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LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Wyndham Clark is celebrating his first major championship Monday after winning the U.S Open at Los Angeles Country Club by one stroke over Rory McIlroy.
Clark shot an even 70 on the Los Angeles Country Club's North Course Sunday rolling in a short putt on the 18th hole to cap a record-setting U.S. Open.
Clark and fellow American Rickie Fowler shared a one-stroke lead over McIlroy entering Sunday's play. McIlroy, playing one twosome in front of Clark and Fowler, moved into a share of the lead by birdieing the par-5 first hole. It would prove to be the lone birdie of his round, which also included a bogey on the par-5 14th hole.
Fowler lost his share of the lead when he bogeyed the par-4 second hole, the first of his seven bogeys.
Clark took the lead for good with a short putt for a birdie on the par- 3 fourth hole. He added a stroke to his lead with a birdie on the par-4 sixth hole, then saw his lead drop to one stroke with a bogey on the par-5 eighth.
Clark's lead grew to three strokes when he birdied the par-5 14th hole which McIlroy had bogeyed. The lead dropped back to one with back-to-back bogeys on the 15th and 16th holes, but Clark assured himself of the victory with back-to-back pars on the final two holes, including two-putting from 59- feet, 9 inches, on the 18th hole to complete the tournament at 10-under 270.
"I started off great, and I felt really good and confident about my game," Clark said. "Unfortunately I bogeyed the second hole but I felt like I rebounded well in birdieing the fourth, and got a little unlucky on hole 8, but I just felt like I bounced back and kept my emotions about me.
"I hit some great shots coming down at the end, and although I made a couple bogeys and it seemed like maybe the rails were coming off, I was inside pretty calm. I'm really pleased with myself with how I performed."
Clark was 1-over par for his last nine holes, the first U.S. Open champion to shoot over par on the back nine on the final round since Justin Rose in 2013.
The victory came six weeks after Clark's first PGA Tour victory, May 7 in the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina.
"First one was surreal and this one is surreal," Clark said. "It hasn't quite hit me yet. Walking up 18 was pretty emotional, and then finishing."
This was Clark's seventh start in a major championship. He missed the cut four times, including both of his previous U.S. Open starts. Clark is the fourth player over the past 100 years to win the U.S. Open the first time he made the cut, joining Lucas Glover (2009), Lee Janzen (1993) and Orville Moody (1969).
One factor in his turnaround was the hiring of sports psychologist Julie Elion as his mental coach.
"She has a great calmness and presence about her that just makes me calm and relaxed," Clark said. "I'm just so glad that my caddie (John Ellis) and agent (Rob Mougey) in November said, `Hey, we've got this lady that we think you should work with.'
"I was a little reluctant to do it, and I'm just so glad that she was brought into my life, and what these honestly six months, it's crazy to see how much I've improved and how much she's helped me. I wouldn't have thought I'd be a major champion six, seven months ago."
The 29-year-old Clark was born in Denver, was a classmate of San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey at Valor Christian High School in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. Clark began his college golf career at Oklahoma State, then transferred to Oregon in 2016 after what Clark on Sunday called "two bad seasons."
"I was in a really low spot, and I think that was a lot of carryover from my mom passing," Clark said.
Clark's mother Lise Thevenet died from breast cancer in 2013 at age 55.
"I really wish is that my mom could be here and I could just hug her and we could celebrate together," Clark said. "But I know she's proud of me."
Clark received a record $3.6 million for the victory. The previous record was $3.15 million last year. His career earnings in his 136 starts before the U.S. Open was $11,415,024.
The victory gives Clark a U.S. Open exemption for the next 10 years; invitations to the next five Masters Tournaments, British Opens, PGA Championships and Players Championships, and custody of the U.S. Open Trophy for one year.
McIlroy was unable to capitalize on several birdie opportunities Sunday, including three-putting the par-5 eighth for a par, in his quest for his fifth major championship and first since the 2014 PGA Championship.
"I'm getting closer," McIlroy said after his third finish of third or better in a major championship since 2022. "The more I keep putting myself in these positions, sooner or later it's going to happen for me."
Fowler, who was born and raised in Murrieta, shot a 5-over-par 75 to finish in a three-way tie for fifth, five strokes off the lead.
"I just didn't have it today," said Fowler, who joined Xander Schauffele in shooting record 8-under 62s in the first round and led Clark by one stroke through two rounds. "Iron play was very below average and didn't make anything.
"That's a big thing in majors, especially on a Sunday. Making putts and kind of keeping it fairly stress-free. It was kind of the opposite. I was kind of fighting through it all day."
Fowler has not won on the PGA Tour since the 2019 Waste Management Phoenix Open. This was the 10th time he has been the 54-hole leader or co- leader and the first time in a major. He is 2-for-10 in converting a 54-hole lead or co-lead into a victory.
The scoring average was 71.76, the lowest in U.S. Open history. However, in terms of score relative to par, this was the fourth lowest at +1.76.
This was the first time a U.S. Open had been played in Los Angeles since 1948. The wait for the next one will be much shorter. In October, the U.S. Golf Association announced the 2039 U.S. Open would be played at the Los Angeles Country Club.