Wyndham Clark says he didn’t take “a bad lie and make it good.”
And if you think that he did during Sunday’s final round of the BMW Championship?
“People can think what they want,” Clark said.
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His comments came Tuesday ahead of this week’s Tour Championship, where he was asked about a scene to the right of the 14th hole at Bellerive Country Club, host of the BMW. There, while Clark prepared to hit his second shot on the par-4, a CBS camera positioned to his right caught the following:
– Clark grabbed an iron from his bag, placed it behind his ball, then took a practice swing just to the left of the ball. Twice more, he placed his iron behind the ball and took practice swings, before going back to his bag for a different iron. At the time, Clark was tied for the lead with Rory McIlroy.
– CBS cut away to Gary Woodland on the 15th hole.
– When it returned, Clark was placing an iron behind his ball. He then took another practice swing to the left of it before his caddie, David Pelekoudas, moved between Clark and the camera, though another practice swing could be seen. Clark then went back to his bag for a different iron. Three times, he placed that iron behind his ball and took practice swings. At about this point, CBS analysts said the following:
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Trevor Immelman: “He’s taking a long look at this. This is like the third club that he’s placed down behind the ball there.”
Frank Nobilo: “So the lie might be better.”
From there, Clark placed his 9-iron behind the ball and hit, finished the hole with a par and went on to win by three. But Nobilo’s comment, along with several similar remarks on social media, is interesting. Did Clark improve his lie? On Tuesday, Clark was asked the following question:
Wyndham, your drive on 14 Sunday went into the right rough, and there was a lot of scrutiny on social media but also even the TV announcers. Curious about you changing clubs and tapping down the rough multiple times. Just curious what you were thinking there, and there was a similar situation possibly at the U.S. Open, and if you’ve been hearing about this at all.
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“I didn’t really hear much about it,” Clark said. “I know the shot that you’re talking about. I think any player, when they’re trying to judge a lie, takes out different clubs to see what it feels like.
“I never fully put the club down behind it. I don’t think anything of it.”
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As part of his answer, he also noted a pair of previous incidents in which his actions around the ball have been questioned — during the third round of the 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational, Clark placed his iron behind his ball, causing the grass and ball to move, though no rules penalty was assessed; then, at this year’s U.S. Open, a video of Clark stepping on the grass around his ball circulated online. On Tuesday, Clark also brought up the actions of Bryson DeChambeau at this year’s Open Championship, where DeChambeau was penalized for improving the area around his intended swing.
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“When the cameras are on you, they’re going to find anything,” Clark said. “And I think you saw that in Bryson’s case. It happened to me at the U.S. Open, it happened to me at Bay Hill. It’s happened to a lot of guys where they can see stuff that maybe looks like something that maybe it’s not.”
Rule 8.1b (4) states that players are allowed to, “ground the club lightly right in front of or right behind the ball,” with “ground the club lightly” meaning, “allowing the weight of the club to be supported by the grass, soil, sand or other material on or above the ground surface.”
“That lie was never bad,” Clark said Tuesday. “It was more just judging what it was. By no means did I take a bad lie and make it really good.
“People can think what they want. I know I didn’t do anything that was costing the integrity of the field. That’s all I’ve got to say about that.”
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