How 10th and 16th hole defined Wyndham Clark’s U.S. Open win | Golf Insider
Colorado native Wyndham Clark’s U.S. Open final round Sunday at Shinnecock Hills was full of ups and downs.
Clark shot a 73 to hold on to a one-shot lead and his second U.S. Open title. The Valor Christian graduate admitted that he did not have his best stuff on the weekend but never fell out of the lead after he seized it Thursday evening.
He did all this with the cloud of a crowd rooting against him and the memory of him destroying a locker at Oakmont Country Club at last year’s U.S. Open.
But through all of that, Clark kept his cool.
“I’m not getting angry as much as I used to,” he said Sunday. “I think I get frustrated. My anger has kind of gone away, which is a huge blessing. I’d say the frustration is kind of obviously there. Anyone gets it in golf.
“I’m not as angry as I used to be.”
In that final round, there were some defining moments that powered Clark through frustration, an angry crowd and the pressure of winning a major championship.
But two holes really stood out as pivotal for the 32-year-old.
No. 10, 404 yards, par 4
Clark had just finished off a 38 on the front nine and his lead was dwindling with Sam Burns closing in. The hole played the fifth-hardest in the final and players were struggling with what club to hit off the tee.
The hole was playing with a wind off the right and some players were sending it with driver while some were laying back. No matter the play off the tee, the green was tough to hold.
Clark pulled out his driver.
“We kind of always have played it down there, and the wind wasn’t directly down, so it was off the right, so we thought, OK, if we can get to where we have a wedge in our hand, as long as it’s not down, we’ll be able to hold the green,” Clark said.
The goal was to get the ball on the upslope with a pretty short shot in.
“I think in years past people have laid up in the back or farther back,” Clark said. “We talked about it. I said, as long as we can hold the green, I would rather be 60 yards than 160 yards to try to hit it to 30 feet. Fortunately, I clipped it perfect and pulled off the shot.”
Scottie Scheffler playing in the same group, stayed back and hit his second shot within birdie range and made his putt to a huge roar. Clark stepped up and hit it inside of Scheffler to make his first birdie of the day.
Everything seemed to be back on track.
Hole 16, 623 yards, par 5
A bogey on the 13th hole cut Clark’s lead to just one over Burns. The 16th hole at Shinnecock was one of the few scoring chances for players and Clark knew it.
He already had a moment on this hole the day before when Clark hit a 3-wood in close for eagle to extend his lead going into the final day. The shot may end up being forgotten as fans had already left the golf course.
On Sunday, Clark pulled his drive into the left fescue and looked to be in real trouble with the possibility of being tied for the lead or worse. On the NBC broadcast, Jim “Bones” Mackay called the lie horrendous.
“It wasn’t good. The one thing is it’s kind of wispy,” Clark said. “The fescue has been kind of wispy. I felt like 75% of the time you would get a lie that you can advance it, and this one was kind of teetering.”
Clark was somehow able to advance the ball 178 yards and set himself up to at least save par from 141 yards.
“I’m glad I pulled the shot off, because things could have gotten a little ugly there,” he said.
The five-time PGA Tour winner did better than par. He drained a 25-foot putt for birdie to extend the lead back to two.
Extending the lead was important because Clark made bogey on 17 and then had to two-putt from over 55 feet for par. Clark made par and he claimed his second U.S. Open title.
“It was tough, but I’m proud of myself that I battled through,” Clark said. “I mean, things really could have gotten away from me. I stood tough. I would have liked to have won by more, but as long as you win, it doesn’t matter.”
What they’re saying
“I was hoping that if I did it with class, and poise and kindness and love, that I would win them over – I don’t know if I have, but at least I tried my hardest to do that.”
- Wyndham Clark on the Shinnecock fans during an appearance on the “Dan Patrick Show”
Skins game
Odds to win KPMG Women’s PGA Championship
Nelly Korda +350
Ruoning Yin +1500
Jeeno Thitkul +1500
Myu Yamashita +2000
Jennifer Kupcho +5000
Odds to win Travelers Championship
Scottie Scheffler +440
Tommy Fleetwood +1600
Ludvig Aberg +1800
Xander Schauffele +1800
Matt Fitzpatrick +2200
Wyndham Clark +3500
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