Rory McIlroy dropped a shot in his bid for a first major since 2014; Wyndham Clark hit a par of 70 to claim a one-shot win and a first major win; Scottie Scheffler claims third place while Tommy Fleetwood jumps to fifth with a 63 in the final round
By Ali Stafford
Wyndham Clark overcame a late wobble to hold off Rory McIlroy and claim his first Grand Slam title with a one-off victory at the 123rd US Open.
Clark, who only made his PGA Tour breakthrough last month at the Wells Fargo Championship, grabbed a piece of the lead in the final round at Los Angeles Country Club and never relinquished the top spot during an enthralling Sunday.
-10 Wyndham Clark (United States)
-9 Rory McIlroy (United States)
-7 Scottie Scheffler (United States)
-6 Cameron Smith (United States)
Others: -5 Tommy Fleetwood (English); -3 Jon Rahm (Span), Dustin Johnson (United States); -1 Brooks Koepka (United States)
The American held a three-shot lead with four holes to play but saw the lead narrow to one after back-to-back bogeys, though Clark rallied to close out a par 70 and secure the biggest win of his career.
Clark finished at 10 under par, one shot clear of McIlroy, who had only one birdie all day as he endured another frustrating performance. World number 1 Scottie Scheffler was three strokes back in third place ahead of Open champion Cameron Smith.
How Clark claimed a breakthrough
McIlroy made the ideal start with a two-putt birdie on the first and temporarily moved into a joint lead when Clark, playing in the final group, disallowed a birdie on the opening hole with three-putts from long range at the par-four. seconds.
Rory McIlroy narrowly missed out on winning a first major since 2014
The Northern Irishman blew a 12-foot birdie opportunity on the third and fell behind when Clark scored from five feet on the fourth, and McIlroy stayed within one after hitting the pin with a 110-foot putt from the fifth green on his path. to par savings
Clark ran up and down the rough on the manageable sixth hole to move two clearings, but struggled on the par-5 eighth, where he couldn’t get his ball out of the thick grass near the green and then had to hit a perfect shot. to set up a clutch bogey.
McIlroy missed from four feet in the eighth and blew another birdie opportunity in the ninth, seeing him turn at 34, as Clark stayed one ahead after finishing his first nine with a miracle save from the thick grass.
Clark produced more short-game magic to make par at 11, while McIlroy fell further behind with a messy bogey at the par-five 14th, despite taking free relief from an embedded lie.
A two-putt birdie at the same par-five temporarily moved Clark three clear, only for the American to give McIlroy hope by bogeying the par-three below and then finding the fairway bunker from the 16th hole on his I walk towards another dropped shot.
McIlroy converted from seven feet to save par on the 16th but could not find a birdie on his final two holes, leaving him at nine under, while Clark two-putted from 60 feet on the final par-four to complete an emotional victory. .
Wyndham Clark mixed in three birdies with as many bogeys on the final day to complete a career-changing win.
Fowler fades out on the last day
Scheffler also hit a par-70 to finish the week at 7-under, his fourth straight top-three finish, while Smith birdied three over a five-hole stretch on his final nine to move to fourth at 7-under. .
Fowler took a piece of the lead until the final day, but quickly lost ground with three bogeys on his first seven holes, and the five-time PGA Tour winner saw a birdie on the par-5 eighth undone by successive dropped shots from the 11th.
The 34-year-old capitalized on the par-5 14th hole, but bogeyed two of his last three holes to drop back to five under and share fifth with Min Woo Lee and Tommy Fleetwood, who became the first player in US Open history. to card multiple rounds of 63.
Jon Rahm jumped into the top 10 with a five-under 65 and Matt Fitzpatrick signed his title defense in a part of 17th alongside PGA champion Brooks Koepka after a par 70.
Whats Next?
The PGA Tour heads to TPC River Highlands next for the Travelers Championship, with McIlroy and Scheffler part of a strong field scheduled to field 23 of the world’s top 30. Early coverage begins on Thursday from noon via the red button on Sky Sports Golf, ahead of full coverage from 8:00 p.m.
Three of the four men’s majors are already sold out, with The 151st Open taking place at the Royal Liverpool from July 20-23 and live exclusively on Sky Sports.
