US Open leaderboard LIVE: Golf result and reaction as Rory McIlroy outduelled by Wyndham Clark
Rory McIlroy loses by a single shot to suprise winner Wyndham Clark on dramatic final day
Rory McIlroy’s major golf heartbreak continued as he narrowly missed out on US Open glory, beaten by a single stroke by unheralded American Wyndham Clark at Los Angeles Country Club.
Clark’s previous best performance at a major was a tie for 75th at the 2021 PGA Championship, yet he held his nerve like a seasoned pro to grind out victory on 10-under with a round of 70 after four birdies and four bogeys.
He was three strokes clear after 14 holes and appeared to be cruising to glory, before bogeys at 15 and 16 gave the chasing McIlroy a sniff. However, the Northern Irishman was simply unable to make a putt all day as a lone birdie on the 1st was cancelled out by a bogey at 14 for an uninspired round of 70, which meant pars at 17 and 18 were enough for 29-year-old Clark to add his name to the long list of US Open winners.
McIlroy’s major drought now stands at nine years and his quiet Sunday with the putter was reminiscent of last year’s Open at St Andrew’s when he couldn’t reel in a catchable Cameron Smith – who incidentally finished fourth in Los Angeles on -6 after an impressive final-day 67. All the other contenders for the title heading into the day faded badly as Rickie Fowler (75) and Scottie Scheffler (70) never mounted a serious challenge, although Tommy Fleetwood’s brilliant 63 enabled him to end in a tie for fifth on five-under.
Relive all the action from the final round of the 123rd US Open below.
US Open LIVE: Jon Rahm makes a positive start
Classy from Jon Rahm. Nails a long left-to-right putt from around 15 feet to make birdie at the 1st. His tee shot went into the right rough, so a good recovery from there.
Playing partner Dylan Wu has a birdie as well, a much simpler putt and the pair of them both move up the leaderboard - Rahm to +1 for the championship, Wu to evens. The leaders, 11 shots ahead, are probably out of sight for Rahm but if anyone can...
US Open LIVE: Jordan Smith holes out for eagle
Here’s that Jordan Smith hole-out. Fair to say he was a little surprised...
US Open LIVE: Sergio Garcia off to a flying start
A nice 1st hole for Sergio Garcia as he takes advantage of the par five to sink a long putt for birdie. Immediately moves from +2 to +1.
Jordan Smith is also enjoying himself out there, he birdied the 3rd and has just holed out from the fairway at the 5th for an eagle! Shades of Scottie Scheffler at 17 last night. Englishman Smith has jumped up to +2 as he’s three-under for his round.
Final round tee times
A reminder of today’s tee times:
Times are PDT/EST/BST (UK)
- 8.23am/11.23am/4.23pm - Ryo Ishikawa
- 8.34am/11.34am/4.34pm - Patrick Reed, Jacob Solomon
- 8.45am/11.45am/4.45pm - Adam Svensson, Maxwell Modovan (a)
- 8.56am/11.56am/4.56pm - Ben Carr (a), David Puig
- 9.07am/12.07pm/5.07pm - Romain Langasque, Aldrich Potgieter (a)
- 9.18am/12.18pm/5.18pm - Abraham Ancer, Adam Hadwin
- 9.29am/12.29pm/5.29pm - Ryan Gerard, Mackenzie Hughes
- 9.40am/12.40pm/5.40pm - Yuto Katsuragawa, Gordon Sargent (a)
- 9.51am/12.51pm/5.51pm - Jordan Smith, Sam Bennett
- 10.07am/1.07pm/6.07pm - Nick Hardy, Sebastian Munoz
- 10.18am/1.18pm/6.18pm - Charley Hoffman, Sahith Theegala
- 10.29am/1.29pm/6.29pm - Andrew Putnam, Austin Eckroat
- 10.40am/1.40pm/6.40pm - Kevin Streelman, Sergio Garcia
- 10.51am/1.51pm/6.51pm - Sam Stevens, Tommy Fleetwood
- 11.02am/2.02pm/7.02pm - Jon Rahm, Dylan Wu
- 11.13am/2.13pm/7.13pm - Gary Woodland, Denny McCarthy
- 11.24am/2.25pm/7.25pm - Billy Horschel, Patrick Rodgers
- 11.35am/2.35pm/7.35pm - Ryan Fox, Brian Harman
- 11.51am/2.51pm/7.51pm - Justin Suh, Eric Cole
- 12.02pm/3.02pm/8.02pm - Sam Burns, Keith Mitchell
- 12.13pm/3.13pm/8.13pm - Si Woo Kim, Joaquin Niemann
- 12.24pm/3.24pm/8.24pm - Brooks Koepka, Tyrrell Hatton
- 12.35pm/3.35pm/8.35pm - Cameron Young, Russell Henley
- 12.46pm/3.46pm/8.46pm - Shane Lowry, Tony Finau
- 12.57pm/3.57pm/8.57pm - Collin Morikawa, Matt Fitzpatrick
- 1.08pm/4.08pm/9.08pm - Padraig Harrington, Patrick Cantlay
- 1.19pm/4.19pm/9.19pm - Min Woo Lee, Viktor Hovland
- 1.35pm/4.35pm/9.35pm - Hideki Matsuyama, Cameron Smith
- 1.46pm/4.36pm/9.46pm - Bryson DeChambeau, Tom Kim
- 1.57pm/4.57pm/9.57pm - Ryutaro Nagano, Xander Schauffele
- 2.08pm/5.08pm/10.08pm - Dustin Johnson, Harris English
- 2.19pm/5.19pm/10.19pm - Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy
- 2.30pm/5.30pm/10.30pm - Rickie Fowler, Wyndham Clark
US Open LIVE: Bennett goes close to hole out on 3
Sam Bennett is having some fun out there. The American is one of the shortest hitters on the PGA Tour but his accuracy both from the tee and with his approach shots is phenomenal:
Rickie Fowler in the mix for victory in LA
Here’s Rickie Fowler talking yesterday about his swing thought on the course.
Tough going in final round at US Open
So far there are 15 players out on the course and only one – Ryo Ishikawa – is under par for the day. It will be fascinating to see how the leaders cope with the toughest pin positions of the week when they get out there later.
Wyndham Clark hits out over US Open scheduling
Clark was not impressed with the timings yesterday, which saw him finish in poor light.
Wyndham Clark has criticised NBC’s decision to put Saturday’s third round in a late broadcast window that forced the final competitors to finish their rounds around sunset. Visibility at Los Angeles Country Club was poor for the final hour of play, and Clark wasn’t thrilled to finish the biggest round of his life in suboptimal conditions.
“Personally, I don’t quite understand it,” Clark said. “I know we’re (on the) West Coast and whatnot, and I know they probably have the say, but I would like to think that they would step in and be like, ‘Hey, we want to make sure it’s in the light and we have time.’ Definitely Rickie (Fowler) and I had a little bit of a disadvantage on those last two holes playing in the dark.”
Clark and Fowler were the final pairing of the third round, and the broadcast network raised eyebrows Friday night when it was announced they wouldn’t even tee off until 3:40 p.m. in California. Clark finished his 69 on Saturday with a 6-foot birdie putt right around sunset, which happened at 8:07 p.m. Pacific time.
The biggest moment of Clark’s golfing life was made more challenging by the late hour and the resulting poor visibility, but he persevered.
“I wanted to be in the final group,” Clark said. “Every shot matters out here. And on top of it, we couldn’t see. So just the fact making it when we were kind of just feeling it and didn’t really have the clearest of reads, yeah, there’s a lot of emotion. It’s a U.S. Open, and I wanted to be in that final group.”
NBC presumably started the leaders uncommonly late to put nearly all of their rounds in prime time on the East Coast.
All but one of the last six U.S. Opens on the West Coast had a Saturday television window that ended at 10 p.m. EDT. The leaders in Los Angeles didn’t wrap up until after 11 p.m. on the East Coast. At least the final round will be a bit more reasonable for the leaders: Fowler and Clark will tee off at 2:30 p.m. Pacific time in the final pairing Sunday, which means they should finish their 18 holes well before sundown.
But if a two-hole playoff is necessary, the failing light could become a problem yet again.
Wyndham Clark amongs the big names in the running
Wyndham Clark is the surprise package up there at the top of the leaderboard in what is only his seventh major. The 29-year-old from Denver, Colorado won at Wells Fargo earlier this year and his game seems to be in a very good place.
Here he talks about his calm demeanour on the course:
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