Wyndham Clark avoids record collapse and holds on to win US Open

Wyndham Clark couldn’t remember being in a darker place. He was publicly reviled for a moment of petulance when he smashed a locker at Oakmont after missing the cut in the US Open last year. His game, his reputation, he felt it all was slipping away.

Sunday at Shinnecock Hills wasn’t much better. The New York crowd behind Scottie Scheffler in his bid for a career Grand Slam turned on Clark, cheering his misses and wishing for the worst.

That’s what made this US Open title so much sweeter.

On the edge of the greatest collapse in US Open history, Clark held his nerve against a charge by Sam Burns and a Shinnecock Hills crowd that never gave him much love until he showed his mettle with his second US Open title in four years. “The first one was kind of just the breakthrough of knowing I can do it,” Clark said after a two-putt par from 50 feet for a 3-over 73 and a one-shot victory. “And then this one was a lot of redemption. Last year was so tough, a terrible year. I left this place in shambles, and it’s amazing what a year can do. I’m leaving here this Sunday as a champion, and I’m just so blessed.”

Clark, who won the 2023 US Open at Los Angeles Country Club, became the first wire-to-wire winner of the US Open since Martin Kaymer at Pinehurst Number 2 in 2014.

This sure didn’t feel like a stroll through the Hamptons.

He had the largest 54-hole lead in the US Open in 15 years. It was down to a single shot in just five holes, and stress followed him the rest of the way.