Give this to Wyndham Clark: He’s got gonads the size of hockey pucks.
The RBC Canadian Open has its version of Phoenix’s loud and rowdy 16th. They call it The Rink, and it’s more fun that Scottsdale because it’s not nearly as overblown. Fans are closer to the players and can pound the boards.
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Into that caldron on Saturday at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley went Clark, the 2023 U.S. Open champion. As he walked to the tee at the par-3 seventh hole, Clark pulled on the No. 86 USA replica hockey sweater of Jack Hughes. It was a good-natured shot at Canadians about their devastating overtime loss to the Americans in this year’s Olympic gold medal game.
Lusty boos started immediately, and Clarke responded with smiles while pointing to the back of the sweater. He took the jersey off to hit his shot, and, feeling the pressure, rifled his tee ball to 20 feet.
“I was expecting boos, for sure. It was quite fun,” Clark said after his round. “… They were booing me all the way up even right before I putted. I was actually really nervous on that putt because if I miss that then it looks really bad.”
Clark drained the e putt, prompting Canadian golf hero Mike Weir, who was working in the broadcast booth, to say, “He’s trying to play the full villain, and when you walk off with a birdie that’s pretty good.”
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Said Clark, “I think some guys came up and said, ‘You got stones, you know, that was pretty impressive.’”
There is great story about how Clark came across the U.S. sweater in the first place. He said he got to The Rink in Thursday’s first round and kicked himself for not having a jersey. He looked online at buying one and having it shipped overnight, but then later saw a fan at the course wearing the Jack Hughes jersey.
“So I finished,” Clark continued, “I walk straight up to him and say, ‘Is there any way I could buy your jersey and wear it tomorrow?’ And he goes, ‘Hell yeah.’ So he met me after the round, paid for it, got his address, I’m going to ship it back to him.
“… I was doing it to more celebrate USA’s win; it had nothing against Canada, but I just thought in hockey country it would be kind of fun.”
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Clark set himself up for an interesting Sunday because he’s going to draw a bunch of interest as one of the contenders to win. He shot the day’s best score of 63 and moved into a tie for third place at 11 under. That’s two shots behind leader Jackson Suber and one back of Bud Cauley.
Clark is experiencing a resurgence that saw him win the CJ Cup Byron Nelson three weeks ago, followed by a third last week in the Memorial. His 63 on Saturday was his fourth score of 65 or better in his last 11 rounds.
“I’ve said it a couple times; I’ve actually played pretty solid golf most of the year, I just haven’t done it for consecutive rounds,” Clark said. “And then the missing part has kind of been the putting. Since I switched to this Ping putter, it’s been amazing. So now I feel like all the hard work I’ve put into my swing is paying off because when I hit the greens or hit it close I’m actually making the putts, where maybe earlier in the year I wasn’t.”
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