Scottie Scheffler wasn’t ‘sharp enough’ to chase down U.S. Open

LOS ANGELES — Scottie Scheffler was in the perfect position to chase and win the U.S. Open in Sunday’s final round.

But the No. 1 ranked player in the world failed to overtake the winner, Wyndham Clark, who won at 10-under par while Scheffler finished three shots back at 7-under par, in third place.

“I just felt like I wasn’t sharp enough today to move up the board,’’ he said. “I did a good job of keeping myself in it but I just wasn’t sharp enough. I was trying to hit some good shots and get some looks and I felt like on the front nine I didn’t give myself enough opportunities for birdies.

“I fought hard today, and I’m obviously a little frustrated to come up short, but I put up a good fight, and Wyndham played some fantastic golf this week and so he is a well-deserving champion.’’

Defending champion Matthew Fitzpatrick never contended in his title defense and called his week “a grind.’’

“I just did not drive the ball very well at all,’’ he said. “That’s what let me down. I was just looking forward to the week. It was the first time obviously experiencing that. Hopefully, I’ll have it a few more times in my career, but it’s all a learning experience really. I felt like I didn’t feel overwhelmed with it.’’

Tommy Fleetwood flirted with U.S. Open history yet again on Sunday.

Fleetwood had a 5-foot birdie putt on his final hole at Los Angeles Country Club that, if made, could have given him a final-round 62, but his putt never touched the hole and the Englishman had to settle for a 7-under 63.

That left him at 5-under for the week, though he lamented what could have been.

“I missed a 6-footer on the first [hole], missed a 5-footer on the last, and then everything in between was really, really good,’’ Fleetwood said.

It was reminiscent of Fleetwood’s 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock, where he shot a final-round 63, though he fell short of winner Brooks Koepka that day.

“I just need to be higher up the leaderboard coming into Sunday and then have another day like today,’’ Fleetwood said. “It’s a nice little piece of history.’’

Fleetwood is the first player in U.S. Open history to post two 63s.

“Days like today you can put in the memory bank,’’ he said.

Gordon Sargent, who shot a final-round 1-under-par 69 to finish at 4-over, was the low amateur for the tournament.

“It’s kind of what your goal as an amateur is, just to be the low-am,’’ Sargent, a sophomore at Vanderbilt and the 2022 NCAA champion, said. “Playing in my second major, I wasn’t as nervous as the first one [the Masters]. It just gives you confidence and also kind of shows what you need to work on. I know that my good golf, I can compete with the best and just need to limit the mistakes a little bit.’’