Wyndham Clark Makes Major Jump into Top 6 with U.S. Open Win

Life can change forever in a flash.

Seven weeks ago, Wyndham Clark was winless in 133 PGA Tour starts. Now, he’s a two-time winner — and a U.S. Open champion.

In just his seventh major start, the 29-year-old from Denver, Colorado, beat out the world’s best players at Los Angeles Country Club, finishing at 10 under, one stroke ahead of runner-up Rory McIlroy and three ahead of third-place Scottie Scheffler.

"You know, this is now my second win on the PGA Tour and the first one was surreal and this one is surreal. It hasn't quite hit me yet. Walking up 18 was pretty emotional, and then finishing," Clark said after closing with an even-par 70. "It's been a whirlwind of the last five, six weeks. It's been — just so blessed and humbled to be here."

Clark's late mother, Lise, who passed away in 2013 after a second battle with breast cancer, introduced him to golf and always told him to "play big," a message he carried through various hardships. There were times after his mother’s passing that he wanted to shelve his clubs for good, but he stuck with it — and always believed he could compete on the sport's biggest stages.

"It's honestly surreal to look back and think about the journey the last seven to 10 years," he said.

Clark won the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow — a designated event — in May for his maiden Tour title. That propelled him to No. 31 in the world rankings and essentially secured him a tee time in the U.S. Open.

Now, his U.S. Open victory may have solidified his spot on the U.S. Ryder Cup squad, as he moved from 10th to second on the U.S. points list — inside the top-6 automatic qualifying threshold — after his triumph at LACC.

"God has a plan for me, and it's obviously far greater than I ever could have imagined," he said.

Aside from Clark, however, several other players increased their position in the U.S. Ryder Cup standings at the year’s third major.

Rickie Fowler, who shared the 54-hole lead with Clark, shot a final-round 75 and finished T-5. Though he didn’t capture his elusive first major victory, it was still a positive week for the four-time Ryder Cupper, considering last year he was the U.S. Open’s first alternate but didn't get into the field at The Country Club.

"Not the finish I wanted," said Fowler, who moved from 20th to 16th in the Ryder Cup standings, "but there's a lot of really good things to take from this week, and we're continuing to move forward."

Harris English, a U.S. Team member in 2021 at Whistling Straits, now sits one spot ahead of Fowler at No. 15 in the U.S. standings after finishing T-8 at LACC, his fourth top-10 of the season.

Crediti foto: Getty Images

Meanwhile, world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler fell short of notching his second major, but continued his torrid stretch with his fifth straight top-5 finish, increasing his strong lead in the Ryder Cup standings. Scheffler has 24,249.368 points, and Clark sits one spot behind him on the points list with 13,032.353.

Through three of the year’s four majors, the Ryder Cup is now just over three months away. And though that may seem right around the corner, Clark has proven that a player can alter the course of their career — and life — in the blink of an eye.

"I feel like I've been on a great trajectory to get to this place," he said. "Obviously, it's gone faster than I thought as far as just starting to do some stuff mentally that I've never done before."

Now, with his life forever changed as a U.S. Open champion, Clark hopes his Hollywood ending gets a sequel in Rome, Italy, helping the U.S. in his maiden Ryder Cup appearance to the team's first win on foreign soil in 30 years.

U.S. Team Captain Zach Johnson first announced the 2023 qualifying structure last year. Points in 2023 are awarded as follows:

- 1 point per $1,000 earned at regular PGA Tour events beginning January 1, including the Zurich Classic and WGC events, through the BMW Championship (August 20)

- 2 points per $1,000 earned for winner of the Masters, PGA Championship, U.S. Open and The Open

- 1.5 points per $1,000 earned for all others that make the cut at the Masters, PGA Championship, U.S. Open and The Open

- No points available at PGA Tour opposite-field events

Points qualification will conclude immediately after the second FedEx Cup Play-Off event (BMW Championship) on August 20, 2023, with the top six eligible players on the points list securing spots on the U.S. Team.

The six remaining slots on the U.S. Team will be Captain’s Selections and will be announced by Johnson following the 2023 Tour Championship.

For a full list of the Top 100 in the U.S. Ryder Cup standings, click here.