SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — You know all the sayings. Patience is a virtue. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Good things come to those who wait. But how is patience practiced in golf, and how does one exemplify it amid a week where impatience is the featured dish on the menu?As it tends to be with clichés, it is much easier said than done.Through just about two rounds of the 2026 U.S. Open, Wyndham Clark has raced ahead of the rest of field at Shinnecock Hills. The 2023 champion set a new 36-hole scoring record at Shinnecock Hills, made 215 feet worth of putts and has taken control of this championship in the process.But waiting patiently behind him is a man who knows all too well about the wait and how the weight can be lifted off one’s shoulders.Xander Schauffele finds himself on the first page of the leaderboard once again at a U.S. Open. After admitting to being a little impatient in the easier afternoon wave on Thursday, Schauffele surged back Friday morning with a 4-under 66 to position himself at 3 under for the tournament.
The two-time major champion arrived at Shinnecock Hills having never finished outside the top 15 in this championship, including his debut at Erin Hills that required him to go through final qualifying to earn his spot in the field.Plenty has occurred since then and now. He has two majors, an Olympic gold medal and a slew of accolades attached to his name. The yellow boxes on his Wikipedia page that indicate major top-10 finishes seem to multiply by the year. His rate of such results has surpassed the 50% mark with two in a row in 2026.But while time marches on, Schauffele has continued to march to the beat of the same drum — just keep chipping away and the results will come.
“I’ve become very patient not knocking off any wins in the last couple years,” Schauffele said in his winning press conference at the 2024 PGA Championship. “The people closest to me know how stubborn I can be. Winning, I said it earlier, is a result. This is awesome. It’s super sweet. But when I break it down, I’m really proud of how I handled certain moments on the course today, different from the past.”From a broader perspective, Schauffele has always been patient. His father has a saying that Schauffele abides by, “A steady drip caves the stone.”This mantra was harped on in 2024 when pressure mounted via close calls at the Genesis Invitational and especially The Players Championship where he fell short down the stretch to Scottie…
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2026-06-19 20:36:22
