A can’t-miss final pairing, plus Germany’s super sub – The New York Times

Golf
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Good morning! On this Father’s Day, one of our dads is hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, while the other is on a couch in Pittsburgh watching the U.S. Open. Thanks, fellas! (We’ll also call you.) Today:
Wyndham Clark (-7) has a six-shot lead at the U.S. Open, and today, he’ll get the ultimate real-world test of a fun golf question: By how many shots would you need to be leading Scottie Scheffler (-1) on Sunday at a major in order to win? The world No. 1 joins him in the final group. Even for Scheffler, beating Clark by six shots to force a playoff is a tall order.
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Clark’s big lead belies how hard he had to work on Saturday. His game wasn’t all that sharp, and he had to scratch and claw his way to a lot of pars. Take his performance at Shinnecock Hills’ par-4 13th hole, a short one at a listed 375 yards:
It exemplified how Clark played all day: Not exactly staying out of trouble, but managing Shinnecock while his peers let a firm, windy course swallow them up. 
Clark’s win probability doubled from 35.5 percent entering the round to 71.6 percent, according to Data Golf. His path to leaving the Hamptons with a second U.S. Open title is a lot simpler than it was three years ago, when he was tied with Rickie Fowler through 54 holes before going on to beat Rory McIlroy by a shot. Clark might be a somewhat unpopular champ, after a handful of embarrassing shenanigans the past few years. But he’d be an impressive one, especially because his partner in the final pairing is the best player in the world.
If you liked this dispatch, you can subscribe to our Golf Briefing newsletter. Staff writer Gabby Herzig and I will send out a new edition after the final putt drops tonight. Now, to other sports!
A big reason Germany wasn’t included in the top tier of World Cup favorites is its perceived lack of a true goalscorer, but Deniz Undav is making a pretty good case that he can be that. Undav bagged a goal and two assists as a sub in Germany’s opener and added two more goals after coming on in the 60th minute against Ivory Coast yesterday, including this 94th-minute winner that put Germany through to knockouts:

Tough luck for Ivory Coast, which had controlled the game until the batch of subs that included Undav. Read the analysis from our writers here. Elsewhere yesterday:
The Sooners were 11th in the SEC this season. 11th! And yet a win today (2:30 p.m. ET on ABC) would make them national champions, after they continued their outrageous postseason hot streak by walloping North Carolina 9-3 in the College World Series finals opener. Coach Skip Johnson explained his strategy: “I’m just going to stay out of their way.”
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📰 Find more news here 24/7.
📺 Golf: U.S. Open, Final Round
12 p.m. ET on NBC
The final group tees off at 2:30 p.m. Note: That’s 75 minutes earlier than yesterday.
📺 NASCAR: Anduril 250
4 p.m. ET on HBO Max and Prime Video
This race takes place on … a naval base across the bay from San Diego? Here’s how it will work, and here’s how drivers prepare for a track they’ve never seen before.
📺 World Cup: Uruguay vs. Cape Verde
6 p.m. ET on FS1
Two draws mean that all four teams in Group H (Spain, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay, Cape Verde) have one point. In the highly likely event that Spain handles the Saudis today (12 p.m., Fox), this match between Uruguay and Cape Verde should more or less decide who else advances out of the group. Cape Verde’s nil-nil draw against Spain last week counts as one of the great upsets in World Cup history, and getting a point here would be another big one. You can play around with group scenarios here for a group that was expected to be top-heavy.
Get tickets to games like this here.
Most-shared Athletic stories this week:
Meet two of the world’s greatest sports dads: They’re horses.
Baseball games with my dad. (Hi, Dad!) 👋 — Torrey Hart
I just returned from covering the World Cup in Houston, and I’ll think about my meal at Candente for a while. Wildly good Tex-Mex. — Chris Branch
🎥 How did Jacob Misiorowski get so good? Eno Sarris and Derek VanRiper break it down on “Rates & Barrels.” Find more episodes wherever you get your podcasts.
While we’re on the subject, Jayson Stark asked Nolan Ryan about Misiorowski and ended up having a fascinating conversation that touched, of course, on who threw harder. Great read.
Meet the Kansas grandmother who sold her pool table to England’s World Cup team for $700. So good. 
Telemundo’s World Cup coverage. Nothing against Fox (I’ve no dog in that fight), and I speak zero Spanish, so I’ve no idea what’s being said, but it’s a rollercoaster ride from start to finish. GOOOOOOOOOOOOAL! — Phil Hay
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Few things are more tedious than vacuuming your car. How is it possible you see the dirt just sitting there but it doesn’t come off when you go over it 15 times? I’m getting mad thinking about it. Anyway, go ahead and vacuum occasionally but in-between, open the doors and hit that sucker with a LEAF BLOWER. 90% as effective, 10% of the time commitment. You’re welcome. — Matt Piper
It’s a few years old but “The Coldest Case in Laramie” is a true crime podcast treasure. Binge city. — Chris Sprow
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s unfortunate foul ball.
📫 That’s all for now! Say hello at thepulse@theathletic.com, and check out our other newsletters.
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