Wyndham Clark won the U.S. Open at the Los Angeles Country Club Sunday, to close the tournament at 10-under-par, finishing one stroke ahead of top-ranked Rory McIlroy.
Scottie Scheffler, another of the golf world’s best, came in third, three strokes back, followed by British Open champ Cameron Smith, who surged Sunday.
Rickie Fowler, the Murrieta native who led the field during the first three rounds of the Open, fell back after his worst round of the weekend, a 5-over 75. He finished in a three-way tie for fifth with Min Woo Lee and Tommy Fleetwood, whose round of 7-under 63 propelled him up the leaderboard.
San Diego State alum Xander Schauffele faltered after a tremendous opening round, dropping to 10th, in a tie with three others, including Jon Rahm.
With his first win at a major, Clark maintained a long streak of U.S. Open champions who have led or been within striking distance of the leader heading into the final round. Since 1974, all 49 golfers who won the title have either led or were no more than five strokes from the top as the final day of play began.
This is the third time Clark, 29, has led or co-led an individual stroke play event on the PGA Tour and first in a major. His 54-hold advantage in last month’s Wells Fargo Championship in North Carolina led to his first PGA Tour victory.
“I’ve worked so hard and dreamed about this moment for so long,” said the Denver native, who now resides in Scottsdale, while collecting the trophy and winner’s check of $3.6 million.
“So many times I’ve visualized being in front of you guys and winning this championship. I felt like it was my time.”
Fowler, 34, who was born and raised in Murrieta, has not won on the PGA Tour since the 2019 Phoenix Open. This is the 10th time he has been the 54-hole leader or co-leader on the tour and the first time in a major. He is now 2-for-10 in converting those leads into a victory.
Despite his disappointment, Fowler took time late to embrace Clark on the 18th hole.
“I went back in there and just said, ‘Your mom was with you. She’d be very proud,’” Fowler said of Clark’s late mother.
Matt Fitzpatrick, who failed in his attempt to defend his 2022 U.S. Open title, criticized the course despite sinking a hole-in-one Friday. On Saturday, he took aim at the course itself, calling some of the tee shots “a little bit unfair.”
“There’s just too many holes for me where you’ve got blind tee shots and then you’ve got fairways that don’t hold the ball,” he said. “There’s too much slope. I think the greens certainly play better when they’re firmer. I definitely think that’s the case.
Fitzpatrick ended up tied for 17th, nine strokes behind Clark.
– Staff and wire reports
