US Open: Wyndham Clark edges out Rory McIlroy at LACC

Wyndham Clark superbly edged out Rory McIlroy to win the US Open by one shot at Los Angeles Country Club.

Clark had not even made a US Open cut before this week but was fearless on Sunday as he downed a valiant McIlroy to claim his maiden major crown in California.

The American had a comfortable three-shot lead with four shots to play and did not once lose the lead throughout the tense final round, but had to recover from back-to-back bogeys late on to seal his major breakthrough.

He hit a superb lag putt from 60ft on his 72nd hole and couldn’t hold back the tears as he tapped in and celebrated his monumental win.

And the 29-year-old, who won his first PGA Tour title at the Wells Fargo last month, leaned on his outstanding short game on Sunday to revel in the biggest victory of his life beneath the hills of Hollywood.

An emotional Clark dedicated the win on the 18th green to his late mother Lise, who died in 2013 from breast cancer.

“I felt like my mum was watching over me today,” he said. “Miss you mum. And I worked so hard and so many times I visualised winning this championship and it felt like my time.

“US Opens are tough. It’s tough on a back nine. I kept saying I can do this, I can do this. I ground it on the way in.”

Tears of joy.@Wyndham_Clark was emotional after breaking through @USOpenGolf. pic.twitter.com/pwV2DkIJje

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 19, 2023

McIlroy posted nine-under with a frustrating final round 70, but Clark held his nerve down the stretch to shoot the same score and his gutsy par-4 at the last sealed the mammoth $3.6million winner’s prize.

World No 1 Scottie Scheffler finished third, three shots adrift on another day he will rue a misfiring putter.

And Rickie Fowler, who was the overnight leader alongside Clark, underwhelmed as he shot a poor 75 to finish in a tie for fifth.

It was Clark who seized the moment in the final round, making a series of superb par saves down the stretch.

The 29-year-old had never previously finished above 75th in a major, but became only the fourth player in history to win the US Open on the first time he had made the cut.

Alongside a mammoth cheque, Clark has been elevated to the top table in golf’s elite and is now destined to make Zach Johnson’s US Ryder Cup team this September in Rome.

Ben Parsons joined bunkered as a Content Producer in 2023 and is the man to come to for all of the latest news, across both the professional and amateur games. Formerly of The Mirror and Press Association, he is a member at Halifax Golf Club and is a long-suffering fan of both Manchester United and the Wales rugby team.