“You're gonna hang him if he doesn't win" - Harrington
Wyndham Clark poses with the trophy after winning the 2023 U.S. Open at the conclusion of the final round at The Los Angeles Country Club in Los Angeles, Calif. on Sunday, June 18, 2023. (Robert Beck/USGA)
It was Hollywood heartbreak for Rory McIlroy’s in Tinseltown as he made just one birdie and one bogey in a closing 70 and finish a shot behind fairytale winner Wyndham Clark in the US Open at the Los Angeles Country Club.
Just as happened in The Open at St Andrews last year, the Holywood star played well from tee to green but he had 34 putts in a level par round as Denver born Clark (29) made four birdies and three bogeys in a 69 to claim his first Major title in only his seventh Major start.
Clark was at college at Oklahoma State in 2013 when his mother, Lise, died of breast cancer aged 55. He considered quitting but stuck with the game, winning his first title at the Wells Fargo Championship just last month.
He’s now a Major champion and he was a deserving winner after an epic 18 hole battle, beating his previous best finish of 75th in the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island two years ago
Scottie Scheffler finished third on seven-under after a 70 with Cam Smith foiurth on six-under after a 67.
As for joint overnight leader Rickie Fowler, he was never at the races and carded a five-over 75 to finish tied for fifth with Tommy Fleetwood (63) and Min Woo Lee (67) on five-under.
Pádraig Harrington, who tied for 27th on two-over after a 73, hoped the media would go easy on McIlroy if he failed to get the win,
“You're gonna hang him if he doesn't win,” Harrington said as McIlroy headed down the final six holes. There's nobody not watching this golf that doesn't think this is Rory's to win.
“So yeah, he has put his neck on the line for sure. But that's what you got to do if you're going to win these things. You don't win them from shooting 65 to finish third on a Sunday. You win them being close to the lead and grinding out 70 or 69 or 68 or whatever it takes.”
Alas for McIlroy, his major drought now stands at eight years, 10 months and four days and he was left to rue a missed four footer for birdie at the eighth and a bogey six at the 14th.
Three shots behind Clark with four holes to play after following a birdie at the first with a bogey at the par-five 14th, McIlroy parred the 15th and 16th as the American racked up back to back bogeys at the same holes.
McIlroy pulled his drive down the second fairway as he played the 17th but while he hit a 210 yard approach to 25 feet on the back fringe, he barely missed his birdie putt.
Clark hit a terrible approach to the 17th but chipped dead to save par and head to the 18th with a one shot lead.
McIlroy had a 41 footer for birdie up ahead but, unlike many of his birdie putts, which he ran at the hole, it tailed off short and tapped in for a level par 70 saw him post the clubhouse lead at nine under par.
Clark found the fairway with his drive but while he was left himself needing to two putt from 60 feet for victory, he lagged up to six inches, marked his ball and brushed in the putt for victory.
McIlroy had an 30-footer for eagle for the solo lead on the par-five first and almost made it, his ball breaking just behind the hole.
The birdie left him tied for the lead with Clark and Fowler as Scheffler settled for on10-under par.
McIlroy followed his 379-yard opening drive with a 338-yarder down the second fairway and while he left himself a tough 60 footer with a lot of movement, he again finished six inches behind the hole and tapped in for a stress-free par.
He tied for second with Fowler, a shot by Clark, who made a chip and putt birdie at the first to get to 11-under.
With Clark and Fowler both making bogey at the second, McIlroy had a chance to take the solo lead at the third by hit his 12 footer too hard and had to make a four back to tie for the lead with Clark on 10-under, one ahead of Fowler.
Clark regained the solo lead with a birdie two at the fourth but while McIlroy faced his first bit of adversity at the fifth after finding the right rough, he laid up left of the green from the left rough and saw his speeding chip catch the left lip and spin out.
When Clark birdied the sixth to get to 12-under, McIlroy was two behind having parred the sixth and seventh with solid two-putts. Fowler was four behind on eight-under after bogeys at the second and fifth with Scottie Scheffler six back after a bogey at the seventh.
One of the key moments of the round came at the par-five eighth where McIlroy found the fringe but left his 38 foot eagle putt four feet short and never threatened with the hole with the return.
Clark had a chance to go three clear at the same hole but got a bad hop left into the fescue in the barranca. He barely moved his first attempt to escape, slashed his fourth over the green and eventually got up and down for bogey.
McIlroy missed a 12 footer for a two at the ninth to turn in two-under 34, just one behind Clark on 10-under-par.
He had another chance from 12 feet at the 10th but missed as Clark made a sensational up and down from left of the ninth.
He could not go at the pin but used the slope of the green to feed the ball down to seven feet before making the slick putt for par to turn for home a shot ahead on 11-under for his third up and down in four holes.
Clark made another sensational par save at the 11th but Fowler bogeyed 11th to fall four behind on seven-under.
It was now a two-horse race and after both men parred the 12th and 13th, McIlroy buried his third in the grass face of a bunker, got relief for an embedded ball but couldn’t convert the resulting nine footer for par.
A bogey left him two shots adrift of Clark on nine-under and the gap was soon three shots after the American hit the 14th in two and calmly two-putted for birdie to go to 12-under par.
Shane Lowry birdied the first but bogeyed the gettable eighth and 10th to card a 71 that left him tied 20th on one-over.
He will play this week’s Travelers Championship before heading home for the Scottish Open and The Open believing he is close to his best stuff.
“Travelers and home,” Lowry beamed. “And I cannot wait to get on that big green bird home. Haven’t been home since Christmas.”
As for his game, he said: “Yeah, it's pretty good. I bogeyed two of the birdie holes out there. That's the way my day went. Eight and 10, two bad bogeys, but other that it's pretty good golf. I'm pretty happy with how I played.
“Yeah, look another half decent major in the books and hopefully some good stuff to take into next week.
“I feel like the one thing that's most pleasing for me standing here again is, you know, third major of the year I feel like I came here and played pretty good.
“Same as Augusta and same at Oak Hill.”
He was behind the eight ball after an opening 72 and admitted he needs a little fortune to give himself a better chance of contending.
“You need these breaks and you need these runs of birdies and it didn't happen this week,” he said. “But I was pretty happy with how I played and how I was controlling the ball and obviously I made a couple of bad bogeys out there today but other than that I played good golf as well.
“I just have to wait for it because you can't go forcing it and if you do it generally doesn't go your way. So like I said all week, I feel like my game’s in good shape. I feel like I’m playing good golf and I keep showing up at these big tournaments and playing okay. I just got to keep doing that for the rest of my career and I'll be pretty happy.
“I think that shows where I am in my career that I’m not really happy with showings like this in majors. So it's pretty positive to bring forward and hopefully have a big finish somewhere.”
Pádraig Harrington had a bad day from the tee, hitting just four of 13 fairways and admitted his preparation was poor.
“I was poor off the tee today,” said Harrington, who defends the DICK’s Sporting Goods Open and the US Senior Open over the next two weeks.
“I missed a few of the wedge holes that you've got to hit those fairways and you go from having a birdie chance into a bogey.
“I need to do better. Better preparation. It shows up a few weaknesses that I need to be better at. I probably shouldn't have come in here without playing a tournament the week before. I need to play the week before. I didn't.
“I tried to be disciplined enough, but you needed one tournament warmup at least, you know, obviously that will help for the next two weeks. But we'll wait, see how that goes.
“There's plenty of good stuff, there's no doubt about that. I just need to be a little bit better with my focus and mentally and I know how to do that.
“Sometimes I get my own way. So my focus will be my focus for the next four weeks. I do know how to do it. I've done it well in the past. It really is a bit of discipline in that. Hopefully, I can do that.”
