Who is Wyndham Clark? The surprise US Open champion celebrating a breakout victory after edging out Rory McIlroy to win in Hollywood; Clark produced a level-par 70 final round to deny McIlroy a first major since 2014 while clinching the first of his career in Los Angeles.
Monday 19 June 2023 17:27, UK
Wonderful name, is Wyndham Clark. Sounds like an up-and-coming law firm. One that just landed a springboard client in the US Open, and a glowing testimonial with which to crown his winning verdict with the jury.
For four days Clark deciphered the truth to the case of a Links-like Los Angeles Country Club course, cutting through the complexities of trampoline fairways and jungle roughs while reacting swiftly in the face of surprise witnesses at the stand (hello shrub chaos at the eighth) to seal the biggest victory of his career.
As day three drew to a close you wondered whose title prospects might be at risk of fizzling out and being swallowed up by a surging Scottie Scheffler. The world No 1 looked like he was coming after an ominous eagle-birdie finish to the round, few were willing to comprehend a Rory McIlroy fade and maybe, just maybe, a universally-loved Rickie Fowler was primed to deliver a glorious comeback moment: Clark, perhaps unjustly, became the lead candidate to tumble.
But it was the 29-year-old who ascended to his major milestone, sinking a winning par on the final hole to edge out McIlroy by a shot, opening the floodgates and venting every bit of pent up adrenaline and frustration stored across the week.
The newest instalment of McIlroy's prolonged wait for a fifth title came at the hands of a refreshing beauty to the PGA Tour championed by the Northern Irishman, where a 72-hole marathon of twists could veil any clues as to its conclusion before producing an unlikely champion.
Back to shrub chaos down at the eighth. It served as something of the quintessential Wyndham Clark test, pushing the patience of a self-admitted fist-pumping, trash-talking, anger-exuding golfer who has sought to condition himself to play on the edge without allowing emotion to spill over. His ball had lodged itself in the pit of thick wiry grass, Clark fidgeting in a bid to settle his feet in an inclined stance: he hacked at nothingness with his first swing, refraining from crashing his club into the turf in rage before crouching to reassess the situation; he makes contact second time around, the overcompensation fizzing him into the opposite rough, from which he is able to navigate a bogey. A win, by all accounts.
Fast forward to the 612-yard par-five 14th, where he lays his cards on the table with a gutsy second shot onto the green to tee up a birdie. Then came the storm of back-to-back bogeys, by way of a cruel lip-out, to peg him back at the 15th and 16th, only for a clutch chip to help him rescue par at the 17. Par to win it at the 18, win it he did.
Clark refused to be derailed by a course lamented by many of his rivals throughout the week, meeting the requirements of Hollywood analogies pre-written in anticipation of the US Open coming to town.
He would pay an emotional tribute to his late mother, who lost her life to breast cancer a decade ago, after which he had considered quitting golf altogether. His brother Brendan meanwhile watched on in tears, later breaking out a grin as he made note of how he had predicted Wyndham's win at dinner on Tuesday.
"Your mum was with you. She'd be very proud," uttered a magnanimous Fowler at the close, the pair having been friends since their time together at Oklahoma State University.
"A whole new world opens up for Wyndham Clark" was the fitting call on commentary from Ewen Murray.
A new world had teased signs of opening up for Clark last month when he toppled Xander Schauffele to log his first PGA Tour win at the Wells Fargo Championship, marking just his first win in 134 starts.
What's more, Clark's highest finish at a major prior to this week was tied for 75th at the PGA Championship in 2021, having missed the cut on four other occasions as well as placing tied-76th at The 150th Open last summer.
The Colorado native first accompanied his mum to the driving range at the age of three, and at six dunked his first hole-in-one to earn a place on the front page of the Denver Post newspaper, which he still has framed. Famous friends meanwhile arrived even before Fowler, with Clark having been high school classmates with now-San Francisco 49ers star running back Christian McCaffrey.
Upon transferring to Oregon from Oklahoma State he became Pac-12 Player of the year after three solo tournament victories as well as winning the NCAA Championship with the Ducks in 2017, eventually turning professional in the same year.
Clark later earned his Web.com Tour card for the 2018 campaign and registered four top-10 finishes in 24 starts to place 16th on the money list and qualify for the following PGA Tour season. In 2020 came a second-place finish at the Bermuda Championship after a playoff loss to Brian Gay, with Clark then tying for eighth at The Genesis Invitational before missing the cut at seven straight events to finish the season.
Consistent flashpoints proved difficult to come by during his 2021-2022 campaign, among the highlights being a finish of tied-seventh at the Canadian Open and tied eighth at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. It would make for an even sweeter reflection of this season's emergence, victory at Wells Fargo being preceded by fifth at the Valspar Championship, sixth at the Corales Puntacana Championship and third at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. The breakout was threatening; Sunday was confirmation.
Clark, in true Colorado fashion, joked in the past that he struggles to sleep more the night before a day of fly fishing than he does the night before a tournament Sunday, such is his excitement to get to the river. An ice-cold environment feels like home to him - as much being evidenced across his unflappable final round.
Los Angeles tossed up a battle of mental endurance with tricky pins and evolving conditions; it was every bit your 82-game NBA season, where lulls were to be expected, longevity was to be applauded and resilience rewarded. There is something in the Colorado waters, Clark's conquering week following that of the Denver Nuggets after they ousted the Miami Heat to become NBA champions for the first time in history.
Clark was ranked 241st in the world after last year's US Open; Sunday's win has since catapulted him to 13th in the Official Golf World Rankings.
"I feel like I belong on this stage, and even two, three years ago when people didn't know who I was, I felt like I could still play and compete against the best players in the world. I felt like I've shown that this year," said Clark.
"I've come up close, and obviously everyone sees the person that hoists the trophy, but I've been trending in the right direction for a long time now. I've made a lot of cuts. I've had a handful of top 10s and top 20s, and I feel like I've been on a great trajectory to get to this place.
"Obviously it's gone faster than I thought as far as just starting to do some stuff mentally that I've never done before, but I feel like I'm one of the best players in the world. Obviously this just shows what I believe can happen."
The Wyndham Clark story has embraced its delayed introduction, so what next?
Victory guarantees him a place at every major for the next five years and a place at the US Open for the next 10 years, as well as thrusting him into the running to win the FedExCup.
Two wins in four starts meanwhile puts him on the cusp of an automatic pick for the Ryder Cup in Rome, qualification for which ends in August ahead of the event in Italy live on Sky Sports at the end of September.
The up-and-coming firm has joined the big timers.
Watch the Travelers Championship, live on Thursday from midday via the red button on Sky Sports Golf ahead of full coverage from 8pm.
