Wyndham Clark recovered from a rough front nine and shot 3-over-par 73 to hang on to win the U.S. Open for the second time in four years Sunday in Southampton, N.Y.
His four-round total of 4-under 276 gave him a one-stroke victory at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club.
Clark’s six-shot advantage entering the day dwindled to one on multiple occasions, but he never lost the lead.
He is the third player to collect two U.S. Open victories since 2017 after Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau. Clark outlasted Northern Ireland star Rory McIlroy in 2023 at Los Angeles Country Club for his first major.
Runner-up Sam Burns shot 67. South Korea’s Tom Kim (70) was third at 1 under. J.T. Poston (67), Keith Mitchell (70) and World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler (71) shared fourth place at even par.
Clark never gave up the lead that he’d held since Thursday night. Yet he was in danger of becoming the first U.S. Open golfer to fail to win after leading by more than six shots.
Burns missed a birdie putt on No. 18 with a chance to tie, while a few holes back, Clark’s tee shot on No. 16 went into the fescue. But Clark escaped the situation and ended up sinking a 24-foot putt for an unlikely birdie to extend the lead back to two shots.
Clark needed three putts on No. 17, taking a bogey to return the margin to one stroke.
It’s Clark’s second victory of the year after winning the CJ Cup Byron Nelson this spring.
After playing the front nine in a birdie-free 3 over par, Clark seemed to steady himself with a birdie on No. 10. His margin was back to one stroke after a bogey on No. 13 while Burns holed a 17-foot birdie putt on No. 16.
Kim continued to lurk, pulling within two shots of Clark with two holes to play.
Scheffler, who was trying to complete the career Grand Slam, never made much of a move, with a three-putt bogey on No. 14 doing damage. It came on his 30th birthday.
Earlier, Burns, one-third of the way through his round, was within three shots of Clark and pulled a stroke closer after his fourth birdie of the round on No. 8.
Poston won two weeks ago at the Memorial Tournament in his most recent outing.
The best rounds of the day were 66s turned in by Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg and Chile’s Joaquin Niemann. Niemann tied for seventh at 1 over, while Aberg was at 3 over and tied for 17th.
–Field Level Media
