Wyndham Clark won the U.S. Open Sunday with a final round 73 to beat Sam Burns by one stroke at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y. It was the second major title for Clark—he also won the 2023 U.S. Open—and worth $4.5 million in prize money.
The 32-year-old American entered the final round up six strokes, which bode well, given no one had ever lost more than a five-shot lead in the 125 previous U.S. Opens. Greg Norman at the 1996 Masters is the only player to lose a six-shot lead in any of the four majors.
Clark was the first wire-to-wire winner at the U.S. Open since Martin Kaymer won the 2014 event at the No. 2 course at Pinehurst. He was at 7-under entering play Sunday play, the lowest 54-hole score ever at Shinnecock Hills.
The USGA bumped total U.S. Open prize money this year from $1 million to $22.5 million, which matched the total Masters payout in April, where Rory McIlroy earned $4.5 million for his win. Clark’s winner’s share was up from the $4.3 million that J.J. Spaun earned last year for his first major.
“We believe we’re the best championship in the game, and we want a lot of aspects to be the best championship in the game—where we go, how we treat the players, how we pay out,” Mike Whan, USGA CEO, said in his pre-tournament press conference in response to raising prize money to match the Masters. “We want to be big. We want to be the best. We want to make sure it’s life-changing in multiple ways. We also are not in a race. We’re not chasing.”
