The last time a major golf tournament was held in Los Angeles was the PGA Championship 28 years ago in 1995 when Sam Elkington won at Riviera Country Club. The last time the U.S. Open was held in the greater Los Angeles area was in 1948 when Ben Hogan was the champion. It’s been 75 years since the legendary Hogan and the U.S. Open graced Los Angeles with its presence. To say that this was a historic moment for golf in Los Angeles would be an understatement. 

I’ve been golfing with my dad since roughly 1997 when he bought me my first set of clubs. I started taking lessons during summer break and had me practicing keeping my head down in the living room by taking swings with my arms held together. Whether it was just going to the range, or playing 18 holes with my brother and me, golf has always been how my dad connected with us. That also includes him taking us to golf tournaments, all over the country. I’ve been fortunate enough to see six or seven golf tournaments with him, including one other major tournament in the past. But this tournament was different for us. Not only was it on Father’s Day, it fell on the day after my grandmother’s funeral. My father’s mother had passed away, and the next day he and I were watching history being made in our hometown. I couldn’t have imagined a better way for our family to celebrate golf being back in Los Angeles. 

The energy at Los Angeles Country Club was palpable and buzzing the morning of Sunday the 18th. The weather was finally wonderful, after a few weeks of gloom here in June. The tournament was laden with some of golf’s biggest superstars, with Rickie Fowler, a fan favorite, leading after day three. Rory McIlroy and Scottie Sheffler (the world’s top-ranked golfer) were right there in the thick of it, and of course, eventual champion Wyndham Clark was tied for first place going into the final round. Not to mention probably a dozen past winners of the U.S. Open, and a good chunk of the top 50 ranked golfers were still in the field. What a match it turned out to be! 

Wyndham Clark, who lost his mother in 2013 from breast cancer, contemplated almost quitting the game after her passing. He won his first tournament in the PGA last month, to take home the Wells Fargo Championship trophy. His follow-up? A win in the U.S. Open to capture his second tournament, and first major championship. Clark came into Sunday tied for first with Rickie Fowler, and Fowler would hit seven bogies to see his lead tumble down to 5th place. After that, it was just between McIlroy and Clark to finish out the tournament. Clark had a few bogies throughout the final round, but Rory matched his cadence and both men ended up shooting an even 70 for the day. With Fowler out of the way, even par was all it took for Clark to secure his first major victory. 

We were situated amongst the stands at Hole 16 where we could see people teeing off from Hole 9. Hole 16 is a long, 540-yard, par 4 with a bunker laid up right in front of the pin. We watched duo after duo put the ball in the trap and then overshoot the tee. Clark, who had the more up and down day of the two finalists, would end up bogeying the hole. We knew we were situated at the kingmaker of holes, that whoever won at 16 would most likely go on to win the tournament. Scottie Scheffler would step up and birdie 16 with what was probably the best shot of the day on that green. Rory would have a chance to put in a birdie, narrowly missing from almost 60 feet away, just shooting long. He would end up going for par on the last two holes, and Clark just needed to hold out to win. He did that, and for the first time in 28 years, you felt the electricity return to golf in Los Angeles.

At the end of the evening, when I asked my dad how he felt about the tournament he said “Great time hanging out with you, amazing moment for golf in Los Angeles, but I wish the ambiance was a little more comfortable.” Classic. Happy Father’s Day Dad.