American Wyndham Clark always carried the message from his late mother to “play big". Nothing has been bigger than holding off Rory McIlroy with one clutch shot after another to become US Open champion.
The final act on Sunday was two putts from 60 feet on the 18th hole at Los Angeles Country Club, and the 29-year-old Clark pumped his fist when it settled a foot away.
He tapped that in for an even-par 70 to finish 10-under for a one-shot victory over McIlroy and so many other stars.
Scottie Scheffler, the No.1 player in the world, couldn't catch him. Neither could Australia's British Open champion Cameron Smith or Rickie Fowler, who played in the final group and watched an exquisite performance by Clark, playing for only the third time on the weekend in a major.
Clark, who only scored his firt PGA Tour victory six weeks ago, let loose his emotions at the end, looking to the blue sky in tears and covering his face with his cap as he sobbed on the green.
He thought about quitting golf a decade ago when he struggled with the loss of his mother, Lise, to breast cancer. She was the person who kept him steady in good times and bad.
“I just felt like my mom was watching over me today,” Clark said after hoisting the silver US Open trophy.
“I worked so hard and dreamed about this moment for so long. I just felt like it was my time.”
Scheffler missed too many putts early on the back nine and needed help from Clark and McIlroy that never arrived. He also closed with a 70 to finish third, a month after a runner-up finish in the PGA Championship.
Smith shot 67 to finish fourth. Tommy Fleetwood became the first player with two rounds of 63 in the U.S. Open and finished in a tie for fifth with Fowler and Australia's Min Woo Lee (67).
Fowler set a US Open record with 23 birdies, but just like so many other majors when he had a chance, he was in reverse before he ever got going — three bogeys in the opening seven holes. He shot 75.
For McIlroy, it was more disappointment in his quest to end nine years without a major.
He opened with a birdie and didn't make another the rest of the day. He played a final round that typically wins a US Open — 16 pars, one bogey. Just not this one.
Even as Clark showed signs of cracking during the rugged closing stretch, McIlroy missed fairways and didn't give himself any reasonable birdie chances.
“When I do finally win this next major, it’s going to be really, really sweet,” McIlroy said. “I would go through 100 Sundays like this to get my hands on another major championship.”
This day belonged to Clark, who showed remarkable poise and self-belief to pocket $US3.6 million ($A5.2 million).
Already with a two-shot lead, he was a yard away from an easy birdie on the par-5 eighth when his approach hit a steep bank of the barranca to the left. Barely able to see his golf ball, Clark took a whack and the ball advanced a few inches deeper into thick grass.
He hammered it again, this time over the green, 70 feet away down a firm and scary putting surface. He chipped that to 3 feet to escape with bogey.
“That up-and-down was the key to the tournament,” he said.
