Golf fans owe Wyndham Clark an apology after strong Olympics finish

Clark received plenty of criticism after his poor first round in Paris, but the 2023 U.S. Open champion bounced back over the weekend.

“Garbage,” “Trash,” “Overrated,” “He stinks,” and “Should’ve been Bryson DeChambeau” are just many of the diatribes Wyndham Clark received online after Thursday’s opening round at the Olympics, a 4-over 75 in which he found the water early and often.

After his brutal start in Paris, he could have mailed it in. After all, only the top three finishers receive a prize. But Clark fought back, shooting 15-under-par over the final 54 holes to finish in a tie for 14th—a far cry from where he sat on Thursday, almost in dead last. Clark also shot back-to-back 6-under 65s over the weekend.

Only Scottie Scheffler, who won the gold, matched that 15-under total over the final three rounds, so if not for that shaky first round, Clark could have competed for a medal.

“I just started out poorly and then missed some putts, and then it just seemed like nothing went right the first day,” Clark assessed after Sunday’s final round.

“And then played really nicely the second day, as well, just unfortunately finished with a double. But then, these last two days have been really good form, yeah. Yeah, I played really good golf. The first nine holes were terrible [on Thursday], and one bad 18th hole [on Friday], and things might be a little different.”

Clark garnered the respect and admiration of many for his strong finish, and the golf fans who lambasted him after Thursday’s round owe him an apology. But the 2023 U.S. Open winner did not pay attention to any of the projectiles directed his way.

“I didn’t hear any of that, but I knew some other stuff. I think some of it wasn’t very justified because, you know, I was the third-highest-ranked player for the U.S. to come here. Yeah, poor start,” Clark said.

Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

“This could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I may never get that opportunity again to watch events, spend time in the [Olympic] Village, and get the full experience. So, I wanted to make sure I did everything right. I don’t regret anything I did. Once I got to Tuesday, I shut everything down and was ready to go. I played really good golf for 60 holes. I just had nine bad holes.”

Despite the difficult nature of this competition, Clark still had an amazing week. He finished as the third-highest-ranked American player at 11-under-par for the championship, one stroke behind Xander Schauffele, who held a share of the 54-hole lead.

“To finish first, second, or third in any tournament is very hard, and when those are the only three places that actually receive anything, I think it kind of changes your expectations a little bit because golf, it’s really hard to time everything perfectly every single week and especially for one week,” Clark said.

“I wanted to enjoy every minute and I felt like I had, and so yeah, it’s been an amazing week for me.”

It’s no secret that Clark has had a healthy dose of struggles throughout 2024, even though he currently sits fifth in the FedEx Cup standings. He missed the cut at Augusta National, Valhalla, and Royal Troon. He tied for 56th at Pinehurst No. 2 as the reigning U.S. Open champion, looking like a shell of himself from the Los Angeles Country Club the year before. Yet, Clark has had glimpses of success this year, notably at Pebble Beach, where he shot a final round 60 to win the rain-shortened AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He also has five top-10s since that victory in February, including a pair of runner-up finishes at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players Championship.

But Clark injured himself in the gym in late March ahead of the Texas Children’s Houston Open, and his injury has lingered ever since. That has undoubtedly contributed to his inconsistency over the past few months, but Clark still rightfully made Team USA.

When qualifying concluded after the U.S. Open, Clark was the fifth-ranked player in the world and the third-highest American. He may not have looked the part in the majors, but he has still had an impressive 18-month period, winning elite tournaments at Quail Hollow, LACC, and Pebble Beach.

A big reason why he had success in those events—and a few others—is because he got off to a strong start.

“I’ve actually been struggling a lot with my starts, and it’s been tough to overcome, especially the majors. I started so poorly, and then as I got to the back nine on Friday and I started playing really good golf, I barely missed the cut, and some of the cuts that I did make, then I back-doored into the top 10,” Clark explained.

“So starting poorly, that’s something I’ve really got to work on; at least just get out of the gates somewhat solid. I feel like I can play well on the weekend.”

That perfectly summarizes Clark’s play at Le Golf National this past week.

But the reality of 72-hole stroke play events is that you cannot win a golf tournament on Thursday, but you can certainly lose it. Clark lost it on Thursday with his opening 4-over 75, but he did not lose anyone’s respect in the following three rounds. Instead, he should have gained some because his valiant efforts on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday only rivaled that of Scheffler—the best player in the world.

So to those of you that slammed Clark after day one, you owe him an apology.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.