Summer of Wyndham Clark continues at The Open

HOYLAKE, England – Wyndham Clark made nine straight pars to open the 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool Golf Club, but his first round was still plenty eventful.

Actually, check that. Clark’s 14th hole was eventful. His tee shot hit a guy’s iPad and came down in an impossible lie in the rough. He duffed his next attempt “about 2 feet.” Looking at a potentially calamitous score, he made an 18-footer to salvage bogey and with four back-nine birdies shot a 3-under 68.

“Yeah, that was huge,” Clark said of his bogey save at the 14th hole. “A little unfortunate off the tee, obviously hitting the guy is never good, but it really went into a bad spot. If I didn't hit the guy, probably would have been in fine grass and I would have been able to hit it up near the green.”

He’s tied for fourth, just two behind early co-leaders Tommy Fleetwood and the amateur Christo Lamprecht.

Clark would become the first since Jordan Spieth in 2015 to win back-to-back majors, and while we’re a long way from that, not much has gone wrong for him lately. He rode a much-improved attitude to his first PGA TOUR title at the Wells Fargo Championship in May, then captured the U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club last month. A former amateur No. 1, he is ranked in the top 10 in the world for the first time in his professional career.

He’s also very much acclimated to the local time in England, thank you very much. In between his T29 at the Travelers Championship, the week after the U.S. Open, and his T25 at the Genesis Scottish Open, last week, Clark hung out in Italy, where he and his girlfriend went for a wedding and decided to stay.

Did anyone recognize him over those 10 days?

“One guy,” he said, laughing. “And he was a guy I’d already met.”

Clark’s life has changed so fast it’s taking time for the world to catch up. He hasn’t even been home to Scottsdale, Arizona, since the U.S. Open, and he thinks the trophy is with his caddie. He’s gone from a guy who operated largely under the radar to a guy who does pre-tournament press conferences. He’s second in the U.S. Ryder Cup standings.

“I would like to think I’m on the team,” he said, “but … I believe I’ve still got to go earn it.”

A year ago, someone pointed out, Clark came to The Open Championship ranked 218th in the world. Now he’s ranked 10th and is a two-time PGA TOUR winner, with a major, to boot. Has he had time to let that sink in?

“You know, being in it sometimes it's hard to reflect on everything,” he said.

He’s in it again with 54 holes left to play at The Open.