The last thing on Wyndham Clark’s mind this morning will be world rankings, but there are a lot of perks to winning the US Open, and the new champion will wake up today to find himself inside the top 15 and with potentially a lot more to look forward to this year.
Clark held off an incredibly strong field to capture just his second PGA title at Los Angeles Country Club, his first coming just last month at Quail Hollow. World number one Scottie Scheffler and the third best player on the planet, Rory McIlroy, were the big fancies on the final day, as was joint overnight leader, Rickie Fowler – but it was Clark who prevailed.
The 29-year-old entered his seventh Major Championship ranked number 32 in the world. He’d been down at 80 prior to that win at the Wells Fargo Championship, and as low as 163rd at the end of last year. Now, though, he sits in a rather more lofty position – 13th – and, perhaps more importantly, at number two in the US Ryder Cup standings.
“You know, this is now my second win on the PGA Tour,” reflected the 2023 US Open champion “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. It's been a whirlwind of the last five, six weeks.”
It was an emotional victory Clark, who almost gave up the game because of the heartache of losing his mother to breast cancer in 2013. Bit by bit, though, he’s turned himself into quite the player, someone who Justin Thomas described on Twitter as “one of golf’s next biggest faces.”
Clark himself is unlikely to make any big predictions about what the future may hold, but he’s understandably proud of the progress that he’s made. “I feel like I belong on this stage, and even two, three years ago when people didn't know who I was, I felt like I could still play and compete against the best players in the world,” he said. “I felt like I've shown that this year.
Clark takes the trophy at Quail Hollow in May
“I've come up close, and obviously everyone sees the person that hoists the trophy, but I've been trending in the right direction for a long time now. I've made a lot of cuts. I've had a handful of top 10s and top 20s, and I feel like I've been on a great trajectory to get to this place.
“Obviously it's gone faster than I thought as far as just starting to do some stuff mentally that I've never done before, but I feel like I'm one of the best players in the world. Obviously this just shows what I believe can happen.”
Clark will now head to the Royal Liverpool for the 151st Open Championship, where he’ll be confident of bettering last year’s tied 76th finish. Beyond that, he’s put himself right in the mix for a first appearance at the Ryder Cup, which takes place in Rome at the end of September.
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