Wyndham Clark Wins 123rd U.S. Open Championship
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Wyndham Clark, a 29-year-old PGA tour golfer, claimed first prize at this year’s U.S. Open, which took place June 15-18 in Los Angeles. Sunday night’s victory makes it the Denver native’s first career major championship win; just last month, Clark celebrated his first PGA Tour win at the Wells Fargo Championship in North Carolina.
“This is now my second win on the PGA tour, and the first one was surreal and this one is surreal. It hasn’t quite hit me yet…. It’s been a whirlwind of the last five, six weeks. [I’m] just so blessed and humbled to be here,” Clark said in the post-tournament press conference.
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Clark finished strong with a -10 (“Although I made a couple bogeys and it seemed like maybe the rails were coming off…. I’m really pleased with myself with how I performed,” he said Sunday night), followed by runner-up Rory McIlroy of Ireland, and USA’s Scottie Scheffler rounding out the top three.
“I feel like I belong on this stage, and even two, three years ago when people didn’t know who I was, I felt like I could still play and compete against the best players in the world. I felt like I’ve shown that this year,” Clark said. “I feel like I’m one of the best players in the world. Obviously this just shows what I believe can happen. But at the same time I’m a pretty humble, calm guy, and I don’t try to get too high or too low on things. I’m obviously going to celebrate this, but I like to compete…. I want to beat everybody but also be friends with everybody. So I try to have a good mix of that.”
The total purse for this tournament was $20 million; Clark’s payout was $3.6 million, McIlroy’s $2.16 million and Scheffler’s $1.41 million.
Following the close of the final round, USA’s Rickie Fowler (who finished with a tie in fifth place, in his signature Sunday orange) signed the hats, Crocs, posters and more of his kid fans for more than 15 minutes. Cheers and a chorus of “Thank you, Rickie!” were in abundance — a continuation of the support the California native got in his home state over the course of the tournament.
Clark’s win marks the third consecutive year that the U.S. Open champion was a first-time major winner. And this week’s total scoring average, 71.76, is the lowest in U.S. Open history. This year, for the first time ever, the USGA started a new tradition to honor the teamwork it takes to win a championship; Clark’s caddie, John Ellis, was awarded the inaugural U.S. Open Caddie Award.
Though countless players and spectators were celebrating Father’s Day this Sunday, Clark’s mother — who died of breast cancer in 2013 — was an emotional talking point. “I know my mom is proud of me. She’s always been proud of me, regardless of how I’m doing or what I’m doing. I just wish she could be here and we could enjoy this,” Clark said, adding: “It’s been a pretty amazing week because my mom lived in L.A. for a few years and I’ve had some people come up to me and show pictures of my mom when they knew her back in her 20s and early 30s when she was living here…. It was kind of a special vibe all week being here in L.A. My parents got married at Riviera Country Club. I have some roots a little bit in this area.”
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