(Provided by Tennis World USA)
Neither Rory McIlroy (2nd), nor Scottie Scheffler (3rd), nor Cameron Smith (4th), nor Rickie Fowler (5th), nor Dustin Johnson (10th). Except Fowler, all majors winners. The champion of the 123 US Open in Los Angeles was a 29-year-old boy from Denver, and Jon Rahm’s (10th) neighbor in Scottsdale (Arizona): Wyndham Clark.
The baggage of the American in the Grand Slams before arriving at the L.A.C.C. It was six played, with four missed cuts and a 75th as the best result. On Sunday, at the seventh attempt, he conquered the US Open signing par 70 and 280 (-10) in total after solving several incredible situations with a brutal short game.
Wyndham Clark, results
Sure, under normal conditions, McIlroy would have won the US Open with a 2-3 shot lead, but Clark around the green was pure magic. He is the fifth golfer in history to win the US Open with a final score in double digits.
Ahead of him, Rory in 2011 (-16), Brooks Koepka in 2017 (-16), Gary Woodland in 2019 (-13) and Tiger Woods in 2000 (-12). Five years ago he came to the PGA Tour and did not accept the results. “I was very angry because I thought I could beat the others, but I couldn’t and my results were below what I expected,” he told reporters next to the trophy.
Clark, born in 1993, was one of the brightest college students of the time, but he came close to giving up golf. At Oklahoma State he was the star of the team but hit rock bottom with the death of his mother from breast cancer.
“It affected me in golf. Off the field I acted normal, trying to get over it but without showing it, but all my pain and anguish was poured into the competition. I would get desperate with the first bad shot, I would break clubs, scream… I couldn’t play,” Clark explained.
It was then that his coach, Mike McGraw, told him to give up golf for a while, to forget about the competition until he got over the death of his mother. It was not an easy decision for the coach, since he did without his star, and Clark himself did not take it well at first.
“I got very angry. I wanted to compete, I wanted to win and I didn’t understand why I had to quit. Over time I understood that it was for the best and I am very grateful to Mike. He helped me a lot. If he hadn’t stopped, who knows if he wouldn’t have left him, ”he added.
In 2016 he transferred from Oklahoma to the University of Oregon. There he ran into Casey Martin, the head coach, a key person. He “instilled in me that I was one of the best players in the world and he told me: ‘you are good enough to win anywhere.
I had my best year. He instilled in me the confidence that perhaps I had lost ”, he pointed out. It is there, in Oregon, that he forged his champion’s spirit. His first win came at Wells Fargo 40 days ago. “I have been going in the right direction for a long time.
I feel like I’m one of the best players in the world. I am very competitive. I want to win over everyone, but also be friends with everyone. I am a quite humble and calm guy. I’m going to celebrate it, ”he stressed. Finally, he talked about the last two important moments in his life.
“I worked with great coaches and they were very good at what they did, but I decided to go it on my own and I learned about my game and my swing.” Then, the irruption of Julie, his mental trainer. “I’m so glad my caddy and agent said to me in November, ‘Hey, we’ve got a woman we think you should work with.’
I was a bit reluctant, but in these six months it’s crazy to see how much she has helped me. I didn’t think I would be champion.”
