SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. – Wyndham Clark knows not everyone is going to be a fan of his. There has been a handful of recent examples of unbecoming behaviour and some moments, like last week at the RBC Canadian Open, where he brought the boos on himself.
But through two days at the U.S. Open, Clark is playing better than anyone – by a wide margin – and while there is lots of golf left and trouble around every corner at Shinnecock Hills, Clark has put himself in a prime position to win the major for a second time.
Clark backed up a first-round 64, the round of the championship so far, with a solid 1-under 69 and will head into the weekend with a four shot lead.
Clark held steady at 6 under for his first eight holes before making bogey on the par-4 9th on Friday. He birdied Nos. 12 and 13 before bogeying the par-5 16th but closed, however, with a lengthy birdie on the par-4 18th
He heads into the weekend as one of just two golfers to shoot two rounds in the 60s.
Clark is up four on a foursome of golfers, including two major champions – Matt Fitzpatrick and Xander Schauffele, with Schauffele having never finished outside the top 15 in his career at the U.S. Open (nine total starts).
Only nine golfers are under par through 36 holes and there are just seven shots between second place and the cutline of 4 over.
This particular U.S. Open hinges on Clark’s weekend effort.
Clark hasn’t, necessarily, been the most impressive golfer in the field in any one statistic, but he’s been steady enough and he’s capitalized on his opportunities so far. The four-time PGA Tour winner also came into the week as arguably the hottest golfer on the circuit of late. He won The CJ Cup Byron Nelson thanks to a final-round 60 to finish at 30 under(!) and then backed that up with a solo third at the Memorial, a Signature event on the schedule. He finished tied for 11th at last week’s Canadian Open, a result buoyed by his Saturday 63, tied for the low round of the tournament.
But Clark, who won the 2023 U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club in a final-day duel against Rory McIlroy, has been open about some mental health and attitude-specific struggles. It’s a fine line between being angry and passionate and Clark has recently gone over it – including at last year’s U.S. Open.
Clark shot 74-74 and missed the cut at Oakmont last June and, on his way out, he smashed a locker – photo evidence of which quickly went viral. The club, in a letter, even said Clark was no longer permitted on the property. Per ESPN, to lift the ban the club required Clark to fully compensate for the damages, successfully complete anger management or counselling, and make a “meaningful” contribution to a charity chosen by the board.
Oakmont is set to host the U.S. Open again in 2033.
“That was a really challenging time and something I’ve deeply regretted and feel awful that I did that,” Clark said earlier this week. “But there were so many good lessons in that that really taught me a bunch.”
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With Clark off to an incredible start through two days at Shinnecock Hills, he was asked again Friday about the potential for losing fans or how the general golfing public may perceive him now.
Oakmont wasn’t an isolated incident.
At the PGA Championship last year, Clark also broke a sign near a tee box at Quail Hollow Club that featured not only a sponsor of the event but a personal one of his as well.
“I’ve gotten a lot of grief since last year, rightfully so. 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,” Clark said. “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.
“I definitely feel like I’m in a better place. Hopefully a great weekend and great rest of the year, maybe I’ll gain all those fans back.”
Clark may, however, have a hard time winning back any fans from Canada.
At last week’s Canadian Open, Clark spotted someone in the crowd on Friday wearing a Jack Hughes Team USA hockey jersey. He walked over and asked to borrow it and gave him $200. Clark got his address and plans to send it back to him. But, as you can imagine, wearing a Team USA jersey on Canadian soil at The Rink hole at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley got him plenty of grief.
The next day the booing continued. Clark said he “loved the banter” but did admit he felt it “crossed the line” on the final hole with some of the Canadian crowd yelling in his backswing, he said.
“I felt more bummed for (eventual champion) Bud (Cauley) because Bud was trying to win a tournament and it seemed like the banter almost took away from his limelight. I was a little bummed about that,” Clark said. “But I brought it on myself, so…”
Clark has, over the last few years, brought on the warranted criticism with his own actions. But he’s also ascended up the world rankings and won four times in the last three seasons on the PGA Tour.
And, with the second-biggest lead through 36 holes in U.S. Open history, he may very well hoist another major trophy in two days’ time. In the last 30 years, just three times has a golfer gone on to win the U.S. Open after being outside of two shots of the lead through 36 holes.
“Sometimes you have to go down to go back up,” Clark said. “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.”