Bob Harig
Southampton, New York: A new “Code of Conduct” policy was quietly put in place this year at each of golf’s major championships, a response to concern over bad behaviour on the course by players. It resulted in a two-shot penalty this week for Chilean Joaquin Niemann, who threw his club in disgust during the first round of the US Open.
No such penalty was issued to Wyndham Clark, but it’s been suggested, half-jokingly, that he should be docked for what occurred during last year’s US Open, at venerable Oakmont Country Club, where a substantial footprint and hole was left in one of the lockers, courtesy of Clark’s cleats.
Photos were leaked, and soon Clark was dealing with his second self-inflicted public relations nightmare in a month. At the PGA Championship a few weeks earlier, he’d tossed his club in anger, bouncing it off a promotional banner – for a company he represents, ironically – and drawing a public reprimand. The Oakmont incident caused further embarrassment, with the club going so far as to announce it was banning him from the premises.
A year later, Clark, 32, held on to his emotions, and his game, on Sunday to win his second US Open, finishing with a 73 – and two-putting on the final green from 52 feet – to hold off Sam Burns by a stroke. He did it through a mix of heckles, jeers and seemingly perfunctory cheers, the golf world still nursing mixed feelings for a talented golfer with a history of lashing out.
Throughout the final round Sunday, an “anyone but Clark” vibe emerged in the gallery. Some clearly just hoped for a close tournament, but others were not subtle about not wanting Clark to win. “Don’t choke Wyndham!” fans chanted when his approach to the par-3 seventh green found a bunker. When he walked off the green with a bogey, his lead was down to one shot over Burns, who became a crowd favourite as he tried to chase down Clark.
“I’ve gotten a lot of grief since last year, rightfully so,” Clark said this week at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, where he led after each of the first three rounds, including a whopping six-stroke advantage heading into the final round over four players, including Burns and Scottie Scheffler.
“The thing that’s unfortunate is that’s not who I am, what happened last year, I’m hoping I can win back the fans that I had, or some new fans, because it was a terrible incident. I really feel like I can show people that I’m fun and outgoing, I’m fierce, competitive, love the game, respect the game, and I just had a bad moment. Hopefully, I can win those people back.”
To Clark’s credit, he has not batted away such questions. He handled them awkwardly, but he’s mostly tried to heal. The topic of Oakmont and the locker room incident has come up often in the past year, especially as his game suffered through a slump that didn’t end until a month ago, when he won the CJ Cup Byron Nelson tournament. He followed with a third-place finish at the Memorial tournament and a tie for 11th at last week’s Canadian Open.
And, of course, here at Shinnecock, starting Monday when he did a pre-tournament interview.
“That was a really challenging time and something I’ve deeply regretted and feel awful that I did that,” said Clark, who was required to complete online anger management classes as part of his restitution for the Oakmont incident.
“But there were so many good lessons in that that really taught me a bunch. I’ve really come a long way, and I’m excited for this year’s Open for some redemption and to move forward and enjoy the challenges of Shinnecock and how great this place is and how amazing this championship is.”
Along the way, Clark, who won the 2023 US Open at Los Angeles Country Club, rankled golf fans with rules controversies and commentary. At the Arnold Palmer Invitational, he was seen patting grass down behind his ball, leading to a review before officials cleared him. During the Masters Par 3 contest in April, he quipped that the plethora of kids running around with their golfer parents in caddie jumpsuits was a good reason for birth control.
When he won in Dallas last month, he noted that he’d likely celebrate by “opening some grape,” a phrase that went viral and led to more ridicule.
At last week’s Canadian Open, he showed his nerve with a playful troll at The Rink, the hockey-themed 14th hole that is a knockoff of the revelry at the par-16th found each year at the Phoenix Open.
During the third round, Clark unveiled a hockey jersey and pulled it over his golf shirt. But not just any jersey: a Team USA jersey, No. 86, that of Jack Hughes, the hero of the Americans’ Olympic gold medal win over Canada. The Canadians showered him with boos as a sly, evil smile crept across his face.
And yet, all along he was working on rehabilitation. He made numerous changes since Oakmont, hiring a new swing coach, a new caddie and a new putter, along with taking a new approach to his mental health with his sports psychologist, Julie Elion, who’s been promoting a book and got airtime during the broadcast.
Still, it was difficult to envision this display, a golfer seemingly playing a different course than all of the rest, dominating.
“I was on top of the world in my game at least when I won the U.S. Open and then had some good years,” Clark said. “Then next thing you know, I’m apologizing for breaking a locker the year later.
“I just think with the mental game there’s ebbs and flows. If you think of it as climbing Everest, sometimes you go up, sometimes you have to go down to go back up. I think that’s kind of what happens both on the golf course and off the golf course. Right now I’m trending back up, which is nice.”
Washington Post
