It’s no stretch to say Wyndham Clark had a much more pleasant time at The Open at Royal Portrush this week than the previous major tournament.
Clark has been unable to put an incident at Oakmont in the rear-view mirror. But three stellar rounds to end The Open, combined with no temper tantrums, was a step in the right direction.
Clark finished in a tie for fourth at 11-under 273, following a shaky first-round 76 with rounds of 66, 66 and 65.
“At the end of the day, I played 16-under on the last three days,” Clark said. “Excluding that first round, maybe we’d have a chance to win this thing.
“But really pleased. I putted amazing. I hit a lot of great shots. Felt like I was in a great place. I’m super pleased.”
Clark won the 2023 U.S. Open but this year’s performance at the U.S. Open at Oakmont was a disaster on two levels.
Clark missed the cut with back-to-back rounds of 74. Then his anger took over and he badly damaged a couple lockers at the famed golf course.
Oakmont has banned Clark from the property and said Clark must pay for all damages, make a charitable contribution and attend “anger management sessions or counseling,” before he can be reinstated.
“So, obviously, I feel terrible with what happened,” Clark said Sunday. “I’m doing anything I can to try to remedy the situation.
“We’re trying to keep it private between Oakmont, myself and the USGA. I’m just happy we have a pathway moving forward, and like you said, I’m hoping we can get past this and move on and hope there’s no ill-will towards me and Oakmont.”
That incident marked the second straight major tournament in which Clark had a temper issue. He threw his driver and damaged a tee box during the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow in May.
Clark said resolving his temper issues is a work-in-progress.
“I’ve had them in the past. I’ve been pretty open about my mental shift and change to get better, and I did that in ’23 and ’24, and then having a tough year and all the expectations and just frustration all coming together, and I did two stupid things,” Clark said. “But one thing that it did do is wake me up and get me back into the person I know I am and the person I want to be.
“I hope those things don’t reflect because I don’t think they reflect on who I am, and going forward that stuff is not going to happen again.”
Clark’s performance at Royal Portrush was his best of the year. His other three majors went poorly – tie for 46th at the Masters, tie for 50th at the PGA and the missed cut in the U.S. Open.
But he’s holding out hope that a strong run could land him a spot on the U.S. Ryder Cup team.
“I haven’t had a good year, to be honest,” Clark said. “I would have loved to make a few more putts to try to get a second place because then maybe I’d have a better chance. …
“I feel like I’m starting to play really good golf these last four or five weeks. I’ve played two or three good rounds, I just haven’t put four together.”
–Field Level Media
