World number one Scottie Scheffler fell short in his bid to complete the career Grand Slam as Wyndham Clark secured victory at the US Open.

The American ended the tournament at Shinnecock Hills four strokes behind Clark in a tie for fourth place.

He was aiming to become only the seventh male golfer in history to win all four major championships.

However, a sluggish opening-round 72 immediately left the pre-tournament favourite eight shots adrift of the lead.

Fightback falls short

The 30-year-old rallied with impressive rounds of 68 and 69 to earn a final-day pairing alongside the eventual champion.

He continued to apply pressure during the closing round, moving to within three shots of the lead with just five holes remaining.

A costly bogey on the 14th hole ultimately derailed his momentum before four closing pars sealed an even-par finish for the week.

Clark expertly navigated the final holes to claim a one-shot victory over compatriot Sam Burns and seal the prestigious title.

Frustration over early errors

The major champion expressed frustration over his inability to establish early leads in recent tournaments.

“This week will be another example where you could chalk it up to the first round.”
“Wyndham went out late in the day on Thursday and shot six under to my two over in the morning – that’s eight shots right there.”

He acknowledged that his early-tournament sharpness has been noticeably lacking compared to previous dominant seasons.

Celebrating amidst the challenge

Despite the disappointment, the final round coincided with the world number one celebrating his 30th birthday on Father’s Day.

This encouraging display also secured his fifth top-four finish in his last seven worldwide starts.

“It was a battle all week, the golf course was challenging.”

The Texan noted that he hit several good putts down the closing stretch that ultimately refused to drop into the hole.

Wyndham Clark has won his second major championship by securing the 2026 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, finishing one shot ahead of Scottie Scheffler despite facing a fiercely hostile crowd.

The American started the final round with a commanding six-stroke advantage but was forced to grind through severe challenges to claim the title.

As the tournament leader navigated the demanding Long Island layout, spectators made their allegiance to world number one Scheffler abundantly clear.

Hostile New York atmosphere

Fans actively jeered the eventual winner’s mistakes and cheered when his approaches found trouble, creating an intensely partisan environment.

The contrast in spectator reaction was starkest on the back nine of the iconic Southampton venue.

While Scheffler received deafening roars for routine pars, crucial birdies from the Denver-born golfer were met with muted applause or total silence.

Even as the grand slam hopeful finished four shots adrift of the lead, the grandstands serenaded him on his birthday rather than acknowledging the champion’s arrival at the 18th green.

“Man, they definitely didn’t want me to win,” Clark admitted after the round.

Mental resilience and defiance

Anticipating the raucous environment, the champion and his caddie, David Pelekoudas, had devised a psychological strategy beforehand.

The pair agreed to internally frame every cheer for the Texan challenger as applause for their own efforts.

The relentless pressure ultimately culminated in a 52-foot lag putt on the final hole, leaving a simple tap-in for victory.

Rather than waiting for validation from the unsupportive galleries, the victorious golfer let out a defiant, echoing yell to celebrate his triumph.

Scheffler condemns crowd behaviour

The severity of the galleries’ conduct did not go unnoticed by his closest rival.

Scheffler expressed discomfort with the overtly antagonistic treatment directed at his playing partner throughout the final round.

“The crowd was tough today. I mean, New Yorkers, they are tough people,” Scheffler said.

“You like seeing the fans cheer for you. I think sometimes it can get a little too much when, you know, balls are kind of going off greens and you start hearing cheers. That felt a bit much to me.”

World champion Tadej Pogacar and home favourite Marlen Reusser secured the overall Tour de Suisse titles after winning the final stages of their respective races on Sunday.

Pogacar was making his debut in the men’s event and started the fifth and final stage with a commanding four-minute advantage over Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz.

The Slovenian superstar hunted down Lenny Martinez at the conclusion of a punishing 151km mountainous route.

He caught the French climber just 800 metres from the finish line to register his third stage victory of the week.

“We tried but he was just too strong in the end,” said Martinez.

“Tadej wins a lot of races and he keeps wanting to keep winning, so it’s difficult. I knew he wasn’t going to let me win.”

Pogacar’s dominance continues

The 27-year-old has now triumphed in six of the seven most historic week-long stage races on the cycling calendar.

His sensational season includes an astonishing 13 victories from merely 16 race days, building upon his Milan-San Remo success in March.

The highly decorated rider will now shift his focus toward securing a record-equalling fifth Tour de France crown next month.

Reusser reigns supreme on home soil

In the women’s race, Reusser successfully defended her crown to claim a third overall victory in just four years.

The 34-year-old time-trial specialist laid the foundations for her win on Saturday before entering the final 100km mountain stage with a narrow 10-second advantage over Elisa Longo Borghini.

While the Italian attempted to apply early pressure, Reusser remained composed before launching a decisive attack.

The Swiss powerhouse dropped Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney and Cedrine Kerbaol inside the final kilometre to take the stage win.

Meanwhile, Longo Borghini crossed the line almost 10 minutes later, plummeting down the final general classification standings.

Final General Classification Standings

Men’s Top Five

Women’s Top Five

Marizanne Kapp delivered a superb unbeaten 81 to guide South Africa to a vital six-wicket victory over India in the Women’s T20 World Cup group stage in Manchester.

The outstanding all-rounder previously took 2-27 with the ball before striking seven fours and four sixes during a blistering 45-ball innings.

Her spectacular performance ensured the Proteas successfully chased down a target of 159 with just five deliveries remaining.

Kapp and Brits rebuild the innings

The run chase began poorly for the chasing side, with their star batter arriving at the crease at a perilous 25-2 during the final over of the powerplay.

She combined with Tazmin Brits to painstakingly rebuild the innings, initially scoring slowly to reach 59 at the halfway mark before accelerating aggressively.

Their crucial partnership fell just three runs short of a century when Brits was caught in the deep off Shafali Verma for a hard-fought 40.

The match swung decisively when the veteran match-winner was dropped by Radha Yadav later in the same over.

Capitalising on the immense lifeline, she hammered two massive sixes in the penultimate over bowled by Deepti Sharma.

Chloe Tryon then stepped up to edge a winning boundary off Nandni Sharma to seal the remarkable comeback.

Kaur celebrates historic milestone

Earlier in the day, India captain Harmanpreet Kaur made history by becoming the first player to feature in 200 Twenty20 internationals.

She elected to bat first, and her team enjoyed an explosive start courtesy of Verma, who blasted 31 from just 15 deliveries.

Despite reaching 59-2 by the end of the powerplay, the Asian powerhouse lost momentum when both openers returned to the dugout.

Smriti Mandhana was clean bowled attempting an ambitious scoop shot, while her aggressive opening partner gloved a short delivery behind the stumps.

The subsequent batters struggled to maintain the early scoring rate, with Sharma top-scoring among the middle order with 29 runs.

Both she and Richa Ghosh offered tame catches to short fine leg as their side eventually posted 158-7.

Group 1 qualification remains open

This crucial victory moves the victorious African nation level with their defeated opponents on four points in Group 1.

Both sides currently trail tournament leaders Australia, who sit comfortably at the summit with six points.

South Africa now face favorable upcoming fixtures against Bangladesh and the Netherlands to secure their progression.

Meanwhile, the result places immense pressure on India, making their blockbuster clash against Australia at Lord’s on 28 June a potential elimination match.

Northampton Saints back-row Henry Pollock has set his sights on England’s upcoming Test against South Africa after starring in his club’s Premiership final victory.

The 21-year-old delivered a player-of-the-match performance as Saints secured the title in front of 80,000 fans.

It marks a rapid ascent for the dynamic forward, who has recently garnered a growing fanbase and a high-profile partnership with sports promoter Eddie Hearn.

Impact on the biggest stage

The highly rated prospect has repeatedly proved his worth in high-pressure situations, following up a dominant semi-final showing against Leicester with a commanding final display.

Saints director of rugby Phil Dowson was quick to praise his powerful number eight following the title-winning triumph.

“He does things in terms of his speed and power and his ability to stay in the game,” Dowson said.
“Last week he had 26 carries, I don’t know how many carries he had in the final. His impacts throughout the game are fantastic.”

Blocking out the noise

Despite almost tripping as he charged out of the tunnel before kick-off, the youngster displayed immense maturity throughout the intense domestic contest.

The rising star attributes his recent play-off form to a shift in mental approach rather than any tactical changes.

“I haven’t changed anything, no. It’s probably more a mindset thing,” he explained.
“These are the games you want to step up in. You want to be one of those players that step up in big games.”

Springboks test awaits

With an international call-up looming against the physical South African pack in a fortnight, the forward is determined to ignore external expectations.

“People can talk all they want. I have always said in my career, I don’t listen to outside noise, I don’t listen to people’s opinion.”
“I am very much locked into my role and my team, and what I need to do for the team and the coaches.”

The confident back-rower remains resolute in his belief that silverware will ultimately define his burgeoning career.

“At the end of the day, it’s white noise. It doesn’t matter to me, it doesn’t go into my brain. We’ll win trophies, I guess.”

England cricketers Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson have been cleared of violent conduct by the ECB following an investigation into a London nightclub altercation, though both received written warnings for breaching curfew.

The duo were previously omitted from the recent second Test defeat by New Zealand while authorities looked into the events that occurred while celebrating their first Test victory.

An England and Wales Cricket Board disciplinary hearing concluded the pair breached specific contractual obligations requiring players to maintain the highest standards of conduct.

Unprovoked Attack

According to the findings, the England captain and the pace bowler were present when a team security guard was struck by Saracens rugby player Totoa Avuaa.

The ECB stated that Avuaa attacked both the fast bowler and the security official, leaving the latter bloodied and requiring medical attention.

“No blame should be attached to the players for violent conduct at the nightclub.”

The governing body confirmed that the 33-year-old skipper was not involved in the altercation and did not witness either incident.

Return for Trent Bridge Decider

Evidence demonstrated that the Surrey paceman was the victim of unprovoked attacks and did not retaliate on either occasion.

A separate inquiry conducted by the Cricket Regulator also determined that neither player has any further case to answer.

Following their omission from the team’s recent loss, both men have been reinstated to the squad for the series-deciding third Test against the Black Caps.

The crucial match begins on Thursday at Trent Bridge, with the returning all-rounder immediately restored to his leadership role.

Former West Indies all-rounder Kieron Pollard has overtaken compatriot Chris Gayle to become the highest run-scorer in T20 cricket history after striking a century in Major League Cricket.

A Historic Century in America

The 39-year-old reached 14,583 career runs while playing for MI New York, surpassing Gayle’s long-standing tally of 14,562.

This milestone innings marked only the second century of his extensive 20-over career.

It ultimately came during a bittersweet 30-run defeat against the Washington Freedom.

While the powerful middle-order batsman accumulated 1,569 of those runs in international colours, the vast majority have been plundered across domestic and franchise tournaments worldwide.

Surpassing a West Indies Legend

Gayle had fiercely guarded the top spot in the run-scoring standings since March 2014.

The former Jamaican opener, who last played a competitive fixture in the format during 2022, remains the fastest player to reach every milestone between 6,000 and 14,000 runs.

He also retains the ultimate crown for clearing the ropes, boasting an incredible 1,056 sixes compared to his successor’s 986.

Remarkably, the new record holder is the only middle-order specialist inside the top six run-scorers, with the others all operating at the top of the innings.

English Duo Keep Pace

This newly established benchmark could face immediate threats in the coming months.

Former England opener Alex Hales currently sits just 134 runs adrift in third place.

Meanwhile, current national white-ball captain Jos Buttler occupies fourth position and trails the lead by 212 runs.

Buttler has a prime opportunity to close that gap rapidly, with up to eight international fixtures scheduled for his country between July and September.

Balancing Coaching and Playing

Beyond his run-scoring exploits, the veteran Trinbagonian already holds the outright appearance record in the shortest format with 736 matches.

He is now successfully balancing his ongoing on-field duties with a growing coaching portfolio.

After serving as batting coach for the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League, he will transition to head coach for MI London in the upcoming men’s Hundred competition.

Newly crowned UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje plans to continue his fighting career following his historic title victory over Ilia Topuria.

The American captured the 155lb belt at UFC Freedom 250 last week after forcing the former champion to quit on his stool.

Speculation had mounted regarding a potential retirement following the landmark event held at the White House.

However, the titleholder dismissed those rumours during an appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience released on Saturday.

No immediate rematch for Topuria

“Right now, I’m planning on fighting again,” he stated during the interview.

“There’s not something natural in me that feels like it’s over.”

Despite Topuria’s status as the former champion, an immediate second encounter has been firmly ruled out.

“He doesn’t get a rematch. He can try but he doesn’t get one,” stated the newly minted champion.

Wealth of lightweight options await

“He quit on the stool. He quit twice. I stopped him twice, what else do I have to do?”

The division kingpin instead suggested the defeated fighter should face contenders such as Paddy Pimblett to rebuild his momentum.

The 155lb weight class currently boasts several top-tier challengers eager for a championship opportunity.

Third-ranked Arman Tsarukyan remains a logical contender, though the champion admitted he does not yet have a specific opponent in mind.

Looming shadows of McGregor and Holloway

Former titleholder Charles Oliveira also sits prominently in the rankings without a scheduled bout for the remainder of 2026.

Meanwhile, rising star Mauricio Ruffy recently cemented his contender status with a dominant stoppage over Michael Chandler.

Another lucrative avenue could emerge from the upcoming welterweight clash between Conor McGregor and Max Holloway.

The two veteran fighters are scheduled to meet at UFC 329 in Las Vegas this July.

A chance for BMF redemption

A showdown against the Irish superstar would represent a massive commercial event that has never previously materialised.

Alternatively, a rematch with Holloway offers a clear path for competitive redemption.

The Hawaiian famously secured a spectacular last-second knockout victory for the BMF title at UFC 300 in 2024.

An opportunity to avenge that dramatic defeat would undoubtedly appeal to the reigning lightweight king.