SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. -- As Sam Burns stood over his putt on the par-4 18th in the final round of the 126th U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on Sunday, he had an opportunity that seemed unimaginable only hours earlier.
After starting the final round seven strokes behind 54-hole leader Wyndham Clark, Burns had nearly chased him down. With one more putt, Burns could tie Clark and put even more pressure on him down the stretch.
Burns' putt slid half an inch to the right and didn't go in the hole.
Burns tossed his putter and fell to his knees. What remained of the gallery surrounding the 18th green let out a collective groan.
"To have the chance on 18, I really thought I made that putt," Burns said. "I hit it exactly how I wanted with the speed I wanted and just didn't go in. But I'm really proud of the way we played today."
Burns finished solo second at 3 under, one stroke behind Clark. It was Burns' best finish in a major championship.
"I feel like the round that I played was a really good round of golf," Burns said. "It's unfortunate I just came up one short."
Burns birdied three of his first eight holes Sunday and emerged from a pack of would-be contenders to finally put pressure on Clark, who seemed ready to run away from everyone after the third round.
"To start the day seven shots back, I knew it was going to take something really special," Burns said. "I couldn't have asked for a better start."
Burns cut Clark's lead to one with a 3-under 32 on the front nine. Burns carded five straight pars on the back and then made a three-putt bogey on the 15th. He erased that mistake with a 17 ½-foot birdie on the 16th to move within one stroke again.
"I think I felt like I was chasing all day," Burns said. "I would get within maybe one or two, and then the three-putt on 15. I felt like the putt I hit kind of when it got down to the hole kind of went a little right past the hole. On the way back, I thought it would be pretty straight, and it went to the right.
"I think that happens on these greens late in the day. The surfaces get tough to hole putts on when they get crusty and had traffic."
Burns had another good look at birdie on the par-3 17th, but the 10-footer never had a chance.
"Just a terrible read and not a very good putt," Burns said.
Burns, 29, was in contention to win his first major championship at the 2025 U.S. Open. He was the 36- and 54-hole leader and carried a one-stroke lead into the final round.
But at rain-soaked Oakmont Country Club, Burns made double-bogey on the 11th, bogey on the 12 and double-bogey on the 15th -- after he was denied relief from standing water by two USGA officials -- as he posted an 8-over 78 and tied for seventh at 4 over, five strokes behind winner J.J. Spaun.
"I would say last year at Oakmont, I felt more [like] I lost the golf tournament," Burns said. "I certainly don't feel that way today. I think I did my best, and I did everything I could to have a chance to win today."
As Burns warmed up on the driving range Sunday in case Clark made a mistake at the end, his father, Tom, walked up.
"He just said he was really proud," Burns said, as he fought back tears in his post-round news conference. "I think we both knew how special it could have been for Father's Day, but I know he's proud."
Burns and his wife, Caroline, have a 2-year-old son, Bear, and she is 37 weeks pregnant with their second child.
Burns played with his son in front of the Shinnecock Hills clubhouse after Clark two-putted the 18th hole to win.
"I think it's one of the reasons we work so hard and practice as hard as we do to have chances at winning golf tournaments," Burns said. "It's just not very often we have a chance to win a major on a Father's Day. I think just the weight of that and knowing what that memory could have been like, it would have been really special."