Wyndham Clark wins US Open for 1st major title, beating McIlroy by 1 shot
In the star city, Wyndham Clark had his own script in mind for the US Open.
Before him was Rory McIlroy, one of golf’s greatest talents who looked poised to end his mind-boggling nine-year drought in the majors. Sitting next to him in the final group Sunday was Rickie Fowler, a Southern California native returning from a three-year slump and poised to finally win his first major.
Clark carried with him a message from his late mother – “Play big,” she used to tell him – and a belief that he could compete with anyone on any stage.
No stage was bigger than a US Open on the outskirts of Beverly Hills. That’s where Clark delivered clutch saves, a signature shot that gave him control and the steady nerves to hold off McIlroy and become a great champion.
He won in just his seventh start in a major—his previous record was a tie for 75th—and that came six weeks after he captured his first PGA Tour title at Quail Hollow.
“It’s been faster than I thought in terms of starting things mentally that I’ve never done before, but I feel like I’m one of the best players in the world,” said Clark.
“This clearly shows what I think can happen.”
LOOK | Wyndham Clark wins US Open 2023:
Wyndham Clark shot a final round 70 to capture the US Open title by one stroke, finishing 10-under on Sunday in Los Angeles.
The final act was two putts from 60 feet on the 18th hole at the Los Angeles Country Club, and the 29-year-old Clark clenched his fist as he came to rest a foot away. He tapped that in for a par, perhaps the easiest shot he had all day.
A collection of big names had been left behind in his wake.
Scottie Scheffler, the number 1 player in the world, couldn’t catch him. Nor is British Open champion Cameron Smith. Fowler played in the final group of a major for the third time. Clark played in the final round of a major for the third time and the previous two times he finished in time for lunch.
Hamilton’s Mackenzie Hughes was the top Canadian, finishing on a five-way tie for 49th at 6 over. Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, BC, finished 59th at 11 over and Adam Svensson of Surrey, BC tied for 60th at 12 over.
Clark let go of his emotions at the end, as he tearfully looked up at the blue sky and covered his face with his cap as he sobbed on the green.
“I know she’s proud of me”
Ten years ago, he thought about giving up golf as he struggled with the loss of his mother, Lise, to breast cancer. She was the one who kept him stable through good times and bad. He thought about her all week for all sorts of reasons.
“My mom lived in LA for a few years and I’ve had some people come to me and show me pictures of my mom when they knew her in her 20s and early 30s when she lived here,” said Clark, who was born in Denver.
“So it was a special vibe all week being here in LA. My parents got married at the Riviera Country Club. I have a little bit of roots in this area.
“All I really wish is for my mom to be here and I could just hug her and we could celebrate together. But I know she’s proud of me.”
A moment the Clark family will never forget ❤️@Wyndham_Clark | @USOpenGolf pic.twitter.com/Mu8naLQ0Rx
For McIlroy, it was more of a disappointment in his quest to end nine years without a major.
He opened with a birdie and didn’t make a second the rest of the way. McIlroy played a final round that typically wins a US Open – 16 pars, one bogey. Only not this one. Even as Clark showed signs of cracking during the rough finish, McIlroy was missing fairways and not giving himself any reasonable birdie opportunities.
It was similar to St Andrews last summer at the British Open when he hit every green and couldn’t buy a putt. Instead, he will get more questions about when he will win another major.
“When I finally win this next major, it will be very, very sweet,” said McIlroy. “I would go through 100 Sundays like this to get another major championship.”
Scheffler missed too many putts early on the back nine and needed help from Clark and McIlroy who never came. He also finished with a 70 to finish third, a month after a second-place finish in the PGA Championship.
Fowler set a US Open record with 23 birdies, but like so many other majors when given the chance, he was reversed before he ever took off — three bogeys in the first seven holes. He never made up ground and shot 75.
This day belonged to Clark, who showed remarkable poise and confidence, not to mention an extraordinarily short game and a fairway metal he won’t soon forget.
He already had a two-shot lead and was a yard from an easy birdie on the par-5 eighth when his approach hit a steep bank of the barranca on the left. Barely able to see his golf ball, Clark was whacked and the ball slid several inches deeper into the thick grass.
He hammered it again, this time over the green, 20 yards away on a firm and terrifying putting surface. He chipped that to 3 feet to escape with bogey.
“That up-and-down was key to the tournament,” he said.
More such shots followed. On the par-3 ninth he was on the bank of a bunker and broke away from the flag, skillfully using the slope to get it down to 2m for another big save. And then he clipped a throw from a tight lie to the left of the 11th green to four feet for par.
The signature shot was his 282-yard fairway metal on the par-5 14th to 20 feet that yielded a two-putt birdie, giving Clark a three-shot lead with four to play.
The USGA allowed thousands of fans to circle the fairway short of the 18th green with so few bleachers, creating a major theater for Clark’s finish.
Fowler, still chasing his first major, returned to the 18th green to hug Clark.
“I went back in and just said, ‘Your mom was with you. She would be very proud,'” Fowler said.
Clark finished 10-under 270 and along with $3.6 million – his second such cash in the past six weeks – moves him to No. 2 in the Ryder Cup standings.
Smith shot 67 to finish fourth. Tommy Fleetwood became the first player with two rounds of 63 in the US Open and tied for fifth place with Fowler and Min Woo Lee (67). Fleetwood also shot 63 at Shinnecock Hills in the final round of 2018.
That was a fitting finish in one sense — a US Open with the lowest 18-hole scores on Thursday (Fowler and Xander Schauffele at 62) ended with the lowest 72-hole average (71.76) in US Open history.
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