That’s another US Open completed. The boy from Holywood, Belfast couldn’t quite triumph in Hollywood, Los Angeles. Instead, Wyndham Clark announced himself to the world. From myself and Dave thank you for reading and emailing – and goodnight!
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Just before we wrap up, here’s a report from Ewan Murray about the field’s opinions of LA CC.
“Why did you win today?” Clark is asked after he lifts the trophy.
“I felt like my mom was watching over me today,” he says. “Miss you mom. And I worked so hard and so many times I visualised winning this championship and it felt like my time.
“US Opens are tough. It’s tough on a back nine. I kept saying I can do this, I can do this. I ground it on the way in.”
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One of Clark’s secrets to success? He said this earlier in the week: “I will say that I came here (to LA CC) with my good buddy, PJ. He’s a member. He’s a good player and he really knows the golf course.
“That 18 holes was the equivalent of probably playing 36 holes because he was telling me how certain putts break, how this one is faster than that. If you’re here, you want to go there. He was spot on.
“When I left that practice round I felt like I didn’t even need a practice round. I felt like it was that in-depth.”
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The final scores on the doors:
-10: W Clark
-9: R McIlroy
-7: S Scheffler
-6: C Smith
-5: T Fleetwood, M W Lee, R Fowler
-4: T Kim, H English
Rory McIlroy on his performance: “The putter - I’ll rue some chances. That wedge on 14 coming up short, too. Just didn’t quite get the job done. I’ll keep coming back. I’m right there but it’s such fine margins.”
“So good, so good, so good,” yelled a friend of Clark as he received back slaps and fist pumps galore. It’s a sentiment that is hard to argue with. He has been superb this week.
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Wyndham Clark is the 2023 US Open champion
A sensational performance. A second win of the year. A first major championship. Tears and a look to the heavens.
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Clark’s caddie removes the flag. Clark hits his putt. Oh it’s good. Very, very good. Inches from the hole.
Wow. The galleries have been allowed to surround the 18th green.
Clark peers back at them. It’s as raucous on 18 today as it’s been anywhere all week.
Here we go. Clark settles over his ball. 198 yards to the flag. “The palm tree,” says his caddie, meaning the line.
His ball finds the front of the green. He’s 60 feet from the flag. Triumph is within touching distance … but it’s not over yet.
“All he can do now is wait,” says Ewen Murray on TV, as McIlroy walks off the 18th green.
Behind, Clark has to walk up the 18th hole with a cameramen beside him. What thoughts must be racing through his head!
McIlroy’s putt at 18 is one of his best of the day but it doesn’t drop!
Back on the tee, Clark finds the fairway. He’s got three shots from there to become a major champion.
Clark is superb – yet again – with his short game. His pitch on the 17th settles by the hole and he secures his par. It’s all down to the 72nd hole now. But advantage Clark – he leads McIlroy by one.
What about the approaches?
Clark at 17 first: he misses the green (he’s done that every round this week) but has done so in a good spot. He’s 54 feet away with nothing between his ball and the flag. Relatively flat too. The biggest hazard? Nerves!
McIlroy at 18: he watches Scheffler knock one close, can he produce the same? He has to step away because of the din – the first din of the week more or less – then he finds the putting surface but he’s 41 feet away.
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Clark on the 17th tee, finds the fairway, 182 to the flag. McIlroy on the 18th tee, finds the fairway, 185 yards to the flag.
There really is very little in this!
What happens if we need extra holes? The US Open is now decided by an aggregate two hole play-off if there is a tie after 72 holes.
McIlroy is frustrated after his birdie putt does no more than nestle by the hole. But he doesn’t know what has happened on the 16th green. Riley said earlier that the Northern Irishman had ignored a leaderboard – will he know the situation heading up the final hole?
-10: W Clark (16)
-9: R McIlroy (17)
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Bogey for Clark! He slaps the face of his putter after his ball lips out at the 16th!
He is now only one clear of McIlroy.
TV’s Wayne Riley knew better than the cameras. McIlroy, he explains, planned to take an alternative route to the 17th green. He powered the ball over trees onto an adjacent fairway. His approach landed with a roar from the galleries but he still has 32-feet to the hole.
Clark executes a superb approach at the 16th. He’s left himself 7-feet for par.
Let’s have a reminder of just how remarkable it is that he’s withstood the major championship pressure. First, there is his major record which includes four missed cuts in six starts and a best of tied 75th. But it’s also true that 23 of the last 25 major championship winners had experience of contending a major in at least one of the three that preceded their win (finishing top eight or sitting top four with 18 holes to play). Clark has never felt that heat. It doesn’t seem to be bothering him, however.
Leaderboard update
It’s getting very twitchy. McIlroy’s drive at 16 has gone left and might be in trouble. It’s one of those where the TV camera lingers on trees and marshals who are walking towards them. Behind, Clark has to heave his ball out of the fairway bunker at 15 so needs to save par from 130 yards. The state of play:
-11: W Clark (15)
-9: R McIlroy (16)
-7: S Scheffler (16), R Fowler (15)
-6: C Smith (F)
McIlroy’s long distance birdie putt at 16 slips a nasty 7-feet past the hole.
But drama behind him on the tee – Clark has driven into the fairway bunker and might struggle to reach the green.
McIlroy putts …and it drops! That was vital.
McIlroy has an ugly lie after that errant tee shot at the 16th. He has, however, clattered it onto the putting surface. A long away from the hole, though.
Clark’s chip has slipped to around 10-feet at 15. Can he stay three shots clear? No! A bogey and the first crack in his previously iron-clad short game. The gap is two.
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Thanks Dave. Things have certainly changed in the last 20 minutes. I’m thinking of this week’s most regular emailer, Michael Meagher, who is somewhere out there sighing: “Oh Rory.”
Also, before I crack on with the finale, I just want to say that, in a week that’s been full of chatter about the Golden Age of Hollywood, well played Min Woo Lee for celebrating it best with his Douglas Fairbanks/Errol Flynn style moustache. And his top 10 finish, of course.
McIlroy drives into rough at 16. Not good. Clark’s tee shot at 15 is waywad though and misses the green. Do we have further twists? Matt will take you down the closing stretch.
Here goes McIlroy with his birdie putt at 15. It shaves the hole. Of course it does. That’s a par.
Clark eyes up his eagle try back at 14. Holing it would be fantastic; taking two putts for birdie is a very valuable consolation prize. Clark is rightfully cautious and makes sure of the birdie-4. He pulls three clear. Fowler also makes birdie but that’s more to firm up his bid for bronze rather than gold.
-12: W Clark (14)
-9: R McIlroy (15)
-7: R Fowler (14)
-6: C Smith (F), Scheffler (15)
Clark must have seen all the McIlroy drama and he’s had to spend plenty of time stewing in the fairway. Under the circumstances he could be forgiven for messing this approach up. Instead, he hits a worldie from 280 yards onto the green and will have 20 feet for eagle. Very soon, Clark could be three clear with four to play.
McIlroy needs to pull something out of the bag. Perhaps he’s started that process with a tee shot to 19 feet at the par-3 15th. But, for goodness sake, he has to hole a putt not sooner or later but now.
McIlroy drops his ball, without penalty, in rough outside of the bunker and hacks out to nine feet. A chance to save par but he hasn’t holed a putt of that length all day. He looks anxious as he stalks the putt. This is huge and… he misses right. Ouch. A first bogey for McIlroy and he falls two back. Scheffler also drops a shot and he’s six off the pace. A costly hole.
Out on the course, Sky’s Wayne Riley explains that it’s broken ground so McIlroy can pluck out his embedded ball and get a free drop. It was deemed to be plugged. That’s a huge, huge break. The turning point? We shall see.
McIlroy slumps over his knees as his approach to 14 holds up in the wind and plonks into the front bunker. And drama, it’s plugged in the face. This will require a ruling. Back on the tee, Clark booms away a solid drive.
The clubhouse leader, replacing Tommy Fleetwood, is Open champion Cam Smith. The Aussie signs for a 67 to finish at 6-under.
Clark does indeed take two putts for par at 13, the second a pressure-free tap-in. He retains his one-shot lead. McIlroy lays up on the 612-yard par-5 14th. Barring a big collapse from either, the 123rd US Open is surely now a two-horse race. McIlroy has only holed 27 feet of putts over his first 13 holes by the way.
-11: W Clark (13)
-10: R McIlroy (13)
-6: C Smith (17), Fowler (13)
Viktor Hovland, one of the pre-tournament favourites for victory, wraps up his week with a 72. That’s currently good enough for tied 20th (Partridge shrug).
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Scheffler holes a bomb at 13 to return to -6 and perhaps give himself the merest squeak. What Rory would give for that. Scheffler’s putt raced into the hole but McIlroy’s tentative effort pulls up four or so feet short. In it goes though and it’s a 12th straight par. This is Nick Faldo Muirfield ‘87 golf but, in a tough US Open, that’s no bad thing.
Back down the fairway, Clark has to thrash out of a tough lie but from 187 yards he lands his ball short and it runs onto the green. It’s a long way from the flag but he’ll fancy himself to two-putt it for par. As he walks to the green, Rory’s tee shot at 14 drifts left into the rough.
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Great drive by McIlroy at 13, currently the 2nd hardest hole on the course. He hits his 12th green out of 13 in regulation although not within birdie range. Would Rory accept six closing pars now? Quite possibly. Back on the tee, Clark misses the fairway so making four from there is no guarantee.
Top fives in majors are good to have on the record and there are currently four players in a tie for fifth: Tommy Fleetwood after his 63, Min Woo Lee (17), Tom Kim (15) and Scottie Scheffler (12).
Clark’s wedge at 12 is played with caution to the heart of the green. No point in taking on that front flag. He’ll take his chances with a 30-footer instead. Fowler has to be more aggressive given that he’s playing his third and his approach finishes 10 feet away. You sense he’ll have to hole that to keep his chances alive. Clark cosies his first putt to the side of the hole so that’s another par ticked off. But Fowler? Nope, he misses right. That’s a fifth bogey of the day and he’s five behind and almost out of it.
-11: W Clark (12)
-10: R McIlroy (12)
-6: C Smith (16), Fowler (12)
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Last year’s winner Matt Fitzpatrick knocks in a 12-footer for par at 18 and that completes a pretty solid defence. Rounds of 71-70-68-70 for a total of 1-under 279 which currently has him in a tie for 18th.
Scheffler’s putter is deserting him now. He misses his par putt at 12 and drops six back. Race run surely. Back down the fairway, Fowler can only chip back to the fairway from a miserable lie as The Smiths song goes.
Thanks Matt. How good is Wyndham Clark’s short game! He floats a beautiful chip up on to the 11th green and it almost drops in the hole. He’ll have four feet or so for par. Fowler also hits a great chip and should save par but he doesn’t, tugging his putt left for another bogey. With Clark finishing off his up and down, Fowler is four back again.
McIlroy finds the green at 12 and is 30 feet away. But here’s a thing: Rory hasn’t holed anything over five feet today. He ranks 52nd out of 65 for Strokes Gained: Putting in round four. The consolation is that Clark isn’t playing like Cam Smith in last summer’s Open. Clark looks nervous. Pars may be good enough for McIlroy on this tough back nine. That’s what he settles for at 12 after a good first putt which, of course, threatens but doesn’t drop.
Leaderboard update
Cam Smith has suddenly climbed into the top five. He’s -3 for the day and -6 for the week. Trouble for the last pair as they miss the green at the 11th – Fowler in a bunker and Clark in the rough. State of play as I pass the baton to Dave.
-11: W Clark (10)
-10: R McIlroy (11)
-8: R Fowler (10)
-6: C Smith (15) S Scheffler (11)
Will Clark be watching?! As McIlroy lines up his birdie putt at 11, Clark is on the tee and it might be a long way away but it’s high up – the view is very clear. Footage suggests he might be keeping his head down, “looking” for something in his bag.
McIlroy putts … and it runs out of steam. A touch dribbly. He suggests it bobbles. Upside? A tough hole negotiated. Downside? A good chance missed.
Scheffler hits a terrible par putt and it’s not his first rotter today. Laura Davies on TV says she doesn’t even fancy the bogey putt. But he makes it. Now -6 for the week and five back.
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Dave Bowyer from Coffs Harbour emails: “Rootin’ for Rory today! I got faith.”
The 295-yard par-three 11th. Probably the test Matt Fitzpatrick was thinking of when he poo-pooed an anonymous hole yesterday. Ridiculously long. McIlroy biffs a long iron to 18-feet.
Harris English returns to our screens. Only to hole a longish par putt. Ditto DJ. They’re surely spent.
A big few minutes. While Clark attempts to save par from another nasty spot, McIlroy has a 14-foot birdie putt coming up at the 10th.
Clark chops down on his ball and it seems, at first glance, that he’s skewed the shot, but he’s been very shrewd. He catches a slope and the ball runs down it leaving a very makeable par putt.
McIlroy runs his putt past the hole.
Back to Clark – he holes it! Very courageous. He remains one clear as he makes the turn.
Someone might have slipped Kryptonite into Clark’s pocket, Gregory. His tee shot at the par-three 9th has found more of the lush greenside Bermuda rough that resembles very long greengrocer fake grass.
Gregory Odle emails: “Well, Fowler’s gone afoul, Rory’s yet to roar, and Clark? I’m thinking Clark Kent’s in the house!”
Clark completes his bogey and Fowler records a birdie at the same hole to edge back into it. Updated scores at the top end:
-11: W Clark (8)
-10: R McIlroy (9)
-8: R Fowler (8)
-7: S Scheffler (9)
With his fourth shot Clark has an almighty wipe at the ball and does remove it from the thicket of long grass but it has flown over the green. He’s facing a big challenge here. The fifth shot is chopped out and it is very good. Very, very good. “Outstanding,” says TV’s Andrew Coltart. A bogey 6 is on the cards. A good damage limitation exercise.
Where has Clark ended up? His ball is in thick grass. His left leg is higher than his right. He thrashes at it … and nothing happens! It’s still in there!
Xander Schauffele has closed the front nine with back-to-back birdies. Too little, too late, but he’s in the red for the day again (-1) and lifts himself to solo 5th on -6.
Clark finds the barranca at the 8th! Stood over his approach to the par-five 8th, the leader had a big opportunity to edge further clear. He might still do so but he’d have hoped to find the green and has instead pulled his ball into the scrub of the dry creek.
Yikes. McIlroy three putts the 8th green for a par-five! Michael knows …
Michael Meagher emails: “This is starting to feel a lot like St Andrews: Rory playing well but not quite sparking and an opponent playing the round of his life. Oh Rory!” Don’t give up faith just yet Michael!
Oh dear. Talking of punctures, Rickie Fowler is having problems at the par-three 7th and will make another bogey which leaves him -7 for the week. Clark very nearly makes another birdie but will tap in for par. He remains -12 for the tournament.
Up ahead, Scheffler and McIlroy will take aim at eagle-3s on the par-five 8th with putters.
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Thanks Dave and I enjoyed the Tour de France reference earlier (at 23.22). To run with it a little further, I think Harris English got a puncture, but is a domestique helping him back into it? He’s just made a birdie at the 8th to climb back to +2 for the day, -4 for the week and tied 8th.
Is this now a two-horse race? Fowler has slipped four back while Scheffler is six in arrears after eventually making a bogey at 7 following that wayward tee shot. Matt will take you through the next hour.
“Seriously impressive so far,” says Sky’s Rich Beem as Clark rolls in his birdie putt to hit 12-under. That’s two clear of McIlroy whose positive putt at 7 just stays out. That’s an opening birdie and six pars for Rory. All good but he may have to find some extra gears if Clark continues to set this sort of pace.
-12 W Clark (6)
-10: R McIlroy (7)
-8: R Fowler (6)
-6: S Scheffler (7)
-5: T Fleetwood (F), X Schauffele (8)
McIlroy launches his tee shot at 7 so far into the air it nearly clips the moon. His ball finally emerges from space and finds the front of the green. By contrast, Scheffler’s tee shot is off the planet left. Marshals scuttle off into the woods, looking for signs of life.
At 6, Clark finds thick greenside rough but shows magic wrists to hack out to about five feet. He’ll have that for birdie and a two-shot lead. It’s easy to see why he ranks 4th for Strokes Gained: Around The Green this week. Fowler wedges to 20 feet but his putt slips by. It just doesn’t look to be his day.
Back to Scheffler and he somehow finds a line through the trees and cashes in on his fortunate break to clip his second onto the green.
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Fowler flexes his knees sharply as a six-footer for par at 5 doesn’t catch enough of the hole. That’s another bogey and he’s +2 for the day and not doing what he needs to do. Clark looks far more on it and he pars. Fowler is now three back, still in contention but current status is now “wobbling”.
Rory plays the short par-4 6th rather scruffily. An average drive leaves him a difficult second which he leaves 30 feet away. His first putt pulls up four feet short but he holes the knee-knocker. No pictures on the scorecard as they say. A par and he moves on.
-11 W Clark (5)
-10: R McIlroy (6)
-8: R Fowler (5)
-7: S Scheffler (6)
-5: T Fleetwood (F)
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Joe Pearson from Indianapolis mails in: “Is the wording of Fleetwood’s tweet meant to imply that maybe a monkey has done it? Or possibly a horse?” Fair point. It’s sort of a vague, English, self-deprecation type thing I guess.
Much was made of Scottie Scheffler’s cold putter coming into this week. If it heated up, he’d be unstoppable. But at pre-US Open temperatures it would foil any victory hopes. To this point, it’s fallen between those two extremes. He’s a fairly good 29th for Strokes Gained: Putting but Clark is 4th, McIlroy 16th and Fowler 9th. If just a few more had dropped, Scheffler would be vying for the lead. As it is, he’s four back and fighting to stay on Clark’s heels.
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Great up and down from Fowler and he saves par at the 4th hole to stay one back. But only momentarily. Clark rattles his five-footer into the hole with aplomb and moves clear at the top. At five, McIlroy’s drive bounded down the cambered fairway and toppled into the right rough. He’s had to hack out to short left of the green so needs to scramble for par. Rory decides to putt from about 90 feet away and… wow, it catches the lip and spins out. That could have gone in or whizzed 15 feet by. Rory chuckles, perhaps more thinking of the latter.
-11 W Clark (4)
-10: R McIlroy (4)
-9: R Fowler (4)
-7: S Scheffler (4)
-5: T Fleetwood (F), X Schauffele (6)
Tommy Fleetwood missed the putt that would have made him just the fourth man in history (although the third this week!) to shoot 62 in a major. But he likes the new stat he’s just been told.
After coming off disappointed it’s pretty cool to be the first human ever to shoot two 63s on a Sunday at a US Open!!!
— Tommy Fleetwood (@TommyFleetwood1) June 18, 2023
For now, the leaderboard has the look of a Tour de France stage. There’s a three-man breakaway - McIlroy (-10), Clark (-10) and Fowler (-9) – while Scheffler (-7) is trying his best to attach himself to it. The peloton is too far back to reel them in.
McIlroy two-putts for par at 4 but there are contrasting fortunes at that par 3 for Clark and Fowler. Clark hits one of the shots of the day there to leave himself just five feet for birdie but Fowler comes up way short and will have to chip from the barranca.
Fowler has taken his outerwear off with the sun starting to come out and immediately looks more like a major winner. Nice shirt (thin pink and white stripes). His approach to 3 finishes 18 feet away as does Clark’s but both have to settle for par, the latter’s effort just darting away from the hole at the last second.
Is it me or does anyone judge the chances of a final-day major challenger by what they’re wearing? For example, Xander Schauffele is donning some sort of Hawaiian number today. You can’t win a major with that on. Sony Open maybe but not this. I’m also far from convinced that Rickie Fowler’s attire is strong enough. A bit Honda Classic-y. McIlroy, Clark and Scheffler look the part though. This stuff is important. Sort of reminds me of Take The Money And Run and Woody Allen’s character, Virgil Stockwell, berating his wife for picking him out the wrong-coloured shirt ahead of his attempted heist later that day. “Nobody wears beige to a bank robbery.”
Thanks Matt. Clark’s par attempt at 2 is always heading right of the hole so that’s a bogey. Fowler also hands one back as his right to lefter drops away, lacking the necessary pace.
Up at 3, Scheffler’s birdie try catches the lip but stays out so he remains three back. Rory is closer but knocks his 11-footer wide and there’s still some meat on the bone there. No worries though as McIlroy holes the one back from four feet. Time for a leaderboard upate.
-10: R McIlroy (3), W Clark (2)
-9: R Fowler (2)
-7: S Scheffler (3)
-5: T Fleetwood (18), C Morikawa (10)
A tester coming up for the leader Clark on the par-four 2nd green. His first putt has come up 16-feet short of the hole. And Fowler has to gouge his ball from the greenside rough. He has 13-feet for par. Dave will update you!
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Harris English is not alone among the late starters in having early struggles. He’s lost two shots to the card in three holes while Dustin Johnson and Xander Schauffele are +1 through 3 and 4 holes respectively.
Fleetwood magic at the last. He’s hit a superb approach to 18 and has 5-feet for birdie and a 62 – oh no, he misses it! Oh dear. A second 63 for him in the final round of the US Open but that’s little consolation right now.
On the 2nd green, McIlroy rolls a wonderful lag putt to the hole edge. Scheffler is more tentative with his from closer range. Both add par scores to their cards.
Updated
Leaderboard update
Everyone is now out on the course and here’s the state of play at the top end:
-11: W Clark (1)
-10: R McIlroy (1), R Fowler (1)
-7: S Scheffler (1)
-5: T Fleetwood (17)
Fleetwood saves par from 13-feet at the 17th. He is alone in fifth now on -5, by dint of English’s woes at the second (a double bogey 6).
The last pair out? Clark gets up-and-down from the back of the green to hit -11 for the week and regain the lead. Fowler adds a par to his card.
Harris English has endured a terrible time since being one shot off the lead through 10 holes yesterday. He played the last eight holes of round three in +4 and he did eventually make par at the 1st but he’s still off the green after his regulation four shots at the 2nd.
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McIlroy takes aim for the perfect start on the 1st. It’s a beautiful effort but just brushes past the edge of the hole. A tap in birdie, though, and he’s joined the Fowler and Clark at the top of the leaderboard. Scheffler secured his par.
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McIlroy plays a fine approach to the 1st green. He has 32-feet for eagle. Scheffler needs three shots to find the putting surface and it’s still his honour.
Back on the tee, Rickie Fowler’s opening blow hangs out to the right, finds the rough and pops down deep into the roots. Wyndham Clark looks anxiously after his effort but he’s in the fairway.
Tommy Fleetwood’s momentum is disrupted by a bogey at the 16th. Elsewhere, Sergio Garcia is baffled when he holes out from greenside rough and Padraig Harrington delighted to find the hole from a greenside bunker. They’re out of the bigger picture but finding the hole from all angles.
We’ve had an update regarding Sargent’s remarkable lip out. The USGA report the group ahead of him had damaged the hole and it has been fixed. Dave is delighted that there is a conspiracy surrounding him because we rather like the idea that he and PGA Tour player William McGirt sound like CIA operatives suspected to be murkily involved with events at Dealey Plaza in 1963.
Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy hit the 1st tee. Scheffler tugs his drive left and into the thick grass atop a fairway bunker. McIlroy takes a deep breath then steps forward and clatters his ball down the fairway. It briefly flirts with the rough but takes a straight kick.
The chaos of English’s opening shot here:
Harris English purposely blocking his opening drive right so he can visit the Tuck Shop and replenish his chewing gum. pic.twitter.com/Rti6gYuMTw
— TweeterAlliss (Parody) (by Jove) (@TweeterAlliss) June 18, 2023
Folk like to visit the tented village during a major. Not many, as Harris English has just done, do so with their opening tee shot when playing in the pre-penultimate group of the championship! A huge block and it came to rest among the punters milling about. One of them even picked it up, but was quickly told to put it back. A nervy start for the man who started solo fifth.
Gordon Sargent finished his round a short while ago like this. An absolutely extraordinary lip out. TV’s Rich Beem even suggested the USGA would go out and investigate. It did look odd. The good news is that he has still won low amateur honours.
This happened to Gordon Sargent on 18. Imagine if it happened later today on a putt to win the U.S. Open.pic.twitter.com/NefFUXedIK
— Kyle Porter (@KylePorterCBS) June 18, 2023
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Here comes Tommy! A sensational approach to the par-five 14th from Fleetwood with his five-wood from the rough, threaded through the greenside bunkers and he’s drained the eagle putt. A second eagle of the round, he’s -8 for the day, -6 for the week, tied 5th on the leaderboard and he’s found the putting surface at the par-three 15th.
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Thanks Dave. Between 1926 and 2009 just one European – Tony Jacklin at Hazeltine in 1970 – won the US Open. I remember that in the 1980s and 90s its difficulty was almost mythical, a mountain Europeans couldn’t conquer. The slopes too steep, the load too heavy, the air too thin. But between 2010 and last year? Six European wins in 13 events. Can Rory McIlroy make it seven in 14?
Rory looking very relaxed when the cameras focus on him doing various things on the range. Do we read significance into that? I’ll hand to Matt for the next hour. Rory teeing off at 22.19 UK time.
Jordan Smith is hanging tough and is nearly safely back in the hutch with a 5-under lap to show his family and friends. He’s made par at 16 and 17 although the 18th could prove a sting in the tail. He’s struggling for par there.
Matt Fitzpatrick, who leaves the pin in when he putts, misses a par effort from two feet at 3! If I believed in the supernatural and golfing gods and magic fairies, I’d say that was Los Angeles Country Club getting revenge for the defending champion rather dissing it yesterday. Dissing it in a very English way at least. “It’s not my cup of tea,” fumed Fitzpatrick, who is now tied 24th.
A reminder of those tee-times for the final groups. It’s getting close!
21:46 Bryson DeChambeau (US), Joo-Hyung Kim (Kor)
21:57 Ryutaro Nagano (Jpn), Xander Schauffele (US)
22:08 Harris English (US), Dustin Johnson (US)
22:19 Rory McIlroy (NI), Scottie Scheffler (US)
22:30 Wyndham Clark (US), Rickie Fowler (US)
Here’s the prediction of two-time major winner Justin Thomas. Agree?
Front 9 full of fireworks. I think Xander makes a run, Rory gets off to a hot start, becomes a 2 man battle between Rory and Rick. Whoever plays 13-16 the best is in the driver seat. My guess is Rick gets it done at -11. Excited to watch!
— Justin Thomas (@JustinThomas34) June 18, 2023
Rahm gets to 5-under for the day with a birdie conversion from 14 feet at 11. All those red numbers have hauled him up to tied 10th and in line for some more Wikipedia yellow on his majors record.
Sky Sports’ on-course man, Wayne Riley, does a weather forecast to camera. He’s not sure when the sun will break through and burn off the marine layer. A camera pans out to reveal a limp flag. For now, the course is still gettable.
Like Rahm, Patrick Cantlay is on Team Too Little Too Late. He scraped into the weekend on the number, moved up with a 67 in round three and has now just curled in a 30-foot birdie putt which drops into the cup on the very last roll to move up to tied 14th on 2-under.
Another fantastic three wood by Fleetwood, this one at the long par-3 11th that leaves him inside four feet. He brushes that in to hit 6-under for the day and 4-under overall. A flick of the eyes over to the leaderboard and last week’s Canadian Open runner-up is up to tied eighth.
Fellow Englishman Jordan Smith is now battling to hold on to all the gains he made on the front nine. He pars 14 and 15 and remains -5 on his round and even par overall. That’s currently tied 26th. Rahm’s attempt to join Smith on 5-under for the day fails at 11. He lets out some sort of primal scream as his putt misses right.
Jon Rahm’s story this week could be one of too little, too late. He’s reached the turn in 4-under 31 after a burst of birdies at 6, 7 and 9. That puts the Masters champion in tied 14th on 2-under for the championship but it’s come far too late to put him in the shake up. Rahm is in positive figures for all the Strokes Gained categories this week but not in the top 20 for any of them. Basically, he’s been lacking just a little in all areas. Nothing wrong with his wedge at 10 though and he’ll have about five feet for another birdie.
Updated
Thanks Matt. Rory said earlier in the week that Los Angeles Country Club had elements of famed Florida course, Seminole. Interesting to note then that the surging Austin Eckroat was a member of the victorious 2021 USA Walker Cup team at Seminole. That doesn’t quite tell the whole story. He won both singles matches, the latter by 7&6! In not ideal timing Eckroat has just bogeyed 12 but he remains inside the top 10 (tied ninth on 3-under).
Cameron Young is in new territory this weekend because prior to this week, his major championship experience was pure boom or bust. He’d missed five cuts, but his only other finishes? Tied third, second and tied seventh. He’s currently -1 through the 1st, tied 17th for the week. Can he hunt down another top 10?! I’m off for a break now so will hand you back to Dave who will keep note of any charge from him.
It’s been a hoodie morning in LA. Rory McIlroy arrived wearing one.
Rory McIlroy has arrived for the final round. @McIlroyRory #USOpen pic.twitter.com/JomPAZhJpa
— U.S. Open (USGA) (@usopengolf) June 18, 2023
And so did Rickie Fowler.
Co-leader @RickieFowler has arrived at LACC. #USOpen pic.twitter.com/QjN2vzmd2H
— U.S. Open (USGA) (@usopengolf) June 18, 2023
Fleetwood’s round is getting better. Another birdie at the par-three 9th and he turns in just 30 blows. He’s now -5 for the round, -3 for the week and tied for 10th. He has form going low on Sunday at the US Open – he carded a 63 to grab second place in 2018. Here’s how he made that eagle earlier:
Take notes, folks! 📒@TommyFleetwood1 drives the green on No. 6. #USOpen pic.twitter.com/M2NQ8VhfQt
— U.S. Open (USGA) (@usopengolf) June 18, 2023
Tyrrell Hatton has just started his final round and the English are playing well today. Jordan Smith has just dropped a shot at 13 but remains -5 for the day and level-par for the week, and Tommy Fleetwood is -4 through 8 (-2 for the week). Both of them have made eagle-2s – Smith at the 480-yard 5th, Fleetwood rather more predictably at the 316-yard 6th.
Updated
Remember those stats about US Open final round records? I quoted them at the start of my shift, just after 8 p.m.. By way of comparison take a look at Brooks Koepka’s: he’s 6-for-8 at going sub-70 – a huge contrast to this week’s leaders. The two-time champion has just started his final round and, with wonderful timing, he’s done so with a bogey at the par-five 1st.
Updated
Ouch. Austin Eckroat just had 6-feet for birdie at the 10th and it has lipped out.
Meanwhile, two Spaniards are under-par for the day. David Puig is -4 through 16 and Jon Rahm -2 through the 6th. Sergio Garcia is yet to catch fire. He’s level-par through the 8th and yet again he won’t finish top 10 in a major – he hasn’t done so since winning the 2017 Masters. He’s +2 for the week and tied 40th.
Jon Rahm, by the way, has just grumbled “Could I get a good lie in a bunker please?” It’s quite a habit of his to make sure everyone knows how the golf course is conspiring against him. It’s also a habit of his to doggedly persist and he does that right now, draining a long putt to complete an unlikely sand save.
Earlier Dave quoted podcaster Andy Leck, who was disappointed to report that the course has been watered. I was thinking of this when watching the Women’s Amateur Championship this afternoon. Played on the linksland of Prince’s GC it was dry and parched and rapid. And it made me wonder what this week could have been like if the USGA had allowed it. Take a look at some of the gallery walkways across fairways. They look like the ones we’re used to at an Open Championship. We could have had fairways and greens like them, too.
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How are the leaders feeling right now? Ahead of the final round of the Open at St Andrews last year I found myself getting a coffee next to Eve Muirhead, the Olympic gold medal winning curling skip. I mentioned to her that she’d know better than anyone how Rory McIlroy would be feeling right then and added, somewhat absurdly, that I have never dreamed of lifting trophies or visualised scoring winning goals. Instead, I would have loved to experience the fear that comes before those defining moments in sport; asking myself if I had it in me to achieve what I wanted so dearly. Muirhead looked at me as if I was mad and said: “Believe me, you don’t want to experience it. It’s absolutely horrible.”
Austin Eckroat gave himself a great look at birdie on the 9th. It just slipped past the hole on the high side but he turns in 29 and he’s tied the low score for nine holes in the championship.
Hello, hello. Eckroat has drained a 23-foot eagle putt at the 8th and he is suddenly tied eighth in the US Open! He’s -6 through eight holes and -4 for the tournament.
Excellent point from Henni Koyack on commentary: the late starters – many of them at least – will be watching this early action on TVs in the clubhouse, in the gym or while dining.
How have the leading contenders fared in past US Open final rounds? I’ve had a little look. (Bear in mind that this day is as tough as it gets in golf, so many scores in the 70s are to be expected.)
Rickie Fowler: 1-for-8 at breaking 72 in the final round and the exception was remarkable – a 65 in 2018 that came after an 84 in the third round. (What about when starting the final round in the top five? 72-72)
Wyndham Clark: fresh ground. (n/a)
Rory McIlroy: nine final rounds and he’s feast or famine: four sub-70s and five failures to break 72. (69-73)
Scottie Scheffler: trending? 73 in his first, 72 in his second, 67 last year. (67)
Harris English: sneakily he has plenty of experience because he’s 7-for-7 at making the cut in this championship. That’s the good news. The bad is that he’s 1-for-7 at breaking 72. He did post a 68 in 2021 but three times he hasn’t broken 76. (73)
Hello everyone. What a prospect we have in store: a high quality leaderboard, a front nine full of opportunities and a back nine to sift the chancers from the champions. Thanks for joining us for the ride!
Dave mentioned that there’s a charge going on and Austin Eckroat is the man doing it. He’s ticked four birdies in seven holes and has the par-five 8th to come. He’s -4 for the round, -2 for the week and on the verge of breaking the top 10.
To see what Smith can get up to on the inward nine, I’ll hand you over to Matt. He’ll also bring you a leaderboard charge being made elsewhere.
Take a bow Jordan Smith. He birdies the 9th hole and that’s a McIlroy-esque (Rory did this for the first two rounds) outward half of five-under 30. The eagle and three birdies have moved Smith all the way up to tied 22nd.
A good sign for Rory. And one in the face for the bloke who doubted McIlroy.
No one has gained more strokes in the final round of Majors than Rory ...
— Rick Gehman (@RickRunGood) June 18, 2023
since his last win.
August 11th 2014 to present: https://t.co/pG3ke62vxs pic.twitter.com/Nga3PAHkRA
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A take from golf podcaster Andy Lack, who is on the grounds of Los Angeles Country Club.
They watered the course more than I would have hoped for last night & Big time Marine layer this AM & course is still playing almost *five* strokes over par because the USGA finally decided to utilize some spicier pins. Really interested to see how this plays out for the leaders
— Andy Lack (@adplacksports) June 18, 2023
Good starts for three big-name Europeans. Sergio Garcia (after 3), Tommy Fleetwood (2) and Jon Rahm (1) are all 1-under for their rounds and +1 overall. But tied 34th on day four of a major is not what they had planned at the start of the week.
Jordan Smith’s golden start continues as he follows his eagle at 2 with birdie at 3. In fact, he came within a foot or so of holing out again. He’s -4 for the day after just 6 holes and up to tied 33rd. Here’s that hole-out eagle and his theatrical reaction.
Great shot. 🎯 Great reaction. 💪@Jsmithgolf #USOpen pic.twitter.com/COsKBEhUvz
— U.S. Open (USGA) (@usopengolf) June 18, 2023
If you fancy someone from the chasing pack to win, a giant statistics foot will crush those thoughts into a thousand pieces.
Hear this: 48 of the last 49 US Open winners were within four shots heading into the final round. That includes each of the last 24. If that’s the case, those bolded up are the only ones with a chance today.
-10: W Clark, R Fowler
-9: R McIlroy
-7: S Scheffler
-6: H English
-5: D Johnson, X Schauffele
-4: R Nagano
-3: T Kim, B DeChambeau, C Smith
Nick Hardy could sell his start to the leaders. The American, who won the PGA Tour’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans pairs event alongside Davis Riley in April, has opened birdie-par-birdie-par to advance to +2 and tied 40th. Back at 1, Sergio Garcia has scribbled in an opening birdie to climb to +1 and tied 32nd.
Up ahead, Ishikawa’s round is highlighting the difference in the two nines. The Japanese was first man out today and reached the turn in 1-under. He started the back nine with another birdie but has since bogeyed 11, 13 and 14 to drop to 63rd of the 65 players who made the cut.
A check of the weather forecast today shows sunshine coming out soon for the rest of the day. Winds will pick up to about 10-11mph around 1pm and then die a little. Temperatures are a very pleasant 80 degrees.
Jordan Smith is wearing a sunshine smile right now after holing his approach from 171 yards at the 480-yard par-4 5th for eagle! Smith doesn’t realise at first as he sets off down the fairway but the Englishman hears a few roars (yes, there are a few people out there at least), has a moment of realisation as to what they could mean and punches the air in triumph. What a great way to jump back to +2. Smith is now -3 for his round.
Updated
American Gordon Sargent, a 20-year-old from Alabama, is leading the race to finish as Leading Amateur. He’s currently +6 after 4. His three rivals for that accolade are all struggling in round four. Aldrich Potgieter from South Africa is +9 overall (+3 after 7 today) while Ben Carr sits at +10 (+3 today after 8) and Maxwell Moldovan at +14 (+6 after 9 today).
Talking of Patrick Reed, he’s reached the turn in 1-under 34 after wiping out a bogey at 5 with birdies at 6 and 8. He’s not been a factor this week though and is currently tied 58th.
England’s Jordan Smith is one of the other three players under par for the day. He’s made par at 1 and 2, birdied 3 and has around 20 feet for another red circle at 4. Smith finished a hugely promising tied ninth in his very first major, the 2017 US PGA at Quail Hollow. But since then: four missed cuts and tied 47th. It’s encouraging to get four rounds under his belt here and Smith, currently in a tie for 48th, will hope he can perhaps get into the top 25 or 30 with a good round today.
It’s been widely noted how muted the atmosphere has been at LA Country Club this week compared to other US Opens. A west coast v east coast different vibe/culture sort of thing? Or just modern-day realities? Give me New York hecklers shouting “Reed, you fucking ass”, “screw you Cantlay” etc for poor shots that have ruined side bets.
Details on LACC tickets. 23,000 for sale to the general public—but 14,000 of those were for hospitality. Those are very expensive. Only 9,000 GA warriors. These are the people that bring the energy, the atmosphere. And that’s just a shockingly low number. The corporate Open.
— Dan Rapaport (@Daniel_Rapaport) June 18, 2023
Updated
Of those 17 players dotted around the course, only Ryo Ishikawa is under par for the day. He’s birdied 4, 8 and 10 (bogeyed 7). The Japanese golfer is playing solo today due to the uneven number of players who made the cut. Ishikawa is 31 now having once been billed a teenage phenom. I remember those days at Open Championships when he was followed everywhere by a huge contingent of Japanese cameramen and reporters. Every word he said was scrutinised in great detail even though mostly he said nothing. This is Ishikawa’s 24th major and his only top 20 (tied 20th) came at the 2011 Masters. He was also 30th in that year’s US Open at Congressional, the one won by Rory McIlroy. Good to see him back and playing majors golf on the weekend again.
Let’s go to the course and check the early scores on the doors. I’ve just done some fingers and toes counting and by reckoning there are 17 players out on the course (how many toes do I have exactly?) and they’re a combined 8 over par. Not easy then.
The marine layer (overcast conditions to me and you) currently in play for the early starters on day 4 @usopengolf pic.twitter.com/LlnVba2xyl
— Phil Casey (@pcaseysafc) June 18, 2023
Hole locations for Round 4 of the 123rd #USOpen at LACC. pic.twitter.com/jmuuoq8Yrr
— U.S. Open (USGA) (@usopengolf) June 18, 2023
Ewan Murray is at LA Country Club. Here’s his report from round three and what today holds in store.
Good news, the final two-ball tees off a full one hour and 10 minutes earlier than yesterday. So that’ll be, erm, still bloody late if you’re in the UK.
Starting at hole one (all times BST)
* denotes amateur
16:23 Ryo Ishikawa (Jpn)
16:34 Patrick Reed (US), Jacob Solomon (US)
16:45 Adam Svensson (Can), Maxwell Moldovan (US)
16:56 Ben Carr (US*), David Puig (Spa)
17:07 Romain Langasque (Fra), Aldrich Potgieter (SA*)
17:18 Abraham Ancer (Mex), Adam Hadwin (Can)
17:29 Ryan Gerard (US), Mackenzie Hughes (Can)
17:40 Yuto Katsuragawa (Jpn), Gordon Sargent (US*)
17:51 Sam Bennett (US), Jordan Smith (Eng)
18:07 Nick Hardy (US), Sebastian Munoz (Col)
18:18 Charley Hoffman (US), Sahith Theegala (US)
18:29 Austin Eckroat (US), Andrew Putnam (US)
18:40 Sergio Garcia (Spa), Kevin Streelman (US)
18:51 Tommy Fleetwood (Eng), Samuel Stevens (US)
19:02 Jon Rahm (Spa), Dylan Wu (US)
19:13 Denny McCarthy (US), Gary Woodland (US)
19:24 Billy Horschel (US), Patrick Rodgers (US)
19:35 Ryan Fox (NZ), Brian Harman (US)
19:51 Justin Suh (US), Eric Cole (US)
20:02 Sam Burns (US), Keith Mitchell (US)
20:13 Si-Woo Kim (Kor), Joaquin Niemann (Chi)
20:24 Tyrrell Hatton (Eng), Brooks Koepka (US)
20:35 Russell Henley (US), Cameron Young (US)
20:46 Tony Finau (US), Shane Lowry (Ire)
20:57 Matthew Fitzpatrick (Eng), Collin Morikawa (US)
21:08 Patrick Cantlay (US), Padraig Harrington (Ire)
21:19 Viktor Hovland (Nor), Min-Woo Lee (Aus)
21:35 Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn), Cameron Smith (Aus)
21:46 Bryson DeChambeau (US), Joo-Hyung Kim (Kor)
21:57 Ryutaro Nagano (Jpn), Xander Schauffele (US)
22:08 Harris English (US), Dustin Johnson (US)
22:19 Rory McIlroy (NI), Scottie Scheffler (US)
22:30 Wyndham Clark (US), Rickie Fowler (US)
Preamble
Is this the day when Rory McIlroy ends his nine-year wait for a major? It’s been a week of relatively few dramas for the Northern Irishman after a turbulent build-up but McIlroy is a thinker. He knows what’s at stake. He knows it’s not just the bookmakers who expect him to win from here – a shot back from two players yet to taste major victory. That duo, Rickie Fowler and Wyndham Clark, have their own narratives. Fowler MkI had plenty of chances to join the majors club but couldn’t take them. After a couple of years in the wilderness, will the fresh perspective that comes with being a father plus his successful reunion with coach Butch Harmon combine to make Fowler MkII a different animal? And Clark? This is all new; he’s never been anywhere near a leaderboard in the majors until this week. Ignorance is bliss and all that so maybe he’s the one. Certainly a recent win at the Wells Fargo Championship means we write him off at our peril. Scottie Scheffler, who surged late in round three, isn’t done yet and Harris English, Dustin Johnson and Xander Schauffele will all feel they’re just about high enough up the leaderboard to have a say. Here we go then. Buckle up, it’s going to be a late one.
Leaderboard heading into the final round
-10: W Clark, R Fowler
-9: R McIlroy
-7: S Scheffler
-6: H English
-5: D Johnson, X Schauffele
-4: R Nagano
-3: T Kim, B DeChambeau, C Smith
