McIlroy Misses Out On Major No. 5 As Wyndham Clark Lands Unlikely US Open

CRACKING LEADERBOARD - MUCH EXCITEMENT 

What a brilliant looking leaderboard going into the Sunday of what has been a different, but thoroughly enjoyable US Open. Two huge fan favourites Rickie Fowler and Rory McIlroy are seperated by a shot - while the excellent Wyndham Clark could spoil the party.

WELCOME TO THE FINAL ROUND

Good afternoon, Happy Father's Day etc. Right, who's winning this thing?

who's your money on?

I've been backing this guy in the Majors since the 2014 PGA Championship. Thought he'd be in double digits by now. I'm too far down the line to stop backing him now, but should he get the job done later today, I won't be anywhere near breaking even. Still, come on Rory. 

RORY'S MAJOR WINS...

Will the Ulsterman add a fifth later? Here are McIlroy's four Major wins to date.

He's currently the 2/1 favourite. 

FINAL ROUND PIN POSITIONS 

15... yikes!

CLARK AIMS TO DO A CINK 

Stewart Cink will forever be remembered as the man who ruined the fairytale ending to the 2009 Open Championship. That was Tom Watson's... what a party pooper. Now we have Wyndham Clark threatening to spoil a great story, threatening to deny Rickie Fowler or Rory McIlroy. It shouldn't be allowed. 

HOW WOULD A PLAYOFF WORK?

Remember when Tiger Woods needed 19 holes to defeat Rocco Mediate in 2008? The 18-hole playoff, thankfully, has been scrapped. Here's the current playoff format for the US Open.   

CONGRATULATIONS CHIARA HORDER

Away from the US Open and we have a winner at Prince's Golf Club - Chiara Horder is the 2023 Women's Amateur champion. Here's the winning moment...

BATTLE OF THE JAILBIRDS 

Great story, this, from Golf Monthly's Elliott Heath. Rickie Fowler, who has made a remarkable 21 birdies after three rounds, switched to an Odyssey Versa Jailbird mallet in January, and his playing partner in the final round Wyndham Clark has an exact replica.

Might be time to buy a new putter, me thinks. 

THOUGHTS ON THE COURSE? 

Rarely does a US Open pass without a course/set-up debate - and this year's it's been no different. LACC has received mixed reviews. Here are a few snippets...

Scottie Scheffler: "I definitely like the golf course a lot. I think it's a very interesting place to play golf."

Brooks Koepka: "I'm not a huge fan of this place. I'm not a huge fan of blind tee shots."

Padraig Harrington: "These are probably the best greens we've ever putted on in a Major."

Matt Fitzpatrick: "Not my cup of tea."

Harris English: "I like this track. I played it a couple times before this week and it's fun."

Viktor Hovland: "I'm not a big fan of this golf course, to be honest. I think there's some good holes. I don't think there's any great holes. I think there's a few bad holes."

I've never played LACC, but here's what I think: it's Ok to have a different opinion to someone else. Also, let's not be quick to judge players we think are moaning. In many cases, they're getting asked the question. Sure, probably hard to say you love the place if you've just shot 80.

'WE PLAYED TWILIGHT GOLF' 

Wyndham Clark says he "couldn't see" for the last two holes of Saturday's US Open third round due to darkness after late tee times at LA Country Club. Try facing Pat Cummins when the seam is moving all over the place on a humid, overcast day at Edgbaston, mate. 

RORY KEEPING COOL

This was Rory arriving at LACC ahead of the third round. Could this be the secret to winning Major number five - showing the biceps, looking cool? Not as important as the walk on for boxers, sure, but I'd be worried seeing Rory rock up looking like this. 

STAT ATTACK

Love this one. Through three rounds, the 17th is playing as the most difficult hole on the golf course. Scottie Scheffler is the first player in 20 years to make an eagle on the hardest hole of a US Open Championship. 

Here's the real crazy stat: three players did that in 2003 at Olympia Fields. That year, the hardest hole was the par-4 12th hole (playing to a stroke average of 4.365). Tom Watson eagled it in the first round, Jerry Kelly in the second round and Angel Cabrera in the third round.

HISTORY IN RICKIE'S FAVOUR 

Players who had at least a share of the 18, 36 and 54-hole lead at the US Open, since 2000:

Tiger Woods, 2000, Pebble Beach, Won
Retief Goosen, 2001, Southern Hills, Won (playoff)
Tiger Woods, 2002, Bethpage State Park, Won 
Rory McIlroy, 2011, Congressional, Won 
Phil Mickelson, 2013, Merion, T2
Martin Kaymer, 2014, Pinehurst, Won  
Dustin Johnson, 2018, Shinnecock Hills, 3rd  
Russell Henley, 2021, Torrey Pines, T13

FINAL GROUP NERVES FOR RICKIE?

Rickie Fowler has been in the final group of a Major twice before. In 2014, he finished T2 behind Martin Kaymer. Also in 2014, he was denied by Rory McIlroy at Hoylake.

FLASHBACK 

Where does the time go? Remember when Rory made winning Majors look easy? 2011, Congressional... happy times. 

A STRONG LEADERBOARD

Here's a reminder of how things look. 

- 10 Fowler, Clark
-9 McIlroy
-7 Scheffler
-6 English
-5 Johnson, Schauffele
-4 Nagano
-3 Kim, DeChambeau, Smith

This will be just the third US Open in the last 20 years in which two of the top three ranked players in the world will be in the top four going into the final round. This also happened in:

2022 Scottie Scheffler (#1) was T4 and Jon Rahm(#2) was 3rd
2006 Phil Mickelson (#2) was T1 and Vijay Singh(#3) was T4 

MORE CONGRATULATIONS 

Kristyna Napoleaova wins on the first playoff hole to land her maiden LET title. Earlier on today, we saw Chiara Horder win the Women's Amateur. How nice was Prince's looking, by the way? 

PLAY UNDERWAY 

The final round of the 123rd US Open is underway. Enjoyed seeing a bit of Ryo Ishikawa this week, not a name I've been used to typing out too much in recent years. 

BUILD-UP BEGINS 

"Two under or better." That's what Rich Beem thinks Rory has to post on the front nine to give himself the best chance of winning Major number five. We're also hearing how Rory seems to have a different mindset going into the US Open this week - steering clear of the media, spending time with Tiger, more of a Brooks Koepka mindset. Basically, ditching a bit of the Mr Nice Guy (which he is). 

'THIS IS WHERE THE TOURNAMENT STARTS'

This was what Rickie Fowler had to say after the third round yesterday. He says he loves the golf course, "it fits my eye." All sounds very positive. Also says he's "not afraid to fail."

He's been through quite a lot over the last few years. Can he get over the line? It would be a fantastic comeback story.

DON'T WRITE OFF CLARK 

Would it really be such a great surprise if Wyndham Clark, who goes into the final round as joint leader? True, he only has one PGA Tour title to his name - the Wells Fargo Championship - but with 18 holes to go he's right there. He has nothing to lose whatsoever. The pressure is on Fowler and McIlroy - no real expectations so far as the 29-year-old is concerned. I reckon he's going to hang around; then again I was convinced Norway would beat Scotland by a considerable margin last night. 

ACTION UNDERWAY

Good evening, afternoon and morning, depending on where you are in the world. Matt Cradock here to take you through the next three hours of action, with early play underway at Los Angeles Country Club. 

Although the leaders aren't off for another near five hours, we still have plenty of golf ahead of us, specifically the battle for top amateur honors which, currently, Gordon Sargent leads by three!

SNAP!

Rickie Fowler and Wyndham Clark tee off in the final group this evening, with both men looking to secure their maiden Major titles. Sharing the lead, both men also share exactly the same putter, not literally of course!

On Saturday, it was revealed that Clark had an exact replica of Rickie Fowler's putter made earlier this year. The story goes that Clark played a round with Fowler at Medalist in Florida and asked for the exact same putter after seeing Rickie make "every single putt." Check out the full story here...

BIRDIES AT THE FIRST

The first hole at Los Angeles Country Club has already yielded a number of birdies in the final round, with the par 5 certainly a nice beginner for those starting on Sunday. There's a lot of action still to go at the opener, which has seen Rory McIlroy average 382 yards off the tee through the first three rounds!   

EARLY SCORES ON THE DOORS

A few hours into the final round at the 123rd US Open and just a few players are under-par for the day. These include Englishman Jordan Smith, LIV Golf's Patrick Reed and David Puig, as well as American Nick Hardy. Looking at the pin positions laid out by the USGA, the front nine today will prove crucial for the eventual winner!

AMATEUR UPDATE

Gordon Sargent continues to lead in the amateur competition and, with a near hole-out eagle at the short par 4 sixth, he still has a three-shot advantage. Momentarily, it was down to two from Aldrich Potgieter, but Sargent still remains comfortably ahead.

JORDAN SMITH MAKING A CHARGE

Jordan Smith currently holds the lowest round of the day, with the Englishman three-under-par through just five holes. It's thanks to shots like this that Smith is flying at Los Angeles Country Club!

LIV GOLF UPDATE

A number of LIV players have started their day brightly, with Patrick Reed and Sergio Garcia under-par for their final rounds. Currently, Dustin Johnson is the best of the 10 LIV players who made the cut, with the American out at 2.08pm local time.

RAHM UP-AND-RUNNING

Although the 2021 US Open champion won't be pleased about his performance at LACC this week, Rahm has begun his final round with a birdie at the opening hole. He sits at +1 for his tournament, with the World No.2 looking to go low to advance up the leaderboard.

CAN RORY END HIS NINE-YEAR MAJOR DROUGHT?

It has been 3,233 days since Rory McIlroy's last Major victory with the 34-year-old picking up 18 top-10s in the big four tournaments since then. He tees off in the penultimate group at 2.19pm alongside World No.1 Scottie Scheffler, as McIlroy looks to pick up his fifth Major title and first since The 2014 Open Championship.

SARGENT CRUISING IN LA

Gordon Sargent seems to be cruising to the low amateur title with the American now two-under-par for his day after four birdies in his last five holes. He is currently eight shots clear of Ben Carr and, with just eight holes remaining, the Amateur World No.1 looks set to pick up yet another impressive scalp!

RORY HAS ARRIVED

SOME LOW SCORES TO BE HAD

So far, in the early wave on Sunday, there is certainly a low score to be had with a number of players making big moves. Currently, Jordan Smith is -5 for his day, whilst
Austin Eckroat (-4) and Nick Hardy (-3) are comfortably under-par as well. Could make for interesting news for the those at the top of leaderboard...

"I'M KIND OF A BIG DEAL"

Rory looking rather relaxed as he arrives on the ground at LACC, with the four-time Major winner sharing a joke with his close friend, Brooks Koepka.

CLASS FROM TOMMY

Tommy Fleetwood produces a beautiful shot at the driveable par 4 sixth hole! Not only does he stick it close from off the tee, but he holes the eagle putt to move under-par for the tournament and three-under for the day!

29 FOR AUSTIN ECKROAT

Wow! What a front nine for Austin Eckroat, who cards four birdies and an eagle for a score of 29 (-6). He sits in T8th and that also matches Tom Kim's front nine on Saturday, with it just the sixth 29 in nine holes at the US Open!

JORDAN SMITH CONTINUES INCREDIBLE RUN

Despite a bogey at the treacherous 513-yard par 4 13th, Jordan Smith is still going along very nicely. He currently sits -5 for his round and just outside the top-10. He now comes to the par 5 14th, with a potentially strong finish capping off an excellent tournament.

AWAY FROM THE US OPEN

Away from the US Open for a minute - with news that Leona Maguire has won the Meijer LPGA Classic! The 28-year-old fired a stunning final round of 64, with Maguire six-under under for her final six holes! Incredible golf for the Irishwoman, especially in a Solheim Cup year!

FOWLER ON THE GROUNDS

Is it his time to break the Major duck? Fowler is on site at the US Open!

FLEETWOOD INTO THE TOP 10

A front nine of 30 has seen Tommy Fleetwood jump into the top 10 at the US Open. Three birdies and an eagle means he is seven off the lead but, importantly, moving steadily up the leaderboard.

FAREWELL, ROLEX HOUR

For the past four evenings I've begun this blog as we've waved goodbye to the Rolex Hour. And we're off with an ad from golf's favourite watch maker. Sky Sports follow it up with a few memories of Rory's Major triumphs. The most recent nine years ago of course. 

WHAT WILL RORY BE WEARING?

There's no substance to this but I'd quite like Rory to be wearing something navy. For whatever reason I get a bit agitated when he's in khaki. Grey or blue would please me, something more daring and I'm fretting again.

No surprises for guessing what Rickie will be wearing..

TOMMY LAD

The 11th measures 295 yards. Fleetwood picked up his tee with the ball halfway there. Finishes two feet away. Ridiculous. Will soon move to -4 and six under for Sunday.

FLEETWOOD'S LATE FLURRY

Fleetwood opened with a 73 to sit in 107th spot. He's now into the top 10 as his good form continues. A bit like Rickie and Rory a Major win here would be incredibly popular, one of the all-time good guys.

GOOD POINT, WELL MADE

If I had to guess I'd say the tee shot at the 11th was a 5-wood but the point still stands..

SARGENT MAJOR

Gordon Sargent is going to take the amateur honours here - the 2022 NCAA Division I champion will have 10 shots to play with going up the 18th.

WHO WOULD YOU FOLLOW?

There are some fantastic pairings out there today. If you were on the property Hovland and Min Woo Lee would be good for a few holes, then wait for Smith and Matsuyama and then, presumably, wait for Rory and Scheffler. Crowds are abysmal at LACC so you wouldn't probably struggle to follow it closely. 

RORY IN GREY/TURQUOISE

I think we're going to be alright..

Wyndham Clark is a good-looking character, looks the business today. 

ICYMI: THAT SCOTTIE EAGLE

Given the time differences etc there's a good chance you missed how Scheffler very quickly played himself back into the US Open. Followed this up with a birdie to finish.

JT: RICKIE TO WIN

Here's how JT sees Sunday playing out..

SARGENT STINKER

Gordon Sargent holes out but then sees the ball pop back out on the 18th. Somebody from the USGA will be rushing out there and pushing the cup back down. Video to follow shortly..

WATCH: OR MAYBE DON'T

Somewhere in a USGA office a lot of men are having kittens

SOCIAL MEDIA GOING GENTLY BERSERK

Twitter etc enjoying what's just gone on at 18 with Gordon Sargent. Look forward to hearing his quotes, and then seeing the GIF be trotted out for the next 10 years.

FLEETWOOD FAIRWAY WOOD WORKS A TREAT, AGAIN 

Fleetwod has 281 yards in to the 14th and he's played yet another incredible fairway wood. Should, and he's around 20 feet away, he hole it he would move to -6 with four holes to play. Leaders on -10.

JOE DALEY REVISITED

This happened to Joe Daley on the 18th, never did get his Tour card

STRONG WEEK FOR SMITH 

Jordan Smith was round in 66 today and finished his week at +1. Is coming back into form and he might be one to watch to make a late run for this year's Ryder Cup side. Is more than capable to perform at the highest level and might well chalk off a biggish win in the coming months.

EAGLE FOR TOMMY!

Fleetwood holes it with a beautiful putt across the 14th green. Has a little smirk to himself. He's -6 now and has four holes to play. 

He'll have a 15-footer at the 15th to sneak another one back.

DJ IS UP AND RUNNING

An bounding down the fairway before settling in the first cut. Harris English, on the other hand, sprays it miles right and some clown of a spectator picks it up before dropping it in a panic.  

NAGANO ROLLS ONE IN..

For a par at the 1st. He seems to be the outlier on this leaderboard, big/gargantuan day ahead for the 35-year-old Japanese player. Two more groups to go out now, Rory up next.

THAT OPENING TEE SHOT

I think we're probably all building the importance of Rory's opening tee shot up too much. For the first three days he's hit absolute bombs down the middle and made a birdie each day. Maybe it will tell us how he's feeling, or maybe it's just one shot that will be played with a lot of nerves running through the system.

RORY'S AWAY AND IN GOOD SHAPE

Scheffler clears the fairway bunker but it sticks in the thick rough. Rory hits a pearler, stays inside the left half of the fairway and he'll comfortably be able to get home from there.

ENGLISH MUSTARD

Harris English parred the 1st which, the way it would have looked off the clubface, is some result. Scheffler is hacking his way up the left of the 1st and will struggle to get it anywhere near at this reachable par 5.

RORY SAFLEY ABOARD

The perfect approach, lands it on the front and sees it run up to 30 feet. Scheffler plays a very sensible shot but one which leaves him an opening putt of 40 feet.

AND EVERYONE IS NOW ON THE GOLF COURSE

Other than those who have already finished and are on their way to the airport. Fowler in the rough down the right, Clark miles down the fairway. We've heard plenty about Scheffler's putter - he very nearly knocks one in from 40 odd feet.

EARLY BIRDIE FOR RORY!

Two putts and he's up to -10.

CLARK THROUGH THE GREEN

Things are hotting up and getting bouncy. Fowler has plotted his way down the 1st and has around 20 feet for a birdie, Clark is through the back.

Harris English is making an absolute mess of the 2nd... Fleetwood makes a great par-saving putt at the 17th.

FOWLER 

CLARK LEADS ON HIS OWN

Wyndham Clark plays a beauty of a chip from the back of the 1st green and cleans up for a very tidy birdie. 

EARLY DAYS BUT RORY LOOKING GOOD

McIlroy has a huge putt across the 2nd green which he judges to a treat. Stone dead from 70-odd feet away. 

FLEETWOOD ROUND IN 63

But he misses a very short one at the 18th for a birdie. Half the length of the one at Shinnecock. A remarkable round and he's 5th as things stand now.

English doubled the 2nd by the way.

NOW A FOUR-HORSE RACE?

Fleetwood finishes at -5 which leaves Scheffler (-7), Fowler and McIlroy (-10) and Clark at -11. The leader leaves his long putt so short at the 2nd, Fowler also struggling for par – Rory in to 10 feet at the 3rd.

THINGS ARE CHANGING QUICKLY

Clark misses his par putt , as does Fowler. Up ahead at the 3rd Scheffler lips out after hitting a great putt, Rory's putts rolls three feet past but he cleans up nicely. 

SMITH: DON'T GET ON THE WRONG SIDE

Nice bit of insight here..

Q. How does the course set up for the leaders now?

JORDAN SMITH: The thing is there's some accessible pins, but you get the wrong sides of them, you're coming straight downhill to those tight pins on 13, 14 stimped greens. If you're on, you can get close to them, but if you're not on, you can get sort of stymied on a lot of shots.

QUICK RECAP..

Rory is the only player of the leading quartet who is under par with Fowler +1 and Clark has begun birdie-bogey. Few birdie holes to come soon as Schauffele rolls one in and he's now -5.

THAT TOMMY EAGLE

Here's a look at how Fleetwood moved up the leaderboard with another US Open Sunday flourish

CLARK IN TIGHT

Clark plays a spectacular long iron to the 233-yard 4th, Fowler was on line but well short and doesn't even sniff the green.

Rory's tee shot runs into the rough at the 5th and it looks to be a particularly deep spot there. 

FLEETWOOD ON THE 15TH

The short par 3 might be a key hole as this championship climaxes. Here's what Tommy had to say about it..

'It's tricky but I guess you're only hitting some kind of wedge or gap wedge into it. I think above the hole it's very, very difficult. Sam, who we played with, hit a lovely shot and came up just below the hole and had a nice chance.'

FOWLER MAKES AN ALL-TIME PAR SAVE

Rickie chips up to 15 feet and knocks it in, Clark makes an incredible two. Big hole for the final pairing.

MCILROY HITS SENSATIONAL PUTT

Rory plays a sensible approach from the thick rough and has another monster putt from off the 5th green..

And lips out. Lots of very impressive grinding going on already. 

MCILROY TICKING ALONG

Scheffler and McIlroy both escape with pars at the 5th, the latter almost lipping out (again). Looks a bit perplexed how it moved right but it's in the hole.

THE HISTORY BOY

The final word on Tommy. One day he'll win one of these

THE 6TH HOLE

Scheffler lays up and spins one in there, Rory hits a fairway wood and fans it out to the right where he has little chance of getting it close and he's now 45 feet past the pin. Looks like a lay up given what the wind's now doing.

Fowler bogeys the 5th..

PAR, PAR. AND MOVE ON

Scheffler leaves it right in the jaws and it's now six straight pars. Rory knocks in another par putt. Good stuff.

SCOTTIE IN THE DEEP STUFF

Clark hits a driving iron and is in a scrubby bit of rough by the green, Fowler will play from the fairway. Talk of Fowler's putting going off the boil from Thursday onwards which isn't a big surprise given that he opened with a 62.

Rory safely aboard the 272-yard 7th (par 3), Scheffler goes well left which looks to be a grim spot.

DJ NOT MAKING A MOVE

Johnson is doing nothing thus far. The front nine is the place to pick up some shots and he's yet to make a birdie. Jon Rahm is now up to T11 after his closing 65.

CLARK TWO CLEAR

Scheffler gets a great break in the trees where he has a shot to the 7th green, plays a beauty and it runs around 12 feet by.

Clark plays a very neat chip from greenside at the 6th, Fowler narrowly misses his birdie putt. Our leader holes from five feet for a third birdie today.

SCOTTIE SLIPS BACK

No sweat par at the 7th for Rory. This is all good, long way to go etc etc. Scheffler comes up short again and bogeys. All of this does show quite how brilliant Fleetwood's round was today. 

FOWLER FALTERING

Rickie short-sides himself at the 7th, has very little green to work with and will likely drop (at least) one shot. Rory on the short stuff at the par-5 8th, let's hope he can knock it on and get one back here.

Fowler misses par putt

Fowler comes up short with his first pitch and can't salvage a par. A third bogey of the day drops him to -7 and five back. It's been a horror start for the American.

Disappointment for McIlroy

That'll hurt. After finding the green in two on the par-5 eighth, McIlroy three putts for par to remain two back. With the difficult back nine upcoming, how costly could that prove to be? We'll find out in a few hours.

Clark in the barranca

The leader is in trouble, serious trouble. His second on the par-5 eight is a hair left and it bounces further left into a bush in the barranca. He goes straight under the ball with his first effort. 

Take two: this time he gets too much club on it and vaults it over the other side of the green into the bermuda rough. He'll do well to salvage a bogey. Huge moments upcoming.

Leader limits damage

Huge credit to Clark, who hits a superb chip to a couple feet to drop just one shot. Alongside him, Fowler makes birdie to get back within three. It just got a lot more interesting.

Scheffler, McIlroy miss birdie putts

Great shots into the 10th go to waste for Scheffler and McIlroy, while Clark makes a huge up-and-down from the rubbish on the par-3 ninth. That could be a huge swing. 

We're into the back nine, folks.

JT and Homa to call the action

After missing the cut, two of the best players in the world are tempted to try their hand at commentary.

Par fest

Clark and Fowler both make pars on the 10th to hold station at -11 and -8 respectively. Up ahead, Scheffler finds the greenside bunker on the 11th before McIlroy launches a high draw to around 20 feet. 

It's between these four players it seems.

Bogey for Scottie

Scheffler hits a great bunker shot but can't covert the par putt. In fact, he leaves himself work to do for bogey but makes it to drop back to -6. He's five behind and not out of it but needs to make something happen soon.

Birdie for Smith

Cam Smith could set an interesting clubhouse target. The Australian curls in a beauty on the 15th to get to -6 and within five. If he can post -8 or -9, that might not be far away as the pressure builds among the final groups.

Shot goes for Fowler

After a brilliant bunker shot on the par-3 11th, Fowler misses from five feet to drop back to -7. Clark is also in trouble after missing the green left but hit an incredible lob shot and converts the four-footer to maintain his one-shot lead.

Fitzpatrick's defence comes to an end

The 2022 US Open champion closes his title defence by making a nice 12-footer for par on 18. It's a round of 72 for Fitzpatrick and a one-under total of 279.

More putting woes for Scheffler

It hardly needs repeating after being drilled into us these past few days, but Scheffler is struggling with his putting. He three-putts the 12th to drop back to -5 and arguably out of contention.

Two-horse race

This is descending into a straight shoot-out between Clark and McIlroy as the challengers fall by the wayside. Fowler misses from 10 feet on the 12th to drop another shot and slip to -6, five behind his playing partner.

Scottie!!

Who said the man can't putt? The World No. 1 drops a bomb on the 13th to get back to -6.

McIlroy in trouble on 14

We have a situation here. McIlroy's third to the par-5 14th comes up short and plugs into the face of the bunker. It's eventually found and the Northern Irishman will need to take a drop.

Update: he's able to drop it out the bunker and into a far better position, what a huge break that could be. He needs to take advantage and make a par at worst. 

Smith in at -6

It's a closing par for Smith and a round of 67 that gets him in the clubhouse at -6. It'll be a few shots light but a solid week's work all the same. 

Bogey for McIlroy

McIlroy chips it to about 10 feet but misses his par putt on the right lip. The bogey is a huge blow to his chances and drops him two behind Clark. His putter has been stone cold!

Clark in prime position 

The leader hits a pinpoint shot into the 14th, chasing a fairway wood onto the green/ He'll have around 20 feet for eagle and to move four clear all of a sudden. 

Clark three clear

The eagle putt slides by but it's the easiest of birdies for Clark. Up ahead, McIlroy can't birdie 15 so the lead is three.

Alongside, Fowler also makes birdie to get back to -7.

Clark bogey opens door

Just when you think Clark has the US Open within his grasp, he gives hope to the chasing pack. He hits his tee shot on the short par-3 15th long and left and can't get up-and-down, dropping him back to -11 and two clear of Rory.

The leader then pipes his tee shot on 16 into the fairway bunker, so will be up against it to make par.

Up at the green, Scheffler finds another birdie to get to -7 while McIlroy two-putts from distance to stay -9.

Clark pitches out, McIlroy in trouble

All the leader can do is splash out the bunker, leaving him with plenty of yardage left to the 16th green. A bogey wouldn't be the worst score from here.

Up ahead, McIlroy hits it well left off the 17th tee, but that might have been his plan. Time will tell.

Fine margins

Wow! Clark hits a superb third into about six feet on 16 and his putt looks good, only to lip out on the high side. That would have been a huge save. As it is, he's back to -10 and only one clear of McIlroy, who has a long birdie putt on 17.

McIlroy pars 17

The Northern Irishman makes a par on the tough 17th to remain -9, one behind Clark. Amazingly, he hasn't made a birdie since the opening hole today. What he would give for one up 18. 

Tense

This is how close Clark came to maintaining his two-shot advantage on the 16th. Ouch!

Long birdie putt for Rory on 18

McIlroy hits a great drive up the last into prime position but tugs his second well left and will face a 30-footer to set the clubhouse target at -10. He's holed nothing all day, so it ever there was a time...

There's a good chance he'll need it, too, with Clark making an easy par on 17 to remain at -10 and one ahead. 

Great effort but a par for Rory

McIlroy's putt is tracking but just dies at the end and misses a couple of inches right. It's a closing 70 for a nine-under total for the Northern Irishman, who just couldn't get any putts to drop. 

Behind, Clark hits a ropey cut off the 18th tee but it hangs onto the fairway. It's in his hands now.

Clark on the green - two putts to win the US Open

Clark's second is on a great line and finds the green but it is well short of the pin, leaving him roughly 40 feet for birdie. He's got two putts to win which, in normal circumstances, would be no problem.

However, these are far from normal circumstances for the one-time PGA Tour winner.

Wyndham Clark is the 2023 US Open champion

As he has done all day, Clark keeps his cool under the utmost pressure. He lags his putt to a foot and taps in to win his first Major championship by one shot from Rory McIlroy.

Take a bow!

Thanks for following along

Anyway, that's all from us. As ever, thanks for following along!