“Rubbish,” “Trash,” “Overrated,” “He stinks,” and “Ought to’ve been Bryson DeChambeau” are simply most of the diatribes Wyndham Clark obtained on-line after Thursday’s opening spherical on the Olympics, a 4-over 75 by which he discovered the water early and infrequently.
After his brutal begin in Paris, he may have mailed it in. In spite of everything, solely the highest three finishers obtain a prize. However Clark fought again, taking pictures 15-under-par over the ultimate 54 holes to complete in a tie for 14th—a far cry from the place he sat on Thursday, nearly in useless final. Clark additionally shot back-to-back 6-under 65s over the weekend.
Solely Scottie Scheffler, who received the gold, matched that 15-under complete over the ultimate three rounds, so if not for that shaky first spherical, Clark may have competed for a medal.
“I simply began out poorly after which missed some putts, after which it simply appeared like nothing went proper the primary day,” Clark assessed after Sunday’s remaining spherical.
“After which performed actually properly the second day, as nicely, simply sadly completed with a double. However then, these final two days have been actually good kind, yeah. Yeah, I performed actually good golf. The primary 9 holes had been horrible [on Thursday], and one unhealthy 18th gap [on Friday], and issues is perhaps a bit completely different.”
Clark garnered the respect and admiration of many for his sturdy end, and the golf followers who lambasted him after Thursday’s spherical owe him an apology. However the 2023 U.S. Open winner didn’t take note of any of the projectiles directed his approach.
“I didn’t hear any of that, however I knew another stuff. I believe a few of it wasn’t very justified as a result of, , I used to be the third-highest-ranked participant for the U.S. to return right here. Yeah, poor begin,” Clark mentioned.
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“This might be a once-in-a-lifetime alternative, and I’ll by no means get that chance once more to look at occasions, spend time within the [Olympic] Village, and get the complete expertise. So, I needed to ensure I did every thing proper. I don’t remorse something I did. As soon as I received to Tuesday, I shut every thing down and was able to go. I performed actually good golf for 60 holes. I simply had 9 unhealthy holes.”
Regardless of the troublesome nature of this competitors, Clark nonetheless had a tremendous week. He completed because the third-highest-ranked American participant at 11-under-par for the championship, one stroke behind Xander Schauffele, who held a share of the 54-hole lead.
“To complete first, second, or third in any match could be very arduous, and when these are the one three locations that really obtain something, I believe it sort of adjustments your expectations a bit bit as a result of golf, it’s actually arduous to time every thing completely each single week and particularly for one week,” Clark mentioned.
“I needed to get pleasure from each minute and I felt like I had, and so yeah, it’s been a tremendous week for me.”
It’s no secret that Clark has had a wholesome dose of struggles all through 2024, despite the fact that he at present sits fifth within the FedEx Cup standings. He missed the lower at Augusta Nationwide, Valhalla, and Royal Troon. He tied for 56th at Pinehurst No. 2 because the reigning U.S. Open champion, wanting like a shell of himself from the Los Angeles Nation Membership the 12 months earlier than. But, Clark has had glimpses of success this 12 months, notably at Pebble Seashore, the place he shot a remaining spherical 60 to win the rain-shortened AT&T Pebble Seashore Professional-Am. He additionally has 5 top-10s since that victory in February, together with a pair of runner-up finishes on the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Gamers Championship.
However Clark injured himself within the gymnasium in late March forward of the Texas Youngsters’s Houston Open, and his damage has lingered ever since. That has undoubtedly contributed to his inconsistency over the previous few months, however Clark nonetheless rightfully made Workforce USA.
When qualifying concluded after the U.S. Open, Clark was the fifth-ranked participant on the earth and the third-highest American. He might not have regarded the half within the majors, however he has nonetheless had a formidable 18-month interval, profitable elite tournaments at Quail Hole, LACC, and Pebble Seashore.
A giant motive why he had success in these occasions—and some others—is as a result of he received off to a powerful begin.
“I’ve really been struggling so much with my begins, and it’s been powerful to beat, particularly the majors. I began so poorly, after which as I received to the again 9 on Friday and I began enjoying actually good golf, I barely missed the lower, and among the cuts that I did make, then I back-doored into the highest 10,” Clark defined.
“So beginning poorly, that’s one thing I’ve actually set to work on; at the very least simply get out of the gates considerably stable. I really feel like I can play nicely on the weekend.”
That completely summarizes Clark’s play at Le Golf Nationwide this previous week.
However the actuality of 72-hole stroke play occasions is that you simply can not win a golf match on Thursday, however you possibly can actually lose it. Clark misplaced it on Thursday along with his opening 4-over 75, however he didn’t lose anybody’s respect within the following three rounds. As a substitute, he ought to have gained some as a result of his valiant efforts on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday solely rivaled that of Scheffler—the very best participant on the earth.
So to these of you that slammed Clark after day one, you owe him an apology.
Jack Milko is a golf employees author for SB Nation’s Taking part in Via. Make sure to try @_PlayingThrough for extra golf protection. You possibly can comply with him on Twitter @jack_milko as nicely.
