Outlier Clark holds his own against Golf's big guns

NO QUITTER: Wyndham Clark waves after his putt on the 17th hole during the third round of the U.S. Open. Pic: AP Photo/Marcio J. Sanchez

On a leaderboard that was filled with the familiar names we’ve come to expect near the top of a major championship, Wyndham Clark stands out like a weed in the middle of a pristine Los Angeles Country Club green or a guest wearing blue jeans on the first tee.

Clark’s history didn’t suggest that he belonged in the final pairing of a US Open championship sharing the lead with Rickie Fowler instead of a major winner such as Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler or Dustin Johnson. Clark’s major history is practically non-existent.

Only six times since 2020 has the 29-year-old American from Colorado participated in a major. Four times he missed the cut, including each of the previous two US Opens he qualified for at Brookline and Torrey Pines. The only two times he reached the weekend, he finished T75 (2021 US PGA) and T76 (2022 Open).

He’s more than once considered quitting the game and doing something else with his life. The first after his mother died from breast cancer when he was 19 and in college at the University of Oregon. Then several times in 2020 and 2022 when he was struggling to gain traction in the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup standings.

“There's many times when I stormed off the golf course in qualifying or in tournaments and just drove as fast as I could, I didn't know where I was going,” Clark said. “Just the pressure of golf and then not having my mom there and someone that I could call was really tough for me.

“And then professionally I've had multiple moments like that where you just, you miss multiple cuts in a row or you feel like your game is good and you're not getting much out of it and you just contemplate doing it. Max Homa has a great quote – every golfer's one shot away from thinking they can win the Masters or one shot away from quitting golf. It really is a great quote because that's the truth. I'm glad I stuck it out and am here now.” 

Clark said that six weeks ago when his perseverance had finally paid off with a maiden victory at the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow. He won in dominating fashion against an elite designated-event field and pulled away from Xander Schauffele to win by four strokes.

“I would have won the tournament by three if he wasn't here,” said Schauffele, impressed by what he saw from Clark under pressure.

For Clark, that moment felt like winning a major and changed how he feels about his stature in the game.

“It's an elevated event with some of the best players in the world that are here, and that's a major championship golf course, and it demands a lot of the same things this does and a US Open would demand, which is all parts of your game being on,” Clark said about how his win in Charlotte, North Carolina, six weeks ago is translating into his performance this week in Los Angeles.

“For me, winning any tournament was big, and then that one in particular felt like a major. I just feel like I can compete with the best players in the world and I think of myself as one of them.” 

He certainly played like one of them this week. He didn’t buckle when Fowler kept playing inspired golf on Saturday. He refused to yield his place in the final pairing Sunday to one of the three players who’ve been world No 1 lined up behind him – McIlroy, Scheffler and Johnson.

He was a unicorn standing alone among seasoned veterans who’ve been in this position before. Clark doesn’t even have a swing coach to guide him. 

“That's helped my own swing and own my game,” he said.

There were two moments in Saturday’s third round when it looked like Wyndham Clark might finally yield to the pressure of being in the spotlight of a major stage for the first time. When the moment might finally be getting too big for him. 

After making his first bogey of the day on the long par-3 11th, he got a little sideways again on 12. From just long of the green in the rough, his wedge slid right under the ball without touching it. He regrouped after the whiff and connected the second time to get up and down to save bogey.

Then on 13 after Fowler rolled in a 69-foot putt for his 21st birdie of the week, Clark calmly rolled in a 12-foot birdie of his own to keep within one of the leader.

On 17 as the light faded, Clark hit his approach on the most difficult hole in the championship into an unplayable spot in a penalty area. He took his medicine and a drop and got up-and-down again to save bogey. Then on 18 he fired a dart from 172 yards to six feet for a bounce-back birdie that denied McIlroy a spot in the final pairing and ended up grabbing a share of the lead when Fowler missed a four-footer in the near darkness.

“It's a US Open and I wanted to be in that final group,” said Clark, seizing that spotlight instead of shying away from it.

While the world had its eyes on McIlroy and Fowler and Scheffler and Johnson and Schauffele, Clark had his eyes on the prize. The rest should be watching out for him as he’s arrived at the level he belongs.

As his career has illustrated, Clark doesn’t quit.