LOS ANGELES – Scottie Scheffler was in the perfect position to chase and win the US Open in the final round on Sunday.
But the world’s No. 1 player failed to beat the winner, Windham Clarke, who won 10-under-par, while Scheffler finished three consecutive shots at 7-under, in third place.
“I just felt like I wasn’t sharp enough today to get to the top of the board,” he said. “I did a good job of keeping myself in it but I wasn’t sharp enough. I was trying to get some good shots and get some looks and I felt like going into the front of the ninth I wasn’t giving myself enough chances to birdie.
“I fought really hard today and obviously I’m a bit frustrated to come up short but I put up a good fight and Windham played some great golf this week so he’s a worthy champ.”
Defending champion Matthew Fitzpatrick has never competed in his title defense and described his week as “grinding”.
“I just didn’t drive the ball well at all,” he said. “This is what let me down. I was just looking forward to the week. This was the first time I’ve tried that, obviously. I hope to get to it many more times in my career, but it’s all a really learning experience. I felt like I wasn’t confused about it. ”
Tommy Fleetwood flirted with US Open history again on Sunday.
Fleetwood had a 5-foot birdie putt on his final hole at Los Angeles Country Club that, if made, would have given him a final par 62, but his putt never touched the hole and the Englishman had to settle for a 7-under 63.
That left him at five for the week, though he lamented what it could have been.
“I missed 6 feet on the first [hole]“You missed 5 feet in the last one, and then everything in between was really good,” Fleetwood said.
It was reminiscent of the 2018 Fleetwood US Open in Shinnecock, where he shot a final round 63, although he fell short to beat Brooks Koepka that day.
“I just want to be higher on the leaderboard by Sunday and then have another day like today,” Fleetwood said. “It’s a nice little piece of history. ”
Fleetwood is the first player in US Open history to record two games of 63 seconds.
“Days like today you can put in a memory bank,” he said.
Gordon Sargent, who shot a final-round 1-under-par 69 to finish at 4, was the tournament’s low amateur.
“It’s kind of your goal as an amateur, to be humble,” said Sargent, the Vanderbilt sophomore and 2022 NCAA champion. “During my second major, I wasn’t as nervous as the first [the Masters]. It just gives you confidence and also kind of shows what you need to work on. I know my golf is good, I can compete with the best and I just need to limit my mistakes a bit. ”
