What Happened at the 2023 U.S. Open?
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The U.S. Open has stood as one of the most prestigious and captivating golf tournaments in the world since it was created in 1895, 128 years ago. The 2023 U.S. Open took place just last week, so read on below to learn about this year’s Open and which golfing legend or rising star won the 123rd iteration of the event.
How does the U.S. Open work?
The U.S. Open is one of the four major championships in USGA golf. The championship consists of four 18-hole rounds played over the course of four consecutive days. The championship consists of 156 players, about half of whom are automatically invited based on a variety of previous achievements or rankings, and the other half of whom have to perform well in qualifying rounds leading up to the championship.
The Open includes a substantial prize fund for the winners and high performers, and this year’s amounts to a whopping $20 million total, the most of any golf tournament.
Where was the 2023 U.S. Open?
The 2023 U.S. Open was held at the Los Angeles Country Club’s North Course in Los Angeles, California. This was the first time the event has been held in L.A. since it was hosted by Riviera Country Club in 1948, 75 years ago. The club’s courses were recently renovated which led to 90% of the club’s members voting to approve the U.S. Open being held there.
Who won the Open?
This year’s tournament was won by Wyndham Clark, who had just one PGA Tour win to his name when entering the event. Clark held off Rory McIlroy by one stroke to earn his first U.S. Open win and first major victory.
The final leaderboard for the tournament saw Wyndham Clark in first place with a score of -10 and winnings of $3,600,000, Rory McIlroy in second with a score of -9 and winnings of $2,160,000, Scottie Scheffler in third with a score of -7 and winnings of $1,413,430, and Cameron Smith in fourth place with a score of -6 and winnings of $990,867.
What’s next for Wyndham Clark?
Wyndham Clark seems to be beginning to really make a name for himself within the PGA, and a U.S. Open victory right after his first-ever PGA win is impressive. Clark secured his first PGA Tour win at the Wells Fargo Championship just this May, and had never finished better than 75th in a major championship until this one.
Thanks to this win, Clark is automatically invited to compete in all three other major championships — the Masters, the British Open, and the PGA Championship — for the next five years. He’ll also be automatically invited to the U.S. Open for the next ten years and automatically invited to The Players Championship for the next five years. This has helped secure his career future in addition to paying him a considerable amount of money.