Rory McIlroy rues cold putter as Wyndham Clark wins first major at US Open

Wyndham Clark wins the US Open as yet another major slips through the hands of Rory McIlroy.

19 Jun 2023

Rory McIlroy rues cold putter as Wyndham Clark wins first major at US Open

Wyndham Clark captured an emotional first major at the US Open on a day when yet another major title slipped through the hands of Rory McIlroy.

Clark, 29, closed with a level-par 70 to finish on 10-under par and see out a narrow one-stroke victory over McIlroy, who posted the same score.

The winning moment for @Wyndham_Clark pic.twitter.com/kJ7aNa50ri
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 19, 2023

The American had no form to speak of in just six major starts prior to rocking up at Los Angeles Country Club this week.

Clark's best finish in a major had been a tie for 75th at the 2021 US PGA.

But Clark, fresh off his maiden PGA Tour title at the Wells Fargo Championship last month, is now a major champion from seemingly out of nowhere.

It marks a second win in Clark's last four starts on the PGA Tour.

McIlroy held every chance to clinch a fifth career major championship and his first in nine years but the World No.3 just could not buy a putt in the final round.

The Northern Irishman started the final round just one stroke behind Clark and Rickie Fowler, and he quickly moved into a share of the lead when making a two-putt birdie on the par-5 1st.

But that would be McIlroy's sole birdie of the entire round as numerous birdie putts from inside of 20 feet failed to fall.

The Ulsterman would particularly rue a three-putt for par from the front edge of the green on the par-5 8th.

McIlroy then made an even costlier mistake at the next par-5 hole, the 14th, as his first bogey of the day went down on the card.

Clark, playing in the group behind McIlroy, would then birdie the 14th to race into a commanding three-stroke lead with four holes to play.

The tournament looked over there and then but winning majors is never easy as we all know and Clark would begin to feel the heat as he made bogeys at 15 and 16.

That saw him hold a narrow one-stroke lead with two tough holes to play.

McIlroy found the back edge of the 17th and two-putted for par, before Clark followed suit with a par of his own.

One stroke behind heading down the 18th, McIlroy sent a long iron into the heart of the green but failed to hole the putt and it left the door open for Clark to stride down 18 and two-putt his way to a first major title.

Clark was reduced to tears as he tapped his ball home from two feet for par.

Related: Wyndham Clark's girlfriend

He celebrated on the 18th with his friends, family and girlfriend Julia Kemmling.

For McIlroy, the wait goes on for a fifth major title and it's yet more heartache having come so close to winning the 150th Open Championship last July.

After the round, a deflated McIlroy said:

"Yeah I think the putter, I'll rue some of the chances I missed. It was hard to get the ball close all day. The wedge shot on 14 too, I'll rue that. I fought to the end, didn't quite get the job done. But as I say, I'll keep coming back until I get another one."

He added:

"I would go through 100 Sundays like this just to get my hands on another major."

McIlroy is now looking ahead to his final chance of getting back on the major ladder this year at the 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool, a venue in which he won his sole Claret Jug in 2014.

"I'm right there, such fine margins at this level. Got to keep putting myself in these positions and sooner or later it will happen for me."

Scottie Scheffler played alongside McIlroy in the final round but equally struggled on the greens, which has been a recurring theme for the World No.1 this season.

Scheffler, like McIlroy, went on to card a level-par 70 to finish solo third on 7-under par.

Despite his incredibly poor putting this season, Scheffler has played in 14 events on the PGA Tour and still not finished worse than tied 12th.

LIV Golf's Cameron Smith posted a 67 to finish in solo fourth on 6-under par.

Fowler had a day to forget as he went round in 75 to slump to a tie for fifth alongside Min Woo Lee and England's Tommy Fleetwood, who flew round in 63.

Gordon Sargent won low amateur, albeit missing a tiny putt on 18 that saw everyone up in arms!

Clark incredibly found himself outside the top 300 in the world just 12 months ago.

But now after winning the Wells Fargo Championship and a first major at the US Open, Clark is projected to move inside the world's top 20 for the first time in his career on Monday.

The victory was an emotional one for Clark, who lost his mother Lise to breast cancer when he was just 19 years old.

His Mum Lise died at the age of 55.

"I honestly felt like my Mum was watching over me today," said Clark in his victory speech. "I miss you Mum."

Earlier this week, Clark told the media how he has channeled his Mum's instruction to start playing his best golf this season:

"When she was sick and I was in college, she told me, ‘Hey, play big,’

"‘Play for something bigger than yourself. You have a platform to either witness or help or be a role model for so many people.’

"I’ve taken that to heart. When I’m out there playing, I want to do that for her. I want to show everyone the person I am and how much joy I have out there playing and hope I can inspire people to want to be like me and be better than me."

As well as climbing the OWGR and FedEx Cup, Clark is also now well in the running for a debut appearance in the United States Ryder Cup team in Italy this September.

US Open Final Leaderboard

-10 W Clark (US)
-9 R McIlroy (NI)
-7 S Scheffler (US)
-6 C Smith (Aus)
-5 T Fleetwood (Eng), MW Lee (Aus), R Fowler (US)
-4 H English, T Kim (US)

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