PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — Wyndham Clark rebounded from a poor first round to finish tied for fourth at the British Open on Sunday, shooting a 65 at Royal Portrush that ended a frustrating major season on a high note.
The 2023 U.S. Open champion could not escape, however, questions about his behavior at last month’s U.S. Open at Oakmont, where he damaged a locker in the iconic clubhouse. This week, it was learned that Oakmont has banned him from the premises, expects payment for the locker and a donation to charity.
“Obviously I feel terrible with what happened. I’m doing anything I can to try to remedy the situation,” he said Sunday. “We’re trying to keep it private between Oakmont, myself and the USGA. I’m just happy we have a pathway moving forward, and like you said, I’m hoping we can get past this and move on and hope there’s no ill will towards me and Oakmont.
“I’m just trying to get past it. I want the best for Oakmont, the USGA and myself. Like I said, I’m very sorry for what I did and feel terrible, and hopefully in a few months we’re past this, and it’s something of the past.”
Clark has struggled for a good part of this year. He tied for 46th at the Masters, tied for 50th at the PGA Championship and missed the cut at the U.S. Open. He also withdrew from the Players Championship.
At the PGA, there was also an anger issue where Clark threw a club, hitting an advertising sign on a tee box at Quail Hollow.
“I’ve been pretty open about my mental shift and change to get better, and I did that in ’23 and ’24, and then having a tough year and all the expectations and just frustration all coming together, and I did two stupid things,” he said. “But one thing that it did do is wake me up and get me back into the person I know I am and the person I want to be.
“I hope those things don’t reflect because I don’t think they reflect on who I am, and going forward that stuff is not going to happen again.”
As for the letter that Oakmont sent to the membership, Clark said: “Obviously it’s a no-brainer to pay for the damages. That was a given. Then obviously all the apologies, and I want to give back to the community because I hurt a great place in Pittsburgh, so I wanted to do anything I can to show them that what happened there was not a reflection of who I am and won’t happen again. But I want to show them who I really am with the apology and the things I’m going to do.”
Clark’s finish at the Open was his best since he tied for fifth at the Houston Open in March. After starting the year ranked sixth in the world, Clark had dropped to 28th at the start of Open week.
He is still hoping for a place on the U.S. Ryder Cup team, but seems a long shot after entering the week at 22nd in the points standings. The top six after the BMW Championship next month automatically qualify.
“I haven’t had a good year, to be honest,” said Clark, who finished six shots back of winner Scottie Scheffler and two back of second-place Harris English. “I would have loved to make a few more putts to try to get a second place because then maybe I’d have a better chance.
“But you never know. My game really fits Bethpage Black, long hitter, and I feel like I’m starting to play really good golf these last four or five weeks. I’ve played two or three good rounds, I just haven’t put four together, and these last two weeks I kind of did.
“Who knows; I still have a few more weeks and the [FedEx Cup] playoffs. You never know, I could try to get a captain's pick, but I’d love to be on Team USA. Hopefully I play some good golf coming up.”
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Wyndham Clark Addresses Banishment From Oakmont: ‘I Feel Terrible’.