US Open: Wyndham Clark holds off Rory McIlroy to claim maiden major title with one-shot victory
Wyndham Clark claimed a one-shot victory at the US Open
Wyndham Clark overcame a late wobble to hold off Rory McIlroy and claim a maiden major title with a one-shot victory at the 123rd US Open.
Clark, who only made his PGA Tour breakthrough last month at the Wells Fargo Championship, took a share of the lead into the final round at Los Angeles Country Club and never relinquished the top spot during a gripping Sunday.
-10 Wyndham Clark (USA)
-9 Rory McIlroy (USA)
-7 Scottie Scheffler (USA)
-6 Cameron Smith (USA)
Others: -5 Tommy Fleetwood (Eng); -3 Jon Rahm (Spain), Dustin Johnson (USA); -1 Brooks Koepka (USA)
The American held a three-shot lead with four holes to play but saw that lead cut to one after back-to-back bogeys, although Clark recovered to close a level-par 70 and secure the biggest victory of his career.
Watch the moment Wyndham Clark became a major winner with victory at the 2023 US Open, putting two on the 72nd hole to claim the trophy
Clark ended on 10 under, one shot clear of McIlroy who only made one birdie all day as he endured another frustrating putting performance. World No 1 Scottie Scheffler was three strokes back in third ahead of Open champion Cameron Smith.
How Clark claimed major breakthrough
McIlroy made the ideal start with a two-putt birdie at the first and temporarily moved into a share of the lead when Clark, playing in the final group, canceled out an opening-hole birdie by three-putting from long range at the par- second oven.
Rory McIlroy narrowly missed out on winning a first major since 2014
The Northern Irishman burned a 12-foot birdie chance at the third and fell behind when Clark slotted in from five feet at the fourth, with McIlroy staying within one after hitting the pin with a 110-foot putt from off the fifth green on his way to save by.
Clark got up and down from the rough at the driveable sixth hole to move two clear but got into difficulty at the par-five eighth, where he was unable to dislodge his ball from thick grass near the green and then had to hit a perfect pitch to set up a clutch bogey.
Clark found serious trouble on the eighth hole but produced an impressive chip to drop just one shot
McIlroy missed from four feet at the eighth and squandered another birdie opportunity at the ninth, seeing him turn in 34, as Clark remained one ahead after finishing his front nine with a miraculous save from the thick grass.
Clark produced more short-game magic to scramble a par at the 11th, while McIlroy fell further behind with a messy bogey at the par-five 14th despite getting free relief from an embedded lie.
Clark produced two stunning up and downs for par during the final round
A two-putt birdie on the same par-five temporarily moved Clark three clear, only for the American to give McIlroy hope by bogeying the par-three next and then finding the fairway bunker off the 16th tee on his way to another dropped shot.
McIlroy converted from seven feet to save par at the 16th but was unable to find a birdie over his closing two holes, leaving him on nine under, as Clark two-putted from 60 feet at the par-four last to complete an emotional victory.
Wyndham Clark mixed three birdies with as many bogeys on the final day to complete a career-changing victory
Fowler fades on the final day
Scheffler also carded a level-par 70 to end the week in seven unders, his fourth consecutive top-three finish, while Smith made three birdies in a five-hole stretch on his back nine to move to fourth on seven unders.
Fowler took a share of the lead into the final day but quickly lost ground with three bogeys in his first seven holes, with the five-time PGA Tour winner seeing a birdie at the par-five eighth undone by successive dropped shots from the 11th.
The 34-year-old took advantage of the par-five 14th but bogeyed two of his last three holes to drop back into five under and a share of fifth alongside Min Woo Lee and Tommy Fleetwood, who became the first player in US Open history to card multiple rounds of 63.
Fleetwood put the seven-under 63 down to some extra practice following his round on Saturday
Jon Rahm jumped inside the top-10 with a five-under 65 and Matt Fitzpatrick signed off his title defense in a share of 17th alongside PGA champion Brooks Koepka after a level-par 70.
What’s next?
The PGA Tour heads to TPC River Highlands next for the Travelers Championship, with McIlroy and Scheffler part of a strong field scheduled to feature 23 of the world’s top 30. Early coverage begins on Thursday from midday via the red button on Sky Sports Golf, ahead of full coverage from 8pm.
Three of the four men’s majors are now completed, with The 151st Open taking place at Royal Liverpool from July 20-23 and exclusively live on Sky Sports.
