Wyndham Clark Is Not the Villain You Want Him to Be

Wyndham Clark has been painted as a villain. He's not. | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. – Over the last year, Wyndham Clark has drawn the ire of golf fans, Oakmont Country Club members and wine enthusiasts alike. Now he’s catching heat again from the “we want carnage at the U.S. Open crowd,” who can’t stand to see Shinnecock Hills Golf Club being brought to its knees.

After walking 20 holes with him on Friday, I can assure you, Clark is not the villain of this U.S. Open story.

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Through 36 holes, Clark has tamed typically brutish Shinnecock, a course where 654 players have competed in five U.S. Opens, and only three have finished 72 holes under par. 

He is at seven-under par overall. He's the clubhouse leader by four strokes. He put on a ball-striking clinic on Friday. If not for a few missed putts, he absolutely could be in double digits. 

Fans who enjoy watching the pros suffer at the U.S. Open might not like that, but it’s the truth. Trust me. I watched it and asked Clark if he thought he could be lower after the round, to which he responded that his goal was to “get to 10 or 11” after round 2. 

I'm sure someone thinks that's arrogant.

“I really felt like I could be in double digits,” Clark added. “But you know, the great thing about that is I didn't feel like I had my best, and I still am leading as of right now. Hopefully I can bring my A-game on the weekend.”

Clark missed the cut at the 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont. In a fit of anger, he badly damaged two lockers in the Oakmont locker room after his second round. Clark was suspended from Oakmont and vilified by the media and social media, rightfully. 

Then, he did the right thing. He admitted fault, paid to repair the lockers and apologized to the Oakmont membership, their staff and the public in general.

Hell, he’s still apologizing for it. Literally, after today's second round, he said how remorseful he was. AGAIN!

“The thing that's unfortunate is that's not who I am, what happened last year,” Clark said. “I'm hoping I can win back the fans that I had or some new fans because it was a terrible incident.”

How many times must Clark apologize before we accept it? Who sets that number? Have you ever made a mistake? How many times did it take you before the person or people impacted accepted you back? Was it a year?!

Meanwhile, over 20 holes on Friday (he had two holes to complete after the first round was suspended due to darkness on Thursday), Clark was the model player. He didn't yell or curse when he hit a bad shot (there weren't many). He engaged with fans who cheered for him. He high-fived about 50 people throughout the day by my count. He was laughing with the standard bearer when a few of the standard bearer's friends yelled at him from the stands. The only thing missing was him kissing a baby, though he did hug one member of the crowd, who he clearly knew. 

This, in the middle of a mentally and physically taxing round of golf, where other members of his group largely ignored the crowd. Not that there’s anything wrong with that either! I'm just saying, Clark did!  

Can Clark be a bit goofy? Sure. He’s still catching flak for saying that he was going to “open some grape and see where the night takes us,” to celebrate after winning the Byron Nelson at the end of May. For those of you wondering, he was referring to drinking wine. 

Again, Clark was the heel on social media. Again, he handled it perfectly, going on Barstool’s Pardon My Take podcast and saying, "Sometimes I'm like, is this PC to say that we were just going to get absolutely sloshed?"

Love that answer! Also love the fact that he just drops the ball right on the grass when hits an iron off the tee. Even on par-3s. That's cool!

Clark was absolutely lights out tee-to-green throughout Friday. His putter didn’t quite cooperate, including a six-foot par putt miss on the ninth hole that looked like a dead pull. But then what does he do on 18? He drains a 33-foot downhill slider for birdie. That kind of resilience should be celebrated, which it was by the fans in the 18th grandstand when it went in.

"We love you Wyndham!" was the call from one.

Everyone loves a redemption story. For some reason, Clark is still being painted as the bad guy. He’s not. It’s time golf fans accept that.

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