Wyndham Clark’s season hasn’t gone to plan so far, with only one top-10 finish on the PGA Tour. He is also outside the FedEx Cup playoff spots, sitting 78th in the standings.
His best result in a major was a tie for 46th at The Masters. There have also been some moments of frustration this year, including throwing his driver during the PGA Championship.
Photos then surfaced online showing damage to several lockers at Oakmont, and while nothing has been confirmed, there were suggestions that Clark might have been involved.
Clark draws criticism over Oakmont incident aftermath
It took a few days before there was any confirmation. Clark stayed quiet for a while, not addressing the rumours until he was asked directly after his first round at the Travelers Championship.
The 2023 US Open winner did apologise, but also seemed eager to move past the incident as he turns his attention to making a push for the Ryder Cup team.
“Yeah, I mean, I’ve had a lot of highs and lows in my career, especially this year some lows. I made a mistake that I deeply regret. I’m very sorry for what happened,” he said.
“But I’d also like to move on, not only for myself but for Oakmont, for the USGA, and kind of focus on the rest of this year and things that come up. I still want to try to make the Ryder Cup team. I am still on the outside looking in for the FedExCup. So I’m starting to move on and focus on those things.”
Some felt it was an odd way to handle it. And by all accounts, Oakmont didn’t appreciate Clark trying to steer how people should react.
A report from Golf Digest stated that Oakmont has suspended Clark until he covers repair costs, makes a notable charitable donation and completes anger management counselling.
Speaking on Dan On Golf, Dan Rapaport pointed out that Clark’s comments after the incident did little to help his situation.
“I did not want to weigh in on this until I knew it was true. It’s true. It is absolutely true,” he said.
“Both Ben and I have gotten multiple people who have confirmed that it’s true and everything that was reported is true.
“They are holding out for him to reimburse the club, to apologise to the club and enter anger management counselling.
“The Open is going back to Oakmont in 2023 and that is the last year of Wyndham’s 10-year extension for winning it. He obviously acted like an a******, knocking in the locker at one of these places and then not apologising until he shot like 65 the next week at the Travelers.
“The major before he flung his club into a T-Mobile sign and because they are one of his sponsors he immediately apologised. So I said to Ben once this happens and there was this report about the lockers being damaged, I was like we are either getting a denial or an apology really soon.
“Once we did not get the denial I could not believe that we did not get the apology because if it’s not true you would be like it’s not true, and you don’t apologise. To wait until the next week and then the apology felt kind of stilted and then he said I want to move on for Oakmont’s sake. I don’t think that went over well with Oakmont.”
Calls for PGA Tour action after Wyndham Clark’s US Open behaviour
There were calls for the PGA Tour to step in following Clark’s behaviour at Oakmont. He is not the first player to let frustration boil over, but this was his second incident in back-to-back majors.
Golf isn’t a sport where you win often – players deal with far more losses than victories over their careers, and Clark will need to learn how to handle that side of the game better moving forward.
Brandel Chamblee didn’t hold back, saying he felt Clark deserved a significant suspension for his actions.
An immediate apology and clear steps towards making things right might have changed the tone around this story. But that hasn’t happened yet, and it’s left him facing even more criticism as a result.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
