Wyndham Clark wanted Oakmont ban to stay private, happy to have path forward after U.S. Open locker room incident
Clark was suspended from Oakmont Country Club outside of Pittsburgh last week after he smashed a locker during the major championship there last month. He missed the cut at the U.S. Open after climbing to 8-over at the midway point, and that led to an outburst in the locker room.
Clark apologized for the incident the next week, and called it a 'mistake in a moment of rage.'
But this week, Oakmont suspended Clark from the course until he meets certain requirements, like paying for damage, making a charitable contribution and attending 'counseling and/or anger management sessions.' That was laid out to Clark and course members in a letter from club president John Lynch.
'Obviously I feel terrible with what happened. I'm doing anything I can to try to remedy the situation,' Clark said after his final round at the British Open on 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.'
As for why that letter was made public, though, Clark didn't seem too pleased.
'We were hoping it was going to be private,' he said. 'I'll just leave it at that.'
The locker room incident was the second such outburst Clark has made this summer. He launched his driver into a sponsor wall behind a tee box at Quail Hollow Club during the PGA Championship after a bad shot. That left a big hole in the sign and actually broke his driver. Thankfully, nobody was behind him at the time. He apologized for that incident, too.
Clark said he's had temper issues in the past, but he's trying to learn from the latest two outbursts. He also said it was a 'no-brainer' to pay for the damages he caused at Oakmont.
'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.'
Clark finished T4 at the British Open on Sunday with his final-round 65. That was his best finish at a major championship since he won the U.S. Open in Los Angeles in 2023. Clark now has two top-10 finishes on Tour this season. He entered Royal Portrush at No. 28 in the Official World Golf Rankings.
Though Clark is currently banned from Oakmont, it won't be much of an issue for him for a while. The course isn't set to host the U.S. Open again until 2033, which is the final year that Clark can play in the tournament under his 10-year exemption he received for his win.
'That's up to them,' he said when asked if he'll get to play there again. 'I really don't know. I would hope so … I did something awful, and I'm really sorry for it. Hopefully they have it in their heart to forgive me, and maybe in the future I'll be able to play there.'
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