The American entered the final day with a six stroke cushion but his second major win was far from a procession to victory.
Clark mixed five bogeys with two birdies during a fourth round 73 that included impressive scrambling and moments of brilliance as he went on to win his second major title.
"I mean, the first one was amazing, and this one seems even better," he said after his victory.
"I think especially after such a sour taste last year in this championship, to have some redemption and win this again is -- I mean, gosh, it's almost surreal.
"Last year was so tough, a terrible year. I left this place in shambles, and it's amazing what a year can do. I'm leaving here this Sunday as a champion, and I'm just so blessed."
Clark began the final round with a routine par at the first, but the momentum quickly shifted away from the overnight leader for the first real time all week.
A missed green with both of his approach efforts at the par‑four second forced him into an early bogey save, which became a sign of the grind that lay ahead.
Further superb scrambling at the fourth reminiscent of Saturdays' round kept him at -6 but a misjudged third at the par‑five fifth rolled back to his feet and opened the door for Sam Burns, who was surging with four birdies in his first eight holes and ad suddenly cut Clark's lead to one.
Burns, however, handed one back at the ninth, missing from outside eight feet to restore Clark’s two‑shot cushion. Clark then steadied himself with a near‑hole‑out from the rough at the same hole, tapping in for par as the championship tightened around him.
The back nine delivered the day’s most dramatic swings.
Burns’ final chance came at the 18th, where his birdie effort looked destined to drop before stopping a fraction short. His superb 67 set the clubhouse target at -3 but Clark still had three holes remaining.
After finding the rough from the tee at 16, Clark muscled his second back into position and reached the back of the green with his third. From just inside 25 feet, he poured in a massive birdie putt, unleashing a fist pump that as he restored his two‑shot advantage.
"To make birdie there was honestly a bonus," Clark reflected.
"I just wanted to make par. That was one of the pivotal points of the tournament. "
Yet the tension wasn’t finished. A three‑putt bogey at the 17th meant Clark walked to the 72nd hole with a single stroke in hand. His tee shot found the right rough, but his second managed to chase onto the front portion of the green. From there, he produced a superb first putt to leave a tap‑in for victory.
Clark rolled it in to seal a one‑shot win, completing a gritty, resilient performance under immense pressure. As he walked off the 18th green, his father embraced him and told him, “That’s the toughest round you’ve played,” a fitting summary of a champion who refused to let the U.S. Open slip from his grasp.
"I mean, he's never been there to see me win. Not only that, to finally have him there for a win is amazing, but especially on Father's Day. I know in '23 it was obviously a great Father's Day present for him, but I know he wanted to be there here in person.
"So for him to surprise me was amazing, and so I can't wait to spend more time with my dad tonight and celebrating this, because it's not just my win. It's my team. It's John Ellis, who helped get me here; it's Big Wave; it's my agent; it's my swing coaches, my trainers, and then obviously my family.
"There's a lot of people behind me, so I was happy that he could be here."
DARK TIMES
Clark's victory comes a year after he struggled to keep composure following a missed cut in this tournament in 2025 at Oakmont, and it was something he has addressed multiple times throughout the week and again after victory.
Speaking about the difference a year can make, Clark said he had to pull himself out of a really dark time after last year's event to get back to being able to this position.
"I mean, after what happened at Oakmont was obviously the lowest point. People probably didn't see what happened after, but you know, it was a really tough two, three days for me. I was in a dark place, didn't really go outside much. It was a really negative, dark place.
"Yeah, I mean, at that moment I just felt a lot of my career, world ranking, reputation, everything just dwindling. That's a terrible feeling.
"Yeah, I would say in that moment I definitely didn't think I'd be here this year doing this, but with that being said, I did a lot of work in the offseason on my golf swing, on the things I needed to do. I would say as this year, I started hitting it better and started seeing the results, then yeah, I started gaining my confidence.
Clark also had to overcome the noise of the crowd rooting for both Burn and playing partner Scottie Scheffler, who was going in search of the career grand slam on his 30th birthday.
"Man, they definitely didn't want me to win. It's pretty rare in an Open Championship or a major to have fans kind of boo against your shots or cheer for bad shots.
"It was tough, but I'm proud of myself that I battled through. I mean, things really could have gotten away from me. I stood tough. Yeah, I would have liked to have won by more, but as long as you win, it doesn't matter."
He came out on top of all of it, and now Clark's own golfing legacy is firmly cemented in U.S. Open history as one of several players only to win this event multiple times.
Sam Burns finished in solo second to record his third straight top ten at the U.S. Open on -3 with Tom Kim at -1 the only player under par for the third major of the year.
Scheffler was one of three players in a group on level par, joining Keith Mitchell and J.T. Poston, while Tyrrell Hatton, Gary Woodland, Sam Stevens and Joaquin Niemann rounded out the top ten.
EDIT>>>> Canada's lone representative Corey Conners ended his week T23 69 72 71 73 +5.
Rory McIlroy T32 69 71 73 73 +6 and will not play in this week's Signature event at The Travelers at TPC River Highlands.
europeantour.com
Bryan Angus (edit)
