Wyndham Clark captured his first major title at the 2023 U.S. Open, but a troubling chapter from last year’s edition of that same tournament is something the golfer is eager to put behind him.
Clark is teeing it up this week at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club for the U.S. Open, returning to the sport’s most prestigious championship one year after things went badly wrong at Oakmont Country Club near Pittsburgh.
After missing the cut at last year’s tournament, Clark was found to have caused significant damage to a locker inside Oakmont’s locker room before departing that Friday. The following month, Oakmont announced that Clark had been banned from the club following conversations between club members and the USGA.
Oakmont indicated the ban could potentially be lifted if Clark fulfilled several conditions — among them paying for the damage he caused, making a charitable donation, and completing anger management or similar counseling.
At the time, Clark vowed he would “show them who I really am with the apology and the things I’m going to do.” Now, a full year later, he says the regret has not faded.
“That was a really challenging time and something I’ve deeply regretted and feel awful that I did that,” Clark said Monday during a press conference at Shinnecock Hills. “But there were so many good lessons in that that really taught me a bunch.”
“I’ve really come a long way, and I’m excited for this year’s Open for some redemption and to move forward and enjoy the challenges of Shinnecock and how great this place is and how amazing this championship is,” he added.
Reporters did not press him further on the matter.
Clark’s 2023 U.S. Open victory came by a single stroke over Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy at Los Angeles Country Club. He then endured a winless stretch lasting more than two years — from February 2024 through May 2026 — before breaking through with a 30-under-par performance to claim the CJ Cup Byron Nelson in the Dallas area.
“It’s amazing,” Clark said of his U.S. Open history. “Being a major champion is one of the greatest things in golf, and to come back, to feel that and be in the champions’ locker room is really neat, and coming back to this great championship is something that always kind of reminds me of that amazing year in ’23.”
