Scottie Scheffler's Sunday struggles at the 2026 U.S. Open continue a season-long trend

Scottie Scheffler arrived at the 2026 U.S. Open with history on the line , as he could become the seventh man to complete the career grand slam with a win, but he wasn't coming in playing at the same level we've grown accustomed to from the World No. 1.

Statistically, he's still been the best player on the PGA in terms of strokes gained, but as Scheffler himself admitted in his pre-tournament press conference on Wednesday, he's lacked the sharpness that once made him golf's most dominant figure.

"I feel like I've been close most of the year. I feel like I just haven't been as sharp as I needed to be," Scheffler said. "The margins in this game are so small. For me to be winning a lot of tournaments, you've got to just be really, really sharp. I feel like maybe I've just been a touch dull, because, statistically, I think I'm maybe leading the FedEx Cup. I think I'm leading the strokes gained [overall] statistic, so by no means is it a bad year. Is it up to the play I've had the previous couple of years? Probably not, but it's not far off."

Scheffler hoped to find that edge again in the demanding test of a U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, but that never materialized. He dragged his feet to start, shooting a first round 72 and then treaded water with a second round 70 to enter the weekend eight shots off Wyndham Clark's lead. After a slow start to his Saturday, bogeying the first two holes, Scheffler finally showed signs of life when he caught fire on the back nine to climb into red figures at 1 under and snag a spot alongside Clark in Sunday's final pairing.

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Even facing a six-shot deficit, Scheffler had a chance to apply significant pressure to Clark, who would be under immense pressure not to cough up the third-largest 54-hole lead at a U.S. Open this century.

When the two strode onto the 1st tee at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, it became immediately apparent that the crowd wouldn't just be pulling for Scheffler, but actively hostile towards Clark . The throngs of fans lining the ropes at Shinnecock Hills were begging for a reason to let out a roar for Scheffler, to remind Clark who exactly was on his heels and how much they wanted Scheffler to win.

But Scheffler never produced those moments of magic we've grown so accustomed to in recent years. Scheffler once again opened with a bogey that deflated the crowd so desperate to carry him to victory. He would finally make his first birdie on the 5th, coinciding with a disastrous bogey from Clark on the easiest hole on the course and giving the gallery the two-shot swing they had been begging for all day.

That glimmer of hope for a Scheffler charge was short lived, as he needed two hacks to get out of the bunker on the par-3 7th, failing to capitalize on Clark's third bogey of the round by making a four himself.

> Scottie hits it heavy... and finds his way back into the bunker on 7. pic.twitter.com/H3VUs1q0hW — U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 21, 2026

Once they made the turn to the back nine, both Scheffler and Clark woke up. Dueling birdies on the 10th provided some juice in the final pairing for the first time all day. On the 11th and 12th holes, Scheffler hit quality shots to inside 20 feet and Clark bested him by getting just inside his mark. In a match play situation, those chances to putt first are an opportunity to apply pressure. Even in showing Clark the read, if Scheffler poured in those birdies, it would raise the level of tension in Clark's hands and make them feel like must-make putts.

But as was the case time and again this week, Scheffler was unable to get the putter warmed up, sliding both birdie putts by the hole to provide Clark with helpful information, rather than another reason to feel stress. Then on the 13th, with Clark scrambling from out of position, Scheffler again stood over a 20-footer that could create a two-shot swing and ignite the crowd like he did with his chip-in on the 14th on Saturday. And again, his effort went begging.

> It went left... then it went right. Scottie misses the two-way breaker for birdie at 13. pic.twitter.com/LoR35IScIg — U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 21, 2026

That was ultimately the end of Scheffler's chances. A bogey on the 14th dropped him back to even par and he would limp home with four straight bogeys, while Clark did just enough to fend off Sam Burns' valiant charge to capture his second U.S. Open trophy .

All year golf fans have struggled to identify exactly what's not working for Scottie Scheffler. The stats are still great, but anyone watching can tell he's just not quite right. The swing seems a bit off, but he's always had such a unique move and rhythm -- that even at it's best isn't pretty -- that it can be hard to identify the flaw. The putter has been fine, but he's not making quite enough putts when he needs them.

On Sunday, all of that was on display again in the clearest example yet that Scheffler just isn't at that same dominant level right now. Everything was working in Scheffler's favor, but his game remained just a bit too dull to take advantage. The crowd was practically begging for a putt to drop so they could roar in approval and will a Scheffler run into reality. Clark spent the first nine holes opening the door for the World No. 1 to walk through, teetering on the edge of disaster with seemingly every swing, but his missteps weren't punished.

Scottie Scheffler is still the best golfer on the planet, as evidenced by the fact that he can have his apparent B-game all week and finish in the top 5. But there's no question anymore that the gap between himself and the rest of the game's elite has shrunk this year, and he seems no closer to finding that A-game than he was when the week began.

The expectation is that one day that sharpness will return and we'll get another dominant run from Scheffler to continue his ascent up the all-time ranks. But right now he's in a valley, and the message the rest of the field should take away from his failure to mount any sort of charge on Sunday is that now is the time to take advantage.

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_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/golf/news/2026-us-open-scottie-scheffler-finish-leaderboard/)._