SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — Wyndham Clark knows the jokes. He’s heard them and probably even read them. He knows one of the lowest moments of his career came at this tournament a year ago, when he damaged lockers at century-old Oakmont Country Club.
He’s dealt with the repercussions and criticism and said all the apologies. All the while his play has been a shadow of what it once was, when he won the U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club three years ago.
But now as his game has been resurrected, so too have his worst moments.
“I was on top of the world in my game when I won the U.S. Open and then had some good years,” Clark said Friday at Shinnecock Hills, fresh off a one-under 69 that puts him in the U.S. Open lead heading into the weekend. “Then next thing you know, I’m apologizing for breaking a locker the year later.”
Things change quickly; Clark’s play among them. He won the Wells Fargo Championship in May 2023 and the U.S. Open a month later. He added another victory at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February 2024, but that led to a two-year winless slump.
He failed to finish in the top three in any event in 2025 and missed the cut at this tournament, leading to the locker-bashing incident in Pennsylvania. The club suspended him from the property, with reinstatement contingent upon Clark fulfilling certain conditions, including paying for damages, contributing to charity, and completing anger management sessions. A few months later, he was left off the Ryder Cup team.
This year wasn’t going much better; he missed the cut at the PGA Championship but won in his next start at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson. He took third at a difficult Memorial event two weeks later. And last week he tied for 11th in Canada.
On Friday, he said the ebbs and flows have been like climbing Everest.
“Sometimes you have to go down to go back up,” he 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.”
Clark has long credited mental game coach Julie Elion for any success he’s had. He’s a naturally fiery player; you can see it. Some guys have it — like Clark and Scottie Scheffler and Jordan Spieth and Tyrrell Hatton. But the key is not letting it win. In his next start after the Oakmont incident, Clark said he’s had lots of highs and lows in his career and made a mistake he deeply regrets.
“I’ve gotten a lot of grief since last year, rightfully so,” he said Friday. “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. You know, 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.”
As Clark tries to reshape that narrative, his game has also come around. He’s back up to 34th in the World Ranking, and he credits instructor Pat Coyner for strides they’ve made together. Clark had been without a swing coach for years until he met Coyner at Cherry Hills in Colorado. They started working together toward the end of last year.
“I was hitting balls one day and just asked him, ‘Hey, what do you think?’” Clark said. “He goes, ‘Honestly, I look at a few things that how you’re swinging in ’23 and ’22, and you’re way longer, you’re kind of cupped, your wrist isn’t flat, X, Y and Z.’ He goes, ‘If we could just get you back to ’23 by the start of Jan. 1, like some of those moves, and then continue to get better as the year goes on,’ and he’s done that.”
Clark’s taken more control of his irons (he ranks 14th in Strokes Gained: Approach) and is hitting his driver straighter.
“If I can hit it in the fairway,” he said, “I feel like I’m pretty deadly.”
He has been this week. He made just one bogey and shot six-under 64 in the first round, which he finished with two holes on Friday morning. He had another tidy second round — three birdies, two bogeys, good for a 69. He’s 12th in the field in SG: Approach and made several key putts so far, including a delicate 33-footer for birdie on the 18th on Friday.
Clark is fighting two battles at Shinnecock: the field and his public perception. Winning a golf tournament is hard enough. But changing a narrative? That takes effort, and time. Maybe this weekend will bring some answers.
“Hopefully I can win those people back,” he said. “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.”
