The 123rd United States Open Golf Championship is now in the record books and Wyndham Clark from the decidedly non-golfing hotspot of Denver, Colorado, is a most unexpected major champion. With a total purse of $20 million and a winner’s first-place check of $3.6 million to be had, Clark carded rounds of 64-67-69-70 for a 10-under par aggregate of 270 at Los Angeles Country Club’s North Course to outlast Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy by one stroke.
Not exactly a household name, the 29-year-old Clark won his first PGA Tour title just last month at the Wells Fargo Championship in North Carolina. The “can’t miss” kid who was a junior golf star and a college All-American struggled during his first five years as a professional golfer. Yet by Sunday evening he was the winner of one of golf’s most difficult as well as prestigious titles.
The Los Angeles Country Club’s North Course had never before hosted our National Open and the layout was definitely an eye-opener to both the golfers in the field as well as those fans of the game who watched dawn-to-dusk coverage. The fairways were historically wider than typical U.S. Open tracks and the scenery around the course was more urban than the casual golf fan may be used to. The greens had their fair share of old-style undulations, there were interesting elevation changes, many of the holes had lots of angles and lots of choices, and every now and then the multi-million dollar mansions around the course owned by the Playboy Club or musician Lionel Richie were part of the scenery. The U.S. Open had last been contested in Los Angeles some 75 years ago and this time around it offered glamour, glitz and drama.
Marine layer weather conditions made LACC getable during first-round play Thursday as 37 golfers broke par led by the duo of Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele, both of whom shot 8-under par 62s. Past U.S. Open champ Dustin Johnson was two strokes back at 64 as was Clark while Rory McIlroy was hovering in fifth place with a 65.
The Marine layer disappeared Friday and the course firmed up. Fowler had a bizarre round with just four pars and yet was able to card a 68 to get to 10-under-par through 36 holes. Clark was one stroke back while Xander shot even-par 70 to stay at 8-under. Rory was one more back and Harris English rounded out the top five at 7-under. At the other end of the spectrum, just two golfers shot in the 80s, with one of them being two-time major champion Justin Thomas, who posted an 81. Yes, golf can be a very fickle game.
Saturday dawned although not exactly for the leaders. They wouldn’t tee off until 3:30 in the afternoon and would end up fighting shadows and darkness down the stretch. There wasn’t a whole lot of movement on Moving Day although South Korean Tom Kim did shoot a 29 on the front nine at LACC.
Scottie Scheffler had gotten himself back into the hunt and at a magic television moment, commentator Paul Azinger stated that “Scottie is the best ball striker on the course today.” Mere moments later he holed out from 196 yards out on the 17th fairway to make a dramatic eagle, birdied the final hole, and shot a 68 to finish at 7-under, good enough for a fourth-place tie with English. Rickie shot even par to stay at 10-under, Clark shot 69 to join Fowler atop the 54-hole leader board, and Rory was one back after carding a 69.
The fourth round began Sunday and Englishman Tommy Fleetwood raced up the leader board. Finishing well ahead of the leaders, he posted a 63 to finish the Open at 5-under. Others went backward and Tommy would end up tied for fifth place. Defending British Open titlist Cam Smith posted a 67 to finish solo fourth at 6-under par. Min Woo Lee shot 67 to join Fleetwood in a tie for fifth. Everyone else ahead of them on the leader board would shoot 70 or higher. Fowler also ended up tied for fifth with a disappointing 75. He just didn’t have it during fourth-round play. Scheffler just might be the best ball striker of the lot, but he couldn’t make a putt Sunday and posted a 70 to finish at 7-under and alone in third place.
The United States Open ultimately came down to a two-man battle during the final nine holes. It featured Rory McIlroy, a four-time major champion, and the upstart, Wyndham Clark. Both golfers shot 34 on the front nine and Clark maintained a one-stroke lead. After 13 holes, Clark still led by one. The turning point came on the par-6 14th hole. Playing in the group in front of Clark and Fowler, Rory hit a wedge into the green on 14, and he embedded it in the high grasses just above the bunker. It was a substandard shot from a world class golfer. After receiving a fortuitous drop, Rory still made bogey to fall to 8-under par. Minutes later, Clark hit an all-world 3-wood onto the green at 14, two-putted for birdie, and suddenly took a three-shot lead into the final four holes. Bogeys for Clark on 15 and 16 made it tighter, but Rory continued to make one par after another. After a great two-putt from 60 feet on the final green, Wyndham Clark had his major title and Rory McIlroy had let another one slip away.
While he was largely unknown to the golfing public prior to this weekend, Wyndham Clark is a story of fortitude featuring unlimited early talent coupled with heartbreak. A gifted player at a young age who went to high school with 49er running back Christian McCaffrey, Clark won a pair of Colorado State Championships in 2009 and 2011 before ever entering college. He played at powerhouse Oklahoma State and was the Big 12 player of the year in 2013. His mother, who introduced him to the game and was his Rock of Gibraltar, passed away following a battle with cancer. He floundered for a couple of years and then transferred to the University of Oregon where he was the Pac 12 player of the year in 2017. He then turned professional.
Wyndham got through Web.com Q School that autumn. He finished 16th on the Web.com money list in 2018 and earned a promotion to the PGA Tour the following year. In 2020 he lost in a playoff to Brian Gay at Bermuda and spent the next few years on tour with good play, but nothing great. Then came his big win at the Wells Fargo last month. He had played in exactly seven majors up until last week, missing five cuts and posting a major’s best tie for 75th at the 2021 PGA. Yet regardless of his first five years of mediocre professional golf, Clark is now a major champion and is a sure-fire pick for this coming September’s Ryder Cup in Italy. He may never win another grand slam title, but he has one.
That happens to be exactly one more than Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele, Rickie Fowler, Tony Finau, Max Homa, Viktor Hovland and Sam Burns. It could be safe to say that Wyndham Clark may never again win a major, but he had his moment of glory last Sunday in Los Angeles. He is the 2023 U.S. Open champion.
