News

To live and die in LA: Wyndham Clark emerges with US Open title

Published

2 years ago

Jun 19, 2023

A glance at Sunday’s final two pairings would probably have elicited the following ranking: Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler, followed by Rickie Fowler, followed by Wyndham Clark. Both McIlroy and Scheffler hold major titles, while Fowler had oh-so-close finishes throughout his career. Before Sunday, Clark’s T75 finish at the 2021 PGA Championship was his best major performance, barely edging out his T76 at the 2022 Open Championship. In Tinseltown, anything can happen, and some dreams actually become reality. On June 18th, Wyndham Clark posted an even-par round of 70, edging Rory McIlroy by one shot for the 123rd United States Open Championship. As the least likely to triumph among the final four, how exactly did Wyndham Clark defy our odds and claim an entirely-unanticipated title? Let’s try to break it down.

The moment @Wyndham_Clark became a major champion. #USOpen pic.twitter.com/TIlB87G3o3

— U.S. Open (USGA) (@usopengolf) June 19, 2023

The Surface Numbers

Wyndham Clark scored worse each day. That sounds bad, doesn’t it? When your worst score is even par, however, it’s not. Clark opened with 64, just two shots higher than those record-breaking 62s from Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele. On Friday, he added three shots to his total for 67, and followed it with 69 on Saturday. A pair of late bogeys on Sunday made the finish more compelling, and took Clark out of the 60s for the first time all week.

Over the course of the week, Wyndham Clark tallied one eagle, nineteen birdies, and eleven bogies. His total of 270 strokes over four days represents the second-lowest total in US Open history. Only McIlroy’s 268 in 2011 exceeded this year’s winning score. Clark tied for second in total birdies this week; only Fowler’s 23 surpassed his number.

As often happens with champions, Clark avoided big numbers this week. There weren’t a lot of double and triple bogies at Los Angeles country club’s North course this week, but it was easy to get on a bogey express and ride it for a distance. Only twice did Clark etch consecutive bogeys on his scorecard, and until Sunday’s late struggle, had no more than three bogeys in one round.

Three. Shot. Lead. @Wyndham_Clark widens his lead after a stellar second shot into No. 14 leads to birdie #USOpen pic.twitter.com/eoEPd6yzsh

— U.S. Open (USGA) (@usopengolf) June 19, 2023

A Deeper Dive

As might be expected, Clark did nothing poorly this week, and only one or two things in an average manner. Over the 72 holes of the tournament, Clark tied for 3rd in putting, and ranked 4th in strokes gained putting. His driving distance was seventh-best, and he ranked 2nd in strokes gained off the tee. Finally, Clark also ranked in the top ten for strokes gained short game and greens in regulation. The only categories that saw average performance from the Colorado native were strokes gained approach (43rd) and fairways hit (24th.) How do you finish 9th in GIR, yet 43rd in SGA? That’s the mystery of statistics.

How did McIlroy not claim a second US Open title? Putting. The Northern Irishman was 1st on the week for strokes gained off the tee, and also for greens in regulation. His putting was not up to the same standard. The 2011 champion was 33rd in strokes gained putting, and tied for 42nd in total putts. Subtract just two putts from his total, and McIlroy raises Victoria.

A similar tale of woe befell third-place finisher Scottie Scheffler. Not as strong from tee to green as the aforementioned two, Scheffler needed to be THE guy on the greens. He wasn’t able to surpass Clark, and finished three back, at seven under par.

As for Fowler, Sunday saw his approach and putting games disappear. Both had been strong all week, elevating him to a tie for first with Clark, through 54 holes. On Saturday, Clark ripped an iron into the 18th hole for a near tap-in birdie. Fowler had a power lip-out from four feet, and made bogey. The two-shot swing was a portent of Sunday’s conclusion. Fowler tallied 18 birdies over the first two days, more than enough to offset his bogey total. On the weekend, the birdie engine blew a gasket, falling to five over the final two days.

Nipped it ?

Big par save from @Wyndham_Clark at No. 11. #USOpen pic.twitter.com/ap1VRUERcP

— U.S. Open (USGA) (@usopengolf) June 19, 2023

What’s next?

What sort of US Open champion will Wyndham Clark be? Will he be a one-and-done major champion, or will he retire with one? Clark’s first PGA Tour title came earlier this year, in May in Charlotte. The Quail Hollow Club has hosted PGA Championships before, and stands as an austere test each spring. Pair that victory with a win at LA North, and we begin to see a pattern. Clark performs well on the sort of courses that make host appearances for half the major titles. Can he translate these performances to Augusta National, or to the links courses of the British Isles? It will be fun to watch.

Calm, cool and collected. #USOpen champion @Wyndham_Clark's unflappable final round is the @Lexus Top Performance of the Day. #LexusGolf pic.twitter.com/x5YGcIt0pf

— U.S. Open (USGA) (@usopengolf) June 19, 2023

News

Tour Rundown: Bend, but don’t break

Published

3 weeks ago

Aug 4, 2025

Ronald Montesano

I’m going to gush in this intro paragraph, to get the emo stuff done early. I’ve not pulled harder for a professional to win, than Cameron Young. I coach golf in New York state, and each spring, my best golfers head to a state championship in Poughkeepsie. I first saw Cameron there as a 9th grade student. I saw him three more times after that. I reconnecected with Coach Haas from Wake Forest, an old interview subject from my days on the Old Gold and Black, the Wake newspaper. He was there to watch Cameron. After four years at Wake Forest, Young won on the Korn Ferry Tour, made it to the big tour, almost won two majors, almost won five other events, and finally got the chalice about 25 minutes from the Wake campus. Congratulations, Cameron. You truly are a glass of the finest. #MotherSoDear

OK, let’s move on to the Tour Rundown. The major championship season closed this week in Wales, with the Women’s Open championship. The PGA Tour bounced through Greensboror, N.C., while the PGA Tour Americas hit TO (aka, Toronto) for a long-winded event. The Korn Ferry lads made a stop in Utah, one of just two events for that tour in August. The many-events, golf season is winding down, as we ease from summer toward fall in the northern hemisphere. Let’s bask in the glory of an August sunrise, and run down a quartet of events from the first weekend of the eighth month.

LET/LPGA @ Women’s Open: Miyu bends, but she doesn’t break

Royal Porthcawl was not a known commodity in the major tournament community. The Welsh links had served as host to men’s senior opens, men’s amateurs, and Curtis and Walker Cups in prior years, but never an Open championship for the women or the men. The last-kept secret in UK golf was revealed once again to the world this week, as the best female golfers took to the sandy stage.

Mao Saigo, Grace Kim, Maja Stark, and Minjee Lee hoped to add a second major title to previous wins this season, but only Lee was able to finish inside the top ten. The 2025 playing of the Women’s Open gave us a new-faces gallery from day one. The Kordas and Thitikulls were nowhere to be found, and it was the Mayashitas, Katsus, and Lim Kims that secured the Cymru spotlight. The first round lead was held at 67 by two golfers. One of them battled to the end, while the other posted 81 on day two, and missed the cut. Sitting one shot behind was Miyu Yamashita.

On day two, Yamashita posted the round of the tournament. Her 65 moved her to the front of the aisle, in just her fourth turn around a women’s Open championship. With the pre-event favorites drifting off pace, followers narrowed into two camps: those on the side of an underdog, and others hoping for a weekend charge from back in the pack. In the end, we had a bit of both.

On Saturday, Yamashita bent with 74 on Saturday, offering rays of hope to her pursuing pack. England’s Charley Hull made a run on Sunday closing within one shot before tailing off to a T2 finish with Minami Katsu. Katsu posted the other 65 of the week, on Saturday, but could not overtake her countrywoman, Yamashita. wunderkind Lottie Woad needed one round in the 60s to find her pace, but could only must close-to’s, ending on 284 and a tie with Minjee for eighth.

On Sunday, Yamashita put away the thoughts of Saturday’s struggles, with three-under 33 on the outward half. She closed in plus-one 37, but still won by two, for a first Major and LPGA title.

PGA Tour @ Wyndham: Young gathers first title near home

Cameron Young grew up along the Hudson river, above metro New York, but he also calls Winston-Salem home. He spent four years as a student and athlete at Wake Forest University, then embarked on tour. This week in Greensboro, after a bit of a break, Young opened with 63-62, and revved the engine of Is this the week once more. Runner-up finishes at the Open, the PGA, and a handful of PGA Tour events had followers wonder when the day would come.

On Saturday, Young continued his torrid pace with 65, giving him a five-shot advantage over his closest pursuer. Sunday saw the Scarborough native open with bogey, then reel off five consecutive birdies to remind folks that his time had, at last, arrived. Pars to the 16th, before two harmless bogeys coming home, made Young the 1000th winner of an official PGA Tour event (dating back to before there was a PGA Tour) throughout history. What’s next? I have a suspicion, but I’m not letting on. Mac Meissner closed with 66 to finish solo 2nd, while Mark Hubbard and Alex Noren tied for third.

Korn Ferry Tour @ Utah Championship: Are you Suri it’s Julian?

Who knows exactly when the flower will bloom? Julian Suri played a solid careet at Duke University, then paid his dues on the world’s minor tours for three years. He won twice on two tours in Europe, in 2017. Since then, the grind has continued for the journeyman from New York city. At age 34, Suri broke through in Beehive state, outlasting another grinder (Spencer Levin) and four others, by two shots.

Taylor Montgomery began the week with 62, then posted 64, then 68, and finally, 70. That final round was his undoing. He finished in that second-place tie, two back of the leader. Trace Crowe, Barend Botha, and Kensei Hirata made up the last of the almost quintet. As for Suri, his Sunday play was sublime. His nines were 32 and 31, with his only radar blip a bogey at ten. He closed in style with one final birdie, to double his winning margin. Hogan bloomed late…might Suri?

PGA Tour Americas @ Osprey Valley Open presented by Votorantim Cimentos – CBM Aggregates

Some tournament names run longer than others. This week in Toronto, at the Heathlands course at TPC Toronto, we might have seen the longest tournament title in recorded history. The OVOPBVCCBMA was a splendid affair. It saw three rounds of 62 on Thursday, but of those early risers, only Drew Goodman would stick around until the end. 64 was the low tally on day two, and two of those legionnaires managed to finish inside the top three at week’s end. Saturday brought a 63 from Patrick Newcomb, and he would follow with 64 on Sunday, to finish solo fourth.

Who, then, ended up winning the acronym of the year? It turns out that Carson Bacha had the right stuff in TeeOhhh. Bacha and Jay Card III posted 63 and 64, respectively, on day four, to tie for medalist honors at 23-under 261. Nathan Franks was one shot adrift, despite also closing with 63. If you didn’t go low on Sunday, it was about the check, not the championship.

Bacha and JC3 returned to the 18th hole twice in overtime. Card nearly chipped in from the thick stuff for birdie, while Bacha peeked and shoved a ten-feet attempt at the win. On the second go-round, Card was long with his approach, into the native grasses once more. He was unable to escape, and a routine par from the fairway was enough to earn the former Auburn golfers a first KFT title.

Card III and Bacha both miss their birdie tries on the first playoff hole.

We’ll play 18 again @OspreyOpen. pic.twitter.com/vNpHTdkHDg

— PGA TOUR Americas (@PGATOURAmericas) August 3, 2025

Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2025 Wyndham Championship

Published

4 weeks ago

Jul 29, 2025

GolfWRX Staff

GolfWRX is live this week from the final event of the PGA Tour’s regular season, the Wyndham Championship.

Photos are flowing into the forums from Sedgefield Country Club, where we already have a GolfWRX spirit animal Adam Schenk WITB and plenty of putters for your viewing pleasure.

Check out links to all our photos below, which we’ll continue to update as more arrive.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.

News

BK’s Breakdowns: Kurt Kitayama’s Winning WITB, 3M Open

Published

4 weeks ago

Jul 28, 2025

Brian Knudson

Kurt Kitayama just won his 2nd PGA Tour event at the 3M Open. Kurt is a Bridgestone staffer but with just the ball and bag. Here are the rest of the clubs he used to secure a win at the 2025 3M Open.

Driver: Titleist GT3 (11 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD VF 7 TX

3-wood: Titleist GT1 3Tour (14.5 degrees, A3 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 8 TX

7-wood: Titleist GT1 (21 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 9 TX

Irons: TaylorMade P7CB (4), TaylorMade P7MB (5-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (52-12F, 56-14F), Vokey Design WedgeWorks (60-K*)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Style Newport 2 Tour Prototype
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy 1.0PT

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Ball: Bridgestone Tour B XS (with Mindset)