LOS ANGELES — Brand new location. Brand new winner.
Wyndham Clark, little more than a month removed from his first PGA Tour win, held off the seasoned Rory McIlroy on Sunday to clinch the first U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club.
Both Clark and McIlroy shot even-par 70s, maintaining their positions at the start of the day.
McIlroy, a four-time major winner, has been in the hunt for No. 5 for nine years but was once again denied. His winning drought has reached 33 majors, yet McIlroy was close in many, 19 times finishing in the top 10 of those.
Clark, 29, wobbled a bit on the back nine of the North Course with three consecutive bogeys, but it wasn’t enough for McIlroy to catch him. Weirdly, Clark won despite being the only player all day to bogey the par-three 15th hole.
Nobody played a bogey-free round Sunday, but McIlroy came close. He birdied the first hole, then parred everything until the 14th when he missed a 10-foot comebacker.
This was Clark’s seventh appearance in a major, with his best finish before this a tie for 75th at the 2021 PGA Championship.
Clark’s first tour victory came May 7 at the Wells Fargo Championship. Coincidentally, McIlroy’s first tour win was also at the Wells Fargo, in 2010.
Scottie Scheffler, the world’s top-ranked player, finished third at seven under par.
Rickie Fowler, who began Sunday tied with Clark at 10 under, slid back with a 75 even though he set a major-championship record with 23 birdies over the four days.
