Wyndham Clark believes he deserves place among golf elite after US Open triumph

Newly-crowned US Open champion Wyndham Clark believes he deserves his place among the game’s elite after claiming his maiden major title in impressive fashion.

Despite winning his first PGA Tour title six weeks ago, Clark was an 120/1 outsider at Los Angeles Country Club, having made just two cuts in six previous majors with a best finish of 75th in the 2021 US PGA.

Yet it was the 29-year-old American who held his nerve in a tense final round to finish top of the leaderboard on 10 under par, with major champions Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and Cameron Smith filling the minor places.

Clark’s victory will take him from 32nd to a career-high 13th in the world rankings and also up to second in the qualifying race for the US Ryder Cup team.

“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,” Clark said.

“I feel like I’ve shown that this year. I’ve come up close (to winning) 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.

Time to celebrate!