Wyndham Clark outlasted a star-powered leaderboard Sunday to claim his first major championship at Los Angeles Country Club.
The 2023 U.S. Open received a lot of criticism on social media for the commercial load, substandard announcing and lack of atmosphere due to general admission policy.
However, the TV ratings were extremely good.
NBC Sports reports that its 2023 Open was up 27 percent compared to the championship at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, averaging 6.2 million viewers across NBC and Peacock. That’s the highest since 2019 when the event was held at Pebble Beach.
The numbers were also up nine percent compared to 2021, the last time the U.S. Open was held on the West Coast (Torrey Pines, won by Jon Rahm).
NBC says across its platforms, the final round averaged 8.8 million viewers during prime time and peaked at 10.2 million from 9:30-9:45 p.m. ET.
For comparison, the PGA Championship received 4.5 million viewers last month at Oak Hill.
The Masters is still the most-watched men’s major in 2023. In fact, it’s the most-watched golf broadcast in the past five years on any network, CBS reported in April after averaging 12.058 million viewers for the final round.
LOS ANGELES – By his own admission, Rickie Fowler just didn’t have it today.
Fowler set a championship record with an opening-round 8-under 62 at the 2023 U.S. Open and held at least a share of the lead until Sunday afternoon at Los Angeles Country Club. With a long-awaited first major championship just ahead on the horizon, the California native was chasing a historic win less than 100 miles from his hometown. He found himself in the final pairing alongside eventual champion Wyndham Clark, a position he’s been in twice before, both in 2014.
Fowler finished T-2 behind Martin Kaymer at the U.S. Open that year and T-2 behind Rory McIlroy later in the summer at the Open Championship. This time, Fowler sprayed his way to a 5-over 75 and finished T-5, five shots off the pace.
“Iron play was very below average and didn’t make anything. That’s a big thing in majors, especially on a Sunday. Making putts and kind of keeping it fairly stress-free,” said Fowler, who now has nine top-five finishes in 48 major appearances. “(Sunday) was kind of the opposite. I was kind of fighting through it all day.”
“I wasn’t as tight in hitting my spots, and that was how it was, especially the first two days,” Fowler continued. “I had a lot of control and was able to place the ball where I wanted on greens, and today I was just a bit off, whether it was left, right, more so than distance control, and just wasn’t able to put the ball in the proper position where I could go be aggressive to make putts.
“We had a lot of good stuff this week. Unfortunately today we just couldn’t get it going.”
Fowler knew his ship had sailed off into the Pacific sunset when Clark hit a gem of a shot from 282 yards to just 20 feet on the par-5 14th hole.
“That was a very good shot in the situation and moment. Obviously made 4. I thought if I could make that putt on the next, which I nearly did, I thought that might kind of give me a shot to get a two-shot swing and maybe make a run in the last three,” said Fowler. “No, I knew I was on the outside looking in, but at the same time, you never know what’s going to happen. You don’t wish bad on anyone, but it’s tough to close out tournaments. Yeah, somewhere I’d say probably when I missed the fairway on 16, I knew that was going to be a tough hill to climb from there.”
It would be easy for Fowler to beat himself up after each round got a little bit worse as the week went on. After his record-setting 62, he signed for scores of 68 and 70 before his first over-par round of the championship Sunday. Instead, he’s choosing to take the high road and appreciate the perspective that comes with another close call.
Rickie Fowler putts on the first green during the final round of the 123rd U.S. Open Los Angeles Country Club. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
“I was just really excited on how I felt this week, how comfortable I felt to go out and back up my first round and continue to play well. I enjoyed it. You learn from all your experiences,” explained Fowler. “Not the position I wanted to be in after today, but a lot of good coming from this week.”
Fans showed out for the California kid this week, with bright orange shirts and hats scattered all throughout the final-round gallery. While he appreciated the fan support, his family support will make this bad-tasting finish a lot easier to swallow.
“Obviously very bummed, but being able to see my daughter before scoring, it kind of takes a lot of that away because in the kind of big picture, big scheme of things, yes, we want to win tournaments and be the one holding the trophy, but she could care less if I shoot 65 or 85,” he said. “But to have her there, and then we’ll travel to Travelers tomorrow morning, yeah, it kind of just makes you realize and understand golf is special and it’s what I love to do, but it’s definitely not everything.”
Fowler’s form has been on the upward trend as of late, especially this season. In 18 PGA Tour starts, the 34-year-old has seven top 10 finishes, including a runner-up showing at the Zozo Championship last fall. He’s consistently been in the mix, and another solid major performance seems more likely to be in the cards than not, which hasn’t been the case for quite some time.
Phil Mickelson won his first major at the 2004 Masters after 47 career major appearances without a victory. Adam Scott claimed his first after 48 starts at the 2013 Masters. Stewart Cink took 50 tries before he was victorious at the 2009 Open Championship. Others to win their first majors late in their careers include Sergio Garcia (74 starts), Tom Kite (72 starts), Mark O’Meara (59 starts) and Darren Clarke (54 starts).
Fowler performance this week won’t change a thing about how he’s viewed in the media or by fans. Whether it’s a good result or bad, Fowler is open and honest with his answers on his game. Whether he shoots 65 or 75, he’ll sign autographs for young fans until his hand cramps. He’s been a fixture in the game for more than a decade, and another disappointing result won’t change that.
The 2023 U.S. Open just wasn’t his week in the end, but who’s to say the next won’t be?
The 29-year-old claimed his first major title Sunday at the 2023 U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club, earning a cool $3 million for his one-shot victory over runner-up Rory McIlroy, who will take home $2.16 million as a consolation prize.
Scottie Scheffler finished solo third at 7 under and also eclipsed the seven-figure mark with his $1,413,430 payday. Cameron Smith earned $990,867 in fourth place, while Rickie Fowler, Tommy Fleetwood and Min Woo Lee will each take home $738,934 for finishing T-5.
Check out the prize money payouts for each player below at the 2023 U.S. Open.
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2023 U.S. Open prize money payouts
Pos
Player
Score
Earnings
1
Wyndham Clark
-10
$3,600,000
2
Rory McIlroy
-9
$2,160,000
3
Scottie Scheffler
-7
$1,413,430
4
Cameron Smith
-6
$990,867
T5
Rickie Fowler
-5
$738,934
T5
Tommy Fleetwood
-5
$738,934
T5
Min Woo Lee
-5
$738,934
T8
Tom Kim
-4
$562,808
T8
Harris English
-4
$562,808
T10
Austin Eckroat
-3
$435,018
T10
Jon Rahm
-3
$435,018
T10
Xander Schauffele
-3
$435,018
T10
Dustin Johnson
-3
$435,018
T14
Russell Henley
-2
$332,343
T14
Collin Morikawa
-2
$332,343
T14
Patrick Cantlay
-2
$332,343
T17
Brooks Koepka
-1
$284,167
T17
Matt Fitzpatrick
-1
$284,167
19
Viktor Hovland
E
$258,662
T20
Jordan Smith
1
$200,152
T20
Nick Hardy
1
$200,152
T20
Denny McCarthy
1
$200,152
T20
Keith Mitchell
1
$200,152
T20
Shane Lowry
1
$200,152
T20
Bryson DeChambeau
1
$200,152
T20
Ryutaro Nagano
1
$200,152
T27
Sahith Theegala
2
$143,295
T27
Sergio Garcia
2
$143,295
T27
Justin Suh
2
$143,295
T27
Tyrrell Hatton
2
$143,295
T27
Padraig Harrington
2
$143,295
T32
Dylan Wu
3
$108,001
T32
Patrick Rodgers
3
$108,001
T32
Sam Burns
3
$108,001
T32
Joaquin Niemann
3
$108,001
T32
Cameron Young
3
$108,001
T32
Tony Finau
3
$108,001
T32
Hideki Matsuyama
3
$108,001
T39
David Puig
4
$85,441
T39
Gordon Sargent (a)
4
$0
T39
Eric Cole
4
$85,441
T39
Si Woo Kim
4
$85,441
T43
Sam Bennett
5
$64,582
T43
Sebastián Muñoz
5
$64,582
T43
Andrew Putnam
5
$64,582
T43
Sam Stevens
5
$64,582
T43
Billy Horschel
5
$64,582
T43
Brian Harman
5
$64,582
T43
Ryan Fox
5
$64,582
T50
Mackenzie Hughes
6
$48,299
T50
Charley Hoffman
6
$48,299
T50
Kevin Streelman
6
$48,299
T50
Gary Woodland
6
$48,299
T54
Romain Langasque
7
$45,270
T54
Abraham Ancer
7
$45,270
T56
Patrick Reed
8
$44,420
T56
Ryan Gerard
8
$44,420
58
Yuto Katsuragawa
9
$43,783
59
Adam Hadwin
11
$43,358
T60
Jacob Solomon
12
$42,720
T60
Adam Svensson
12
$42,720
62
Ben Carr (a)
13
$0
63
Ryo Ishikawa
14
$42,083
64
Aldrich Potgieter (a)
15
$0
65
Maxwell Moldovan (a)
17
$0
In addition, the USGA pays each player who missed the cut $10,000.
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LOS ANGELES – The long wait continues for Rory McIlroy.
It was as if the stars were aligning for the kid from Holywood, Northern Ireland, to break his nine-year major drought this week at Los Angeles Country Club in the shadows of the Hollywood hills.
After taking advantage of benign conditions Thursday with a 5-under 65, McIlroy remained in the periphery of the leaders with rounds of 67 and 69 by staying true to his game plan of playing smart and with patience. Entering Sunday’s final round, he was one shot off the leader (and eventual champion) Wyndham Clark. A birdie at the first had the crowd stirring in anticipation. Little did they know it would be his last.
McIlroy missed chance after chance, putt after putt, and a couple poor decisions by his own admission kept him from every truly putting the pressure on Clark. The result? A ho-hum, even-par 70 and another major left on the table.
Sound familiar? McIlroy compared this week to last year’s Open at St. Andrews, where he held a share of the 54-hole lead but managed just two birdies to finish third, one stroke behind Cameron Young and two behind winner Cameron Smith.
Rory McIlroy reacts to his putt on the 17th green during the final round of the 123rd U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club. (Photo: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
“There was a couple of things that I probably would have done differently, but all in all, I played a solid round of golf,” a visibly disappointed McIlroy said after the round. “That one wedge shot on 14, missed birdie putt on 8, really apart from that, I did everything else the way I wanted to.”
“Yeah, fine, fine margins at this level and at this tournament especially, but I fought to the very end. I obviously never give up. And I’m getting closer,” he continued. “The more I keep putting myself in these positions, sooner or later it’s going to happen for me. Just got to regroup and get focused for (Royal Liverpool) in a few weeks’ time.”
Rewatching old videos of his 2014 Open Championship win at Royal Liverpool – the English venue that will host this year’s Open in a matter of 32 days – made him realize how he needed to keep the driver in the bag this week and trust his other skills around the famed LACC’s North Course.
“I thought I did really well at executing my game plan, hitting a lot of fairways, hitting a lot of greens, again, what you should do at a U.S. Open,” he explained. “If anything, I felt like over the last two days when the greens started to get quite crispy that my speed control was off a little bit, and I think that’s the reason I didn’t hole a lot of putts. I don’t think I was hitting bad putts; just hitting them just with slightly the wrong speed. Some were coming up short, some were going a little long.”
“I can play free. I think I proved that today,” McIlroy added. “Just felt like my speed control was a little off with the putter. That’s probably why I didn’t make a birdie since the first.”
So where does he go from here? Nobody wants McIlroy to win more than himself, and he praised his ability to bounce back earlier in the week.
“I’ve been trying and I’ve come close over the past nine years or whatever it is, and I keep coming back,” he said after 36 holes on Friday. “I feel like I’ve showed a lot of resilience in my career, a lot of ups and downs, and I keep coming back. And whether that means that I get rewarded or I get punched in the gut or whatever it is, I’ll always keep coming back.”
This week was a punch in the gut. If the reward is to come, he’ll need to practice what he preaches.
“I would go through 100 Sundays like this to get my hands on another major championship,” he added on Sunday. With 19 top 10s on his resume since his last major win, he’s nearly a quarter of the way there.
According to McIlroy, the countdown to the Open started three minutes before his post-round presser, but he’s got a few stops before his next crack at finding water to end his drought. First up is the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut next week before heading across the pond to The Renaissance Club in North Berwick, Scotland for the Genesis Scottish Open, July 13-16, held a week before the Open.
If there’s one thing we learned from this week, it’s that the countdown to Royal Liverpool is on, and McIlroy will be back.
The trend of LIV golfers contending at majors continued at the 2023 U.S. Open.
LOS ANGELES — The trend of LIV Golf players contending at majors continued this week at the 2023 U.S. Open.
Fifteen players who took their talents to the upstart circuit led by Greg Norman and financially backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund were in the 156-player field, and 10 made the weekend cut. Cam Smith and Dustin Johnson were both within striking distance of the leaders on the weekend, and both earned top-10 finishes.
Earlier this year three LIV players finished in the top six at the Masters, and of the 16 players who competed at the 2023 PGA Championship, 11 made the weekend cut.
Check out how each of the LIV Golf League players fared this week at the 2023 U.S. Open.
LOS ANGELES — In major championship golf, like Los Angeles traffic, it’s the waiting that wears you down.
There’s been a symbiotic relationship between Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler that stretches back to the Walker Cup at Royal County Down in 2007, when they were 18, all flowing locks and potential. Both have delivered on that promise, one more than the other.
Fowler’s first PGA Tour victory came in a playoff over McIlroy at the same course where McIlroy had won his maiden title two years earlier. McIlroy’s last major win, the ’14 PGA Championship, came in a twilight nail-biter over Fowler at Valhalla. His first major title – the ’11 U.S. Open – was logged less than four years after he turned professional, so he was never branded as the best golfer without a major, the burdensome millstone that has been draped around the neck of so many. Fowler, almost five months older, has been mentioned in such dispatches on the back of a handful of Tour titles, including the Players Championship.
For McIlroy, three more majors followed in quick succession – two PGA Championships and the older Open – but none since that second Wanamaker Trophy at Valhalla nine years ago. For about half of those 3,234 intervening days, he’s had a sense of how it feels to wear that major-less label. He has four of them, but McIlroy has became known as the best player waiting for another major. And that might be worse than the winless designation.
Being referred to as the best player without a major suggests that one’s best is ahead. To be known as the best player waiting for another implies that the best might well be in the rear view.
McIlroy has done about all he can to dispel that notion since Valhalla: another 14 wins on the PGA Tour with three victories in the season-long FedEx Cup, another four wins in Europe and three season’s best titles there, plus 18 top ten finishes in majors, half of them top fives. That’s several careers worth by most standards, but for all that he is continually judged by what he has not won lately.
Even casual observers noticed a change in McIlroy this week. Outwardly, not much was different. Sure, he skipped a press conference – his reasoning was that he’d said all he wants to on the PGA Tour’s proposed deal with the Saudi Public Investment Fund – but otherwise he was his usual self. But there was also an unmistakable edge of impatience, the air of one who has had just about enough of this crap in the majors.
For someone as competitive as McIlroy, the nine-year quest for a fifth major is wearing enough, but his failure to accomplish it is magnified by the success of others. Brooks Koepka has won five since McIlroy’s fourth. Jordan Spieth has three. Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas have a couple each. So too Collin Morikawa, fresh out of college. For chrissakes, even Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, a generation older and spent forces on paper, have won since ’14.
Perhaps that pointy-elbowed focus this week was born from Koepka winning the PGA Championship last month in the Rochester, New York, hometown of McIlroy’s wife, Erica. Maybe he was unburdened by picking out the shrapnel he took for a Tour that ultimately treated him like a “sacrificial lamb,” in his words. Or it could have been the grouping with Koepka the first two rounds, in which he clipped him by eight shots.
Whatever the motivation, for most the 123rd U.S. Open, McIlroy’s game delivered on it. He wielded his driver like Thor’s hammer to batter L.A.C.C.’s North course into submission. On Sunday, he played what has long been thought an ideal U.S. Open final round – birdie early, then grind out pars. But his putter went tepid, just as it did in the closing round of the Open at St. Andrews last summer, and he was hosed by a lousy break in a bunker on the 14th hole. It was destined to be another crushing Sunday in a major.
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Fowler is McIlroy without the hardware. He has an impeccable reputation and lucrative personal brand, and as a 34-year-old father has outgrown the neon highlighter fashions, even if he hasn’t stopped wearing them. He entered the final round with a share of the lead but leaked oil all day, a series of bogies leaving him a few shots adrift.
McIlroy and Fowler both leave Los Angeles still waiting, one for five, the other for one. Fowler can take more from this U.S. Open than can McIlroy. For the Northern Irishman, it was a golden opportunity that he allowed to slide by. For the Californian, it was an unexpectedly strong performance after four years in the doldrums. On days like this, small victories can bring consolation.
From Los Angeles Country Club, it’s six miles east to Hollywood, and about another 5,000 and change east to Holywood Golf Club outside Belfast, where McIlroy grew up. The road he has traveled between those two points was once as smooth and thrilling as an autobahn. In recent years, it has felt more like a country lane, full of unexpected turns and jolting potholes. The next stop on his road is Royal Liverpool, the site of his third major win nine years ago. It will be another reminder of the player he was, and that he will be again. Just wait.
He held off Rory McIlroy to win at Los Angeles Country Club by just one stroke, and now the 29-year-old can celebrate joining some of the all-time greats with the victory.
Let’s take a look at some of the best photos after he won:
GRIPS: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord / SuperStroke Zenergy 17″ 3.0 (putter)
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LOS ANGELES — Before the final round of the 123rd U.S. Open, mental coach Julie Elion told her pupil Wyndham Clark, who had never won on the PGA Tour in five seasons until May and had never finished better than T-75 in a major, that he could stare down Rory McIlroy, playing in the group ahead of him, and Rickie Fowler, another of the most popular players in the game.
“She goes, every time you hear someone chant ‘Rickie,’ think of your goals and get cocky and go show them who you are,” Clark said. “I did that. It was like 100 plus times today I reminded myself of the goals. Now maybe they’ll be chanting my name in the future.”
Now maybe they will after the 29-year-old Clark closed in even-par 70 at Los Angeles Country Club to win his first major championship of his career, finishing with two gutsy pars to edge McIlroy by one stroke.
It’s all the more remarkable when you consider that Clark nearly quit golf after his mother, Lise, died of breast cancer. She had started him in the game, driven him to his tournaments and she was his rock, instilling in him the mantra of “Play big.”
“Even in junior golf there’s times when you’re so mad and you feel like you should have done better or you’re embarrassed with how you played, or other sports, she was always there to comfort me,” Clark said.
Without his mother, who died when he was 19, Clark was lost.
“When I was on the golf course I couldn’t have been angrier. I was breaking clubs when I didn’t even hit that bad of a shot. I was walking off golf courses,” Clark recalled. On multiple occasions at Oklahoma State, he stormed off the course and emptied his locker as if he was going to quit only for his then-coach Mike McGraw to pick up his gear and put it back. But eventually, McGraw decided to stage his own version of an intervention.
“He said, ‘Hey, I think it’s just best if you step away from golf. At first I really was mad. I’m competitive. I didn’t want to not play, and I thought it was bad if you redshirted, that you weren’t good enough,” Clark recalled. But it was also the best thing for me. I owe Mike a lot for that.”
When Clark returned to the team under new coach Allan Bratton, he remained intense, and when he didn’t make the squad for the 2016 NCAA tournament, he decided to transfer to Oregon. At the same time, John Ellis returned there to his alma mater to serve as an assistant coach to Casey Martin, who told him, “You’re going to be watching over this guy a lot.”
“I heard of this talented kid but there are a lot of those in the college ranks,” Ellis recalled. “What stood out was that he wanted to be the best in the world and he was willing to work harder than everybody.”
Clark blossomed into the Pac-12 Player of the Year and when he turned pro Ellis joined him as his caddie. Clark managed to keep his PGA Tour card but he couldn’t nab that first win.
“I was beginning to think that maybe I’ll never win,” he said. “I know that sounds crazy because I’ve only been out here five years, but I had a lot of chances to where I was within two or three shots either going into the back nine or starting on a Sunday and I always seem to fall short, and not only that, but seem like I fell back in positions.”
There were times when Clark was so frustrated with his play that he was ready to quit. Indeed, he withdrew from the Rocket Mortgage Classic in 2020, citing a back injury but he could’ve just as easily cited attitude. As he continued to run hot, Ellis, his agent and the rest of Clark’s team orchestrated an intervention in November and suggested he meet with Elion, who has helped the likes of Phil Mickelson and Jimmy Walker win majors.
“I was a little reluctant to do it, and I’m just so glad that she was brought into my life, and what these honestly six months, it’s crazy to see how much I’ve improved and how much she’s helped me,” he said. “I wouldn’t have thought I’d be a major champion six, seven months ago.”
Elion is pretty tight-lipped about how she helps players, but noted that Clark has outworked any of her other students and said, “I just held up the mirror.”
Clark has finally learned to harness his emotions. Since a young age, Clark has been called a winner. That’s what his mom used to call him. And he finally validated all his other-worldly talents last month by winning the Wells Fargo Championship.
“The weight of expectation has been lifted,” Martin said, “Like, ‘Oh, I’ve justified my talent. I’ve I’m not a failure,’ you know, kind of a deal.”
Clark opened with a 64 on a day of record scoring in which Fowler and Xander Schauffele shot the first two 62s in U.S. Open history.
“I’m used to the U.S. Open being as mean as a pitbull with a bad tooth,” said Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee. “This was more like a basket of kittens.”
The marine layer burned off on Friday and LACC began to play fast and firm and showed some of its fangs, but Clark handled it all in stride, posting rounds of 67-69 and making a birdie at the final hole in near-darkness on Saturday to share the 54-hole lead with Fowler and secure his spot in Sunday’s final group.
He made birdie on the first hole to take the lead and never relinquished it despite some dicey moments, including saving bogey at No. 8 after whiffing on a pitch shot, and rescuing pars on Nos. 9 and 11 with a nifty short game. He handled this potential mine fields beautifully. If there ever was a moment that personified his mom’s message to “Play big,” it was at the par-5 14th, where he busted a 3-wood from 271 yards to set up a two-putt birdie and grab a three-stroke lead.
But winning the U.S. Open required handling one more dose of adversity. After being the only player in the 65-man field on Sunday to bogey the short par-3 15th and another bogey at 16, he made two clutch pars and clenched his fists and hugged Ellis after finishing at 10-under 270.
“I felt at ease,” he said. “I kept telling myself ‘I can do it, I can do it.’ ”
That sense of calm? Clark had a pretty good idea where it stemmed from, as did Fowler, who said as much when they shared a quiet moment together.
“I went back in there and just said, your mom was with you,” Fowler said. “She’d be very proud.”
“I just felt like my mom was watching over me today,” Clark said during his trophy presentation. “She can’t be here, and I miss you, mom.”
One person who never stopped believing in Clark was Ellis. On Saturday night, he had flipped on Golf Channel and all he heard was talk about McIlroy, Fowler and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who was in striking distance too.
“No one was giving us a chance,” he said. “I made it a point to let him know and we were here to get it done too.”
And while Clark spoiled the Hollywood ending of Fowler finally winning a major or McIlroy ending his nearly nine-year major-less drought, Ellis knew that Clark was meant to be more than a bit character in the finale of the 123rd U.S. Open.
“He does things that other guys can’t do. He hits it a mile, he putts and chips with some of the best. You put that together and get your mind right, he’s going to be hard to beat,” Ellis said.
The 2023 U.S. Open is so so so CLOSE (at least when we wrote this, when there were three players within one shot of each other on the leaderboard heading to the final round at Los Angeles Country Club, with another three strokes back).
So if you’re here, you’re probably wondering: What’s the playoff format should extra holes be necessary to declare a winner?
We have an answer: Nope, it won’t take an extra full round of 18 holes. Instead: Two holes will be played and total strokes will decide the winner. If there’s still a tie? It goes to sudden death until a winner gets decided.
