Ten Things to Know about Round 4 of the 123rd U.S. Open at LACC

With all the talk about the scores being too low, the course playing too easy, the fairways being too wide and the greens running too soft, something happened.  The North Course at Los Angeles Country Club proved the U.S. Open is not a sprint.  It's a marathon.

Wyndham Clark won his first major championship putting on a display of incredible shotmaking, savage grit, and unflappable poise.  In only his third U.S. Open appearance, being chased down by four-time major champion Rory McIlroy, World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, and paired with fan favorite Rickie Fowler... Clark didn't blink.

Here are 10 things to know about the final round of the 123rd U.S. Open at LACC North.

Number 10:    Wyndham Clark ranked in the top five in both Strokes Gained Off the Tee (2nd) and Strokes Gained Putting (4th). Prior to this week, Clark played in 69 measured tournaments, and he finished in the top 10 in both categories one time. That was at the 2022 Farmers Insurance Open (9th, 1st) where he finished T-56.

Number 9:    This was the first time that Wyndham Clark has made the cut at the U.S. Open. Over the last 100 years he is just the fourth player to win the U.S. Open the first time he made the cut, joining: Lucas Glover (2009), Lee Janzen (1993) and Orville Moody (1969).

Number 8:    The scoring average this week was 71.76, the lowest in U.S. Open history. However, in terms of score relative to par, this was the fourth lowest (+1.76), behind 2017 (+1.20), 2019 (+1.35) and 1990 (+1.47).

Number 7:    Lowest winning scores relative to par by U.S. Open winners:

• 2011 Congressional CC, Rory McIlroy (16-under)
• 2017 Erin Hills, Brooks Koepka (16-under)
• 2019 Pebble Beach, Gary Woodland (13-under)
• 2000 Pebble Beach, Tiger Woods (12-under)
• 2023 Los Angeles CC, Wyndham Clark (10-under)

Number 6:    This marks the third year in a row that the U.S. Open champion won his first career major, doing so by one shot over a minted major champion. Matthew Fitzpatrick won by one shot over Scottie Scheffler (and Will Zalatoris) last year; Jon Rahm won in 2021 by one shot over Louis Oosthuizen in 2021.

Number 5:    Since 2000, players who won their first major championship in their first seven career major appearances:

• Ben Curtis, 2003 Open, 1st
• Keegan Bradley, 2011 PGA, 1st
• Collin Morikawa, 2020 PGA, 2nd
• Shaun Micheel, 2003 PGA, 3rd
• Rich Beem, 2002 PGA, 4th
• Webb Simpson, 2012 U.S. Open, 5th
• Todd Hamilton, 2004 Open, 7th
• Wyndham Clark, 2023 U.S. Open, 7th

Number 4:    Wyndham Clark (+1 over his last nine holes) is the first U.S. Open Champion to shoot over par on the back nine on Sunday since Justin Rose at Merion in 2013 (+1).

Number 3:    Wyndham Clark (#32) is the lowest-ranked U.S. Open winner since Graeme McDowell (#37) won at Pebble Beach in 2010.

Number 2:    Low Amateur Gordon Sargent (69-71-75-69) is the sixth amateur to have a pair of rounds in the 60s at a U.S. Open, joining Viktor Hovland (2019 Pebble Beach), Brian Campbell (2015 Chambers Bay), Scott Verplank (1985 Oakland Hills), Lanny Wadkins (1971 Merion) and Marty Fleckman (1967 Baltusrol).

Number 1:    Wyndham Clark if the fifth player over the last 50 years to win a PGA TOUR event (Wells Fargo in early May) and then won the U.S. Open within the next 60 days. He joins:

• Curtis Strange who won the 1988 Memorial Tournament and the U.S. Open three weeks later
• Tom Kite who won the 1992 BellSouth Classic and then the U.S. Open six weeks later
• Tiger Woods who won the 2000 Memorial and the U.S. Open three weeks later
• and Martin Kaymer who won THE PLAYERS championship in 2014 and then won the U.S. Open just over a month later.