Wyndham Clark posted an even-par 70 to outlast Rory McIlroy and announce himself on the major stage, claiming the 123rd US Open for the first major championship of his career on Sunday at the Los Angeles Country Club.
With a 10-under 270, the golfer edged McIlroy, 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 season on the Tour, Clark won his first tournament last month when he won 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 US 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 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.
