Wyndham Clark posted an even-par 70 to outlast Rory McIlroy and announce himself on the major stage, claiming the 123rd U.S. Open for the first major championship of his career on Sunday at the Los Angeles Country Club.
With a 10-under 270, Clark edged the Northern Irishman desperate to end his nine-year major drought by a single shot. Clark two-putted the 72nd hole from 60 feet for par, his winning tap-in unleashing a fount of emotion amid his celebration.
McIlroy also shot a 70 and didn’t make a birdie after the first hole, never putting enough pressure on the less experienced Clark.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler (70) placed third at 7 under, Australia’s Cam Smith (67) was fourth at 6 under and Rickie Fowler shot a 75 to drop into a tie for fifth at 5 under with Tommy Fleetwood of England (63) and Min Woo Lee of Australia (67).
In his fifth full season on the PGA Tour, Clark won his first tournament last month when he beat a strong field at the Wells Fargo Championship. The 29-year-old from Denver nonetheless flew under the radar entering the week, especially after Fowler and Xander Schauffele opened the championship with the first two rounds of 62 in U.S. Open history.
After a birdie-bogey start, Clark stuck his tee shot at the par-3 fourth to 5 feet and his approach at the par-4 sixth to 4 1/2 feet, converting both birdies to reach 12 under. At the par-5 eighth, he couldn’t punch out of some grass nearly as tall as him on the first try and wound up with a bogey.
The par-3 ninth was the first of five enormous par saves in a row before the pivotal 14th. He gave an emphatic fist pump as a 7-foot par putt dropped.
McIlroy made a messy bogey at the par-5 14th hole and Clark followed behind him with a birdie, effectively a two-shot swing that gave Clark a three-shot cushion with four holes to play.
Clark’s errant tee shots led to bogeys at each of the next two holes, though, and his resolve was tested when he pulled his approach at the 17th while clinging to a one-shot lead. He chipped to a few feet to save par.
Fowler set a 72-hole U.S. Open record with 23 birdies, but he also carded 18 bogeys, including seven on Sunday, after he held at least a share of the lead after each of the first three rounds.
–Field Level Media