Wyndham Clark held off Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and Rickie Fowler to win the 2023 U.S. Open for his first main title.
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The first web page of the U.S. Open leaderboard was stuffed with intriguing storylines Sunday morning.
First, there was Rickie Fowler, a longtime fan favourite within the midst of a profession resurgence, with the prospect to rewrite the narrative of his complete profession. Rory McIlroy was up there, too, in search of his first main title in almost a decade. A U.S. Open win for him would thrust him into rarified air. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, even with a balky putter, discovered himself within the combine as effectively.
With so many star-studded names at the highest of the board, there wasn’t a lot consideration paid to Wyndham Clark. Despite taking part in within the remaining paring pairing, the 29-year-old wasn’t far more than an afterthought with 18 holes to go.
Twelve hours later, Clark was a serious champion.
“I just feel like I’ve worked so hard,” Clark mentioned. “I’ve dreamed about this moment for so long.”
Clark was not good on Sunday. Far from it, in actual fact. Although he made 4 birdies, he gave again every of these photographs with an equal variety of bogeys. But in a U.S. Open, par is your pal, and an even-par exhibiting on Sunday was sufficient to hold on for a serious title.
“U.S. Opens are tough,” Clark mentioned. “I just kept saying ‘I can do this. I can do this.’”
Teeing off late within the SoCal afternoon, Clark seized momentum instantly. He birdied three of his first six holes to take the solo lead, and with the celebrities behind him caught in impartial, it appeared as if he may coast to the title. But as so typically is the case in U.S. Opens, bother lurked round each nook.
Clark bogeyed the par-5 eighth — full with a whiff in a waste space — however after blasting his subsequent shot over the inexperienced, he bought up-and-down to restrict the harm. The scorecard learn 6, however it could as effectively have been birdie.
“Honestly, that on 8 was probably the key to the tournament,” Clark mentioned.
In the group forward, Scheffler and McIlroy had been placing on a ball-striking clinic. As good as their ball placing was, although, their putters by no means gave them a lot of an opportunity to shut the hole. The duo hit strategy after strategy inside makable vary, however they may solely mix for 4 birdies on the day — three for Scheffler and one for McIlroy.
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It was deja vu another time for McIlroy. He had an eerily related remaining spherical at St Andrews final summer time when he hit the ball superbly however couldn’t make sufficient putts to safe the title.
“I think the putter I’ll rue some of the chances that I missed,” McIlroy mentioned. “I hung in there and I fought right to the end. Didn’t quite get the job done, but I’ll keep coming back till I get another one.”
McIlroy’s 271 complete is the bottom in a U.S. Open for a participant who didn’t win the title. His winless drought in majors has now prolonged to 33 begins, courting again to the 2014 Open Championship.
“I’m right there,” McIlroy mentioned. “It’s such fine margins at this level, but I’m just going to keep putting myself in these positions and sooner or later it’s gonna happen for me.”
Clark opened a three-stroke lead after birdieing the par-5 14th, however bogeys on 15 and 16 trimmed his margin to at least one. After lacking the inexperienced at the seventeenth, it appeared as if a playoff was imminent. But after a nifty save from left of the inexperienced, Clark wanted solely par on 18 for the win.
Although he flared his drive a bit proper, he caught a chunk of the golf green on the par-4 finisher. He hit a 7-iron to the entrance of the inexperienced and then took two putts to clinch his second PGA Tour victory and first main title.
“There’s been so many times I’ve visualized being here in front of you guys and winning this championship,” Clark mentioned. “I just felt like it was my time.”
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