Walking 20 Holes With the U.S. Open Leader is Exhausting Work

Wyndham Clark (left) walking off the first tee box with Dustin Johnson (center) during the second round of the U.S. Open. He was much more tired when the round was over. | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

After walking 20 holes with Wyndham Clark, I’m not sure who was more tired, him or me. 

We started our journey at 6:35 A.M. He had already been up for over two-and-a-half hours. I had been up for two. 

When he walked into the post-round press conference tent at 1:45 p.m. he said, “I hope it’s cooler in here than out there.” Then he plopped down in the interview chair and took a big swig of an ice-cold can of water. 

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I had done the same thing 10 minutes prior. 

“I'm tired,” Clark said. “I'm going to really be looking forward to a nap and watching USA hopefully win a game.” 

The men’s national team did indeed win their World Cup game against Australia, 2-0. Whether Clark stayed up for all of it or not, I'm unsure. Napping while watching sports is the best. Its peak is with golf on in the background.

Clark and I woke up at 4 a.m. and 4:30 a.m., respectively, because Thursday’s first round was suspended due to darkness. He had 20 holes to play. I had 20 to walk. He played them in 1-under par. He leads the U.S. Open and should be forgiven at this point for any past transgressions. Time to move on people.

Like Augusta National, the undulation at Shinnecock is not done justice on TV. The ninth green is 30 feet above the fairway. It's a steep climb. There's another 20-foot swale in the fairway you have to traverse too. We did that twice on Friday. 

As a member of the media, some of us get to walk inside the ropes with the players. We can’t go too far inside, but it’s a nice perk of the job. The only problem at Shinnecock is there’s knee-high fescue lining much of the rope area. I was trudging through that all day. By the end, my shins were covered in dirt and my white socks had turned brown. 

Clark was lobster red when he walked into the interview tent after his round. The sun had beaten us to a pulp. I remember seeing him spraying sunscreen on himself on the sixth hole, his eighth of the day, and thinking, can I have some? Somehow, I avoided overexposure. 

By the time we trudged up the hill on 13, a 20-or-so foot uphill climb, having already walked 15 holes, I was desperate for water. My last drink was before going out to meet Clark's group at roughly 6:20 a.m. It was past noon.

I saw a cooler meant for players, caddies and the people who walk with them by the tee box. I asked an official if I could sneak a bottle. He said yes. He saw the look of suffering on my face. He took pity on me. The water was ice cold. I was revived!

Other media members came and went throughout the day. No one else made it all 20 with this group. Doug Ferguson of the Associated Press was the only other person out there when the Clark, Dustin Johnson and Gary Woodland pairing resumed play. It was cool then. The young sun was still cresting over the horizon. 

Seven hours and 10 minutes later, I too was ready for a nap. Got any room on the couch Wyndham?

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