CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA | As much as Wyndham Clark tried to lock in on making the final swings in his first PGA Tour victory at the Wells Fargo Championship on Sunday at warm, wind-blown Quail Hollow Club, he allowed himself some grace to look around briefly.
Clark brought a five-stroke lead over Xander Schauffele to Quail Hollow’s menacing finishing hole, the hard work was done and he found himself at that place where ambition, opportunity and getting out of your own way intersect.
For years, Clark had imagined winning a PGA Tour title while being tortured by his own failures. More than once, Clark seriously considered quitting golf.
That doesn’t make him different, but coming back to win a PGA Tour event separates him.
Clark was lost after his mother died a decade ago, and he had nowhere to turn when the game turned on him.
Unable to win when he had a handful of chances on the tour, Clark reconsidered leaving it behind late last year.
And there he was Sunday afternoon, looking at the crowd gathered around the 18th green, listening to cheers and finding himself where he’d always wanted to be.
“You fantasize about it all the time, and I've done it multiple times this year where I catch myself daydreaming about winning, and to do it at this golf course against this competition is better than I could ever have imagined,” Clark said after rounds of 67-67-63-68.
Clark has quietly worked his way up the game’s hierarchy, climbing from outside the top 160 in the world in January to 80th when he teed it up at Quail Hollow, jumping to 31st with his victory.
“You only can win your first tournament once, so I was really trying to soak it all in."
WYNDHAM CLARK
With the tour’s new emphasis on designated events, their $20 million purses and star power, Clark was well positioned for 2024 before locking down all of the pertinent requirements with a win against a field that included five of the top seven players in the Official World Golf Ranking.
Blessed with enormous power that tends to overshadow a short game that is his hidden strength, Clark simply was better than everyone else over four days at Quail Hollow. His Saturday 63 was solid gold and set him up for his first victory in his 134th career start.
It was more than that, however, that got the 29-year-old Clark over the finish line.
When he met with his team last year and aired his frustrations, raising the question of quitting again, those closest to Clark told him to look at himself, not others.
“He was preaching to me, if I can’t win, if I can’t do these things, I’m going to quit. I feel like I should be winning and stuff like that,” said John Ellis, Clark’s caddie and longtime friend.
“Our message was, he does the golf part really well, but there are other parts mentally you have to do to make the leap. How you handle yourself on the golf course, smiling, accepting bad shots, accepting a bad break and moving forward with a smile is a big deal.”
Enter “The Energy Bus,” a self-help book by author Jon Gordon. Clark read it, and it hit him in the head and heart.
Its messages are simple:
● You are the driver of your own bus;
● Use your desire, vision and focus to move your bus forward;
● Fuel your ride with positive energy.
Clark got the message.
When he bogeyed the first hole Sunday and scrambled to save a par on the second hole, Clark could have been walking a dangerous line.
Only, he wasn’t.
“If he figures it out mentally, which I think he is, he can be a force out here. The hardest win is always the first one. You can have all the physical tangibles, but you have to believe you can do it.”
Tony Finau
“I just kept reminding myself that I could play great golf and I could play good golf on Sundays,” he said. “I didn't want to be the person that I was on previous Sundays in previous years because that person, you know, probably shoots 2-, 3-over today or even more and loses his head and gets mad out there and doesn't control his emotions. So, I was really happy with how I handled all of it.”
Clark worked with swing coach Boyd Summerhays for a time, giving Tony Finau (who also works with Summerhays) a glimpse into what went on full display at Quail Hollow.
“You want guys that have that level of talent to put it together, to have the full package. With the short game he has, he can be a force, and he’s showing it against this field on this golf course,” Finau said.
Trailing Schauffele by a stroke at the eighth hole, Clark pulled on the lessons he’s learned. He wouldn’t let his mind race ahead. He didn’t allow the negative to creep in. He saw opportunity where before he might have seen an obstacle.
“He believes in himself now. He’s done some work off the course to make that leap,” said Ellis.
Golf isn’t a game of perfect, and Clark reminded himself of that. It led him to the moment that he had been chasing for what felt like a lifetime.
“You only can win your first tournament once, so I was really trying to soak it all in,” Clark said.
E-MAIL RON
Top: Wyndham Clark's Saturday 63 sparks Wells Fargo Championship breakthrough at Quail Hollow Club.
jason allen, isi photos/getty images