Wyndham Clark, who had never finished better than 75th in a major championship and had missed the cut in his previous two U.S. Opens, shot a final-round 70 to finish at 10-under-par for the tournament and hold off four-time major champion Rory McIlroy by one shot for his first career U.S. Open and major championship.[2]
Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele both broke the U.S. Open scoring record by shooting 62 (−8) in the first round. Fowler, who was tied with Clark for the lead at the start of the final round, ended up tied for fifth place, while Schauffele finished 10th.[3]
On July 22, 2015, the United States Golf Association (USGA) announced that Los Angeles Country Club was selected to host the 123rd U.S. Open in June 2023. The USGA had made overtures to the club for at least 26 years. Los Angeles Country Club resisted the advances because its leaders valued the privacy of the club. A new group of leaders took over and wanted to show off a renovation of the club's courses done by Gil Hanse that made the courses resemble earlier versions of the courses. More than 90% of the club's members voted to approve the deal that brought the U.S. Open to Los Angeles Country Club.[4]
The layout of the Los Angeles Country Club was criticized by 2017 and 2018 U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka, stating he did not believe the course had any "great" holes, and a few "bad" holes.[5]U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick also criticized the course layout, lamenting the blind tee shots, too much slope and fairways that did not hold the ball. He further elaborated that the slick fairways punished good tee shots which would end up rolling into the rough.[5]
The layout of the Los Angeles Country Club limited the number of tickets and grandstand placement for spectators of the U.S. Open. The USGA allotted 22,000 total tickets for the event, with an estimated 8,000 available to the general public and the remainder going to corporate sponsors and club members. The proximity of the ninth green to the eighteenth green limited the placement of grandstands for the final green.[6] The 22,000 tickets per day was below the 2022 total of 30,000 at The Country Club and well below the 50,000 per day at Oakmont Country Club in 2016.[7] Fitzpatrick also criticized the USGA for the limited number of spectators stating he wished the tournament was louder.[5]
The field for the U.S. Open is made up of players who gain entry through qualifying events and those who are exempt from qualifying. The exemption criteria include provisions for recent major champions, winners of major amateur events, and leading players in the world rankings. Qualifying is in two stages, local and final, with some players being exempted through to final qualifying.[8]
There were a record 10,187 entries received. There were 109 local qualifying events from which the leading players progressed to the 13 final qualifying events,[9] nine of which were held in the United States on June 5.[10]
There were several other scoring records. The first round field scoring average of 71.38 was almost a stroke lower than the previous low first round of 72.29 at Baltusrol Golf Club in 1993. The worst score of the day was 79—the first time either of the first two rounds of a U.S. Open had not seen a score in the 80s.[13]
Rickie Fowler made eight birdies along with six bogeys in a two-under round of 68 to take sole possession of the lead through 36 holes at 10-under for the tournament. Fowler's 18 birdies through the first two rounds was a new U.S. Open record and the most in any two-round stretch of a major championship in 30 years. His total of 130 tied Martin Kaymer in 2014 for the tournament record.[14]
Wyndham Clark, beginning the round two shots off the lead, made three birdies on his first nine after beginning on the 10th, including holing a 44-foot putt on the 16th. At the par-5 14th hole, he hit his second shot into the rough surrounding the lip of a bunker but recovered on his third to 13 feet and made the putt for birdie. He was alone in the lead until a three-putt bogey on the par-3 fourth hole (his 14th) but rebounded with a birdie on the eighth to finish with a 68 (−2) and close within one shot of Fowler's lead.[15]
Rory McIlroy, also teeing off on the 10th to begin his round, was two-over on his first nine before making six birdies on his second nine, including four over his last five holes. He shot 67 (−3) to move up to third place at eight-under, two behind Fowler.[16]
The cut came at 142 (+2), with 65 players surviving to the weekend. Among the notables to miss the cut included 2013 champion Justin Rose, 2015 champion Jordan Spieth, and Phil Mickelson. Two-time major champion Justin Thomas shot an 81 to miss the cut by 12 shots.[17]
The USGA set up the par-3 15th hole to play at 81 yards for this round, making it the shortest hole in modern U.S. Open history. The previous shortest hole was the 7th hole at Pebble Beach, which played at 92 yards in the final round of the 2010 Open.[18]
Rickie Fowler stood atop the leaderboard for the third consecutive round after shooting an even-par 70. Fowler was leading by one shot at 10-under on the 13th hole when he made a 69-foot birdie putt from just off the green to open a two-shot advantage. He then three-putted for bogey at the 18th to drop back into a share of the lead with Wyndham Clark after 54 holes.[19]
Clark birdied two of his first three holes to take the outright lead before a bogey at the 11th dropped him back into a tie. At the 12th, his second shot flew into the rough over the green, where he failed to advance the ball on his third shot and suffered another bogey. Rebounding with a birdie at the 13th, Clark had to take a drop from an unplayable lie on the 17th hole and made another bogey to fall two back of Fowler playing the 18th. He then hit his approach to the 18th green to six feet and made the birdie to finish at 10-under after a one-under round of 69, tying Fowler for the lead.[20]
Rory McIlroy, the 2011 champion, began the round two shots off the lead but made up the deficit with two birdies on the first three holes to tie. He then bogeyed the fourth hole and three-putted for bogey on the 13th before making birdie on the 14th to get to nine-under and a shot off the lead going into the final round.[21]
Scottie Scheffler was one-over on his round before holing out from 196 yards on the 17th for an eagle. He then finished his round by making a 22-foot putt for birdie on the 18th to get to seven-under for the tournament and end up alone in fourth place.[22]
Wyndham Clark shot an even-par 70 to win his first career U.S. Open and major championship.[23] Beginning the round tied with Rickie Fowler for the lead, he hit his approach shot on the par-3 fourth hole to five feet for a birdie to get to 11-under and take sole possession of the lead. He also birdied the par-4 sixth hole from the rough just short of the green, but at the eighth hole hit his second shot into the rough to the left of the green. He failed to advance the ball on his third shot and ended up with a bogey on the par-five.[24]
With a two-shot lead playing the par-5 14th hole, Clark found the green in two shots and two-putted from 20 feet for a birdie to get to 12-under and open up a three-shot lead with four holes to play. He hit his tee shot on the par-3 15th over the green and failed to get up and down, settling for a bogey, then drove into a bunker on the 16th and had to chip back into the fairway. He missed a seven-footer for par to fall back to 10-under, but saved par from left of the green on the 17th. Now with a one-shot lead playing the 18th, Clark two-putted from 60 feet to win the tournament.[25]
Rory McIlroy began the round a shot off the lead and opened with a birdie on the first hole to tie for the lead. This was his last birdie—he did not make another the rest of the round, and bogeyed the 14th after hitting his third shot into the ridge of a bunker and taking a drop for an embedded lie. He finished with 70 to end up at nine-under, a shot back of Clark.[26]
Fowler, tied with Clark at the start of the round, made three bogeys over his first seven holes and did not make a birdie until the eighth, his first since the 13th hole in the third round. His birdie on the 14th was his 23rd of the tournament, establishing a new U.S. Open record. He shot a five-over 75 to fall back into a tie for fifth place with Tommy Fleetwood and Min Woo Lee.[27]
Fleetwood, who began the round in 38th place, made two eagles and was eight-under through 14 holes before a bogey at the 16th. He missed a five-footer for birdie at the 18th for a 62 and settled for a seven-under 63, becoming the first player in U.S. Open history with two rounds of 63 or better (he also posted a seven-under 63 round at the 2018 U.S. Open).[28]
^The USGA paid $10,000 in unofficial money to all professionals who qualified for the tournament. Travel expenses, including food, lodging and complimentary vehicles, were paid to amateur golfers.
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