecock this week, and he made the cut in his first major championship — just the second-youngest to do it at a U.S. Open since World War II. He closed with an even-par 70 and finished at 7 over. Solid stuff. But what people will actually remember is what happened on the 72nd hole. Russell quietly confirmed with a USGA official that it was allowed, then pulled the bag off his caddie’s shoulders and handed it to his father, Joe, who was standing nearby and had no clue what was coming. Joe Russell walked his son up the 18th fairway at Shinnecock Hills on Father’s Day. Nothing staged about it, nothing planned for the cameras. Just a kid and his dad.
Tom Kim Under Par at Shinnecock — A Rare Feat
With everything else going on, Tom Kim’s week nearly got lost. It shouldn’t have. He finished solo third at 1 under par, and only seven men in the entire history of U.S. Open golf at Shinnecock Hills have ever managed to finish under par here. Kim had to qualify just to get into the field in the first place. He did that, then went out and played some of the best golf of the week. Finishing third in a major on your birthday, after coming through qualifying, is a week worth remembering.