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.
“Obviously it’s gone faster than I thought as far as just starting to do some stuff mentally that I’ve never done before, but I feel like I’m one of the best players in the world.
“Obviously this just shows what I believe can happen.
“But at the same time I’m a pretty humble, calm guy and I don’t try to get too high or too low on things. I’m obviously going to celebrate this, but I like to compete.
“I’m so competitive. I want to beat everybody but also be friends with everybody. So I try to have a good mix of that.”
Clark’s victory came on Father’s Day but it was no surprise that his thoughts immediately turned to his late mother Lise, who was a huge influence on his career before her death from breast cancer in 2013.
Lise’s death hit Clark hard and he seriously considered quitting the sport as he battled bouts of depression and frustration throughout his college career and early years in the professional ranks.
“I didn’t show any emotion off the course, but when I was on the golf course, I couldn’t have been angrier,” Clark recalled.
“I was breaking clubs when I didn’t even hit that bad of a shot. I was walking off golf courses. When I transferred from Oklahoma State to Oregon was another low point and I think that was a lot of carryover from my mom passing.
“So when I went to Oregon and Casey Martin then took over as my head coach, he instilled that I was one of the best players in the world and he goes, ‘you’re good enough to play on this stage but also in college and win’.
“Then I had my best year ever. I got out here (on Tour) pretty quick, but even those first few years, I felt like I under-performed.
“I’ve had many times where I’ve gone home and was yelling in my car and punching things and just so mad that I’m like, ‘Why can’t I do what my peers are doing that I know I can play with and against and beat?’
“I’ve probably had three to four really defining moments in my career since college, but I’m really glad that I stuck it through.
“Being here now, I just feel so blessed. It’s honestly surreal to look back and think about the journey the last seven to 10 years.”
PGA Championship: Scheffler unsure if arrest a factor after 'hectic' weekend
Scottie Scheffler is unsure whether his arrest on Friday was a factor after a disappointing Saturday led to him finishing tied for eighth at a "hectic" PGA Championship.
On Friday, world number one Scheffler was arrested outside Valhalla Golf Club ahead of his second round.
It subsequently emerged that he faces charges of second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving, and disregarding traffic signals from an officer directing traffic.
Scheffler shot a five-under 66 in the delayed second round, one stroke better than his first round, but a two-over 73 on Saturday all but ended his hopes of back-to-back major wins.
Xander Schauffele ultimately claimed his first major title at 21 under, eight shots ahead of Scheffler.
Speaking after Sunday's final round, in which a run of seven birdies in 10 holes helped him card a 65, Scheffler said he was proud of the way he finished the event.
"I think 'hectic' would probably be a good description," Scheffler said. "I'm fairly tired, definitely a lot more tired than I have been finishing some other tournaments.
"I'm proud of today how we went out there and fought. I got off to a slow start and I was able to get some momentum and post a good round.
"Yesterday obviously was quite frustrating and a bit of a different day, but overall proud of how I fought this week. Was fortunate to be out here competing, doing what I love."
Asked whether his arrest had an impact on his performance, Scheffler said: "It's hard to tell. I think I would attribute it mostly to a bad day.
"I think when you come out here to compete, you're doing what you can throughout the course of the round to post a score and I wasn't able to get that done yesterday.
"Did I feel like myself? Absolutely not. Was my warm-up the way it usually is and the distractions the way they normally are? Absolutely not.
"I got arrested Friday morning and I showed up here and played a good round of golf. So I've been good throughout my career at leaving the off-course distractions at home and keeping a pretty quiet personal life.
"I'm not going to sit here and say that I played poorly yesterday because of what happened on Friday. I just had a bad day out on the course and was proud of how I came out here and bounced back today."
PGA Championship: McIlroy 'feeling good' about game despite wait for elusive fifth major
Rory McIlroy feels positive about his game despite a continued wait to win an elusive fifth major championship.
Xander Schauffele secured a maiden major victory by winning the PGA Championship at Valhalla, which was the venue for McIlroy's last major triumph in 2014.
McIlroy finished in a tie for 12th place and has often come close, recording 20 top-10 finishes in majors since winning his last, which is more than any other player during that span.
He had won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and the Wells Fargo Championship coming into the second major of 2024 and, despite falling short, still feels things are trending in the right direction with the U.S. Open and The Open Championship to come this year.
Asked about the state of his game, McIlroy said: "I'm feeling good about that.
"I have been on a big stretch of golf here. I think this was my sixth event in seven weeks. I've got a week off and then I'm playing another four in a row.
"I'm feeling good about my game. I feel like things are sort of clicking more, especially after the win in New Orleans.
"Obviously played well last week in Charlotte. Have a week here to sort of reset and try to get going again."
McIlroy was in contention for glory after carding a five-under 66 on the first day at Valhalla.
But he ultimately finished nine strokes behind Schauffele, as a difficult 71 on day two was followed up with creditable scores of 68 and 67 over the weekend’s play.
McIlroy looked poised for another top-10 finish before finding the water twice on Sunday, but still emerged at four under for the day with seven birdies and three bogeys in an up-and-down final round.
He continued: "Obviously I started the week well, and then I've obviously played decent over the weekend.
"That six-hole stretch on the back nine [on Saturday], not being able to hole any putts, I'll probably rue that.
"Then the 71 on Friday, as well, was obviously not what I was looking for. Obviously put myself too far back.
"Overall I am playing solid, game is in good shape, and I've got a week off and then another busy stretch coming up."
PGA Championship: Schauffele 'captured the moment' with maiden major victory
Xander Schauffele says that he captured the moment during his PGA Championship win after handling the big moments better than he had in the past.
Schauffele won his maiden major victory with a dramatic one-shot win at Valhalla, Kentucky on Sunday, making history as he finished 21 under, the lowest 72-hole score in men’s major history.
He held off late challenges from Bryson DeChambeau and Viktor Hovland to secure the Wanamaker Trophy after carding a 65 on the final day.
"It feels amazing," Schauffele told reporters after his win.
"Winning, I said it earlier, is a result. This is awesome, it's super sweet, but when I break it down, I'm really proud of how I handled certain moments on the course today, different from the past."
"I was pretty nervous. I don't really remember it [the birdie putt] lipping in, I just heard everyone roaring and I looked up to the sky in relief.
"I really did not want to go into a play-off with Bryson. Going up 18 with his length, it's not something that I was going to have a whole lot of fun with.
"I was able to capture that moment there... I just kept telling myself I need to earn this, earn this and be in the moment, and I was able to do that."
Despite lifting the trophy, Schauffele believes that he still has work to do to reach Scottie Scheffler.
The world number one had a turbulent week, which saw him arrested ahead of the second round on Friday, and he finished joint-eighth.
"All of us are climbing this massive mountain and at the top of the mountain is Scottie Scheffler," Schauffele added. "I won this today, but I'm still not that close to Scottie Scheffler in the big scheme of things.
"I got one good hook up there in the mountain up on that cliff, and I'm still climbing. I might have a beer up there on that side of the hill there and enjoy this, but it's not that hard to chase when someone is so far ahead of you."
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