PGA Championship: Wyndham Clark Under Fire for Dangerously Whipping Club
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
Wyndham Clark kept his streak of poor results at major championships, which began at the 2023 Open, alive at the 2025 PGA Championship. Quail Hollow's event was Clark's seventh consecutive major outside the top 10, and his frustration was more than evident.
A video of him venting his anger by violently throwing his driver has gone viral on social media. Not so much for tossing the club itself, which is fairly common behavior among golfers, but because there were other people in the direction he was sending it.
Wyndham Clark just about smoked a volunteer (and a TrackMan) with this club throw. The driver broke. pic.twitter.com/3F49IekMdP — Golf News Net (@GolfNewsNet) May 18, 2025
In the video, Clark can be seen angrily throwing his driver at a sign behind him, while several volunteers working at the event were nearby. Clark's group mate, Max Homa, and their caddies were also in the vicinity.
Afterwards, an X user claiming to be one of the volunteers at the event posted a picture of the sign Clark hit. You can clearly see that the club head went completely through the advertising fence.
I'm the Marshall holding the flag. Scared me to death. pic.twitter.com/fxBDt8IQTg — Chris Deiulio (@CMDeiulio11) May 18, 2025
Throwing a club this way can be quite dangerous, especially the driver, which is the heaviest club in the bag. In fact, Clark's driver broke on impact and the player had to be without it for the rest of the round as the rules prohibit him from replacing it if he voluntarily broke it.
Not surprisingly, many fans took to social media to express their disapproval of Clark's stance:
"Should be minimum 500k fine and suspension. dangerous," a fan wrote.
"There's a difference between dropping the club and full tilt throwing it at another human being," wrote another. There were plenty more.
"Could have killed the guy standing back there."
"Behaving like a child is embarrassing for a grown man."
In addition, the 2023 US Open winner could face repercussions for this behavior. The Rules of Golf state that players must maintain integrity of conduct during play, and all golfing organizations have varying penalties for violations. However, these policies are generally not made public.
Wyndham Clark finished the PGA Championship in a tie for 50th place at 4-over. The 31-year-old carded just one round under par (69 on Friday) to improve on Thursday's 72 and make the cut by two strokes. However, he fell off the pace, carding a 73 on Saturday and a 74 on Sunday.
Wyndham Clark of the United States looks on from the ninth hole during the final round of the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Country Club on May 18, 2025 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Wyndham Clark of the United States looks on from the ninth hole during the final round of the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Country Club on May 18, 2025 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
After winning the U.S. Open in 2023, Clark has failed to return to the top 10 in major championships. In fact, his victory at the Los Angeles Country Club is his only top 10 in 14 career major starts (7 cuts made).
More Golf: Rory McIlroy Skips PGA Championship Media amid Driver Controversy
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