Wyndham Clark was playing table tennis when he found out he had won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am. He received a call from the PGA Tour confirming that the fourth round of the tournament was definitively suspended due to bad weather and, therefore, he was the new champion as leader after the third round. Obviously, it’s not the same as winning at 72 holes, on Sunday and in front of an excited crowd, but Clark doesn’t care too much either. “Well, I really lived Saturday like a Sunday with the possibility of making 59 strokes at Pebble Beach. It was a very similar feeling, so I’ll stick with that. I would have liked to do it on Sunday, defending that first position on the field, but we can’t do anything against the weather. I’m very happy,” he commented to journalists in an impromptu appearance this Monday.
During the press conference he was asked about the rumours that have linked him to LIV Golf in recent months and, more specifically, as Ten Golf advanced, about the interest of Jon Rahm, his good friend and training partner in Arizona, in incorporating him into his Legion XIII team. Clark confirmed it. “Yes, it’s true. I met with LIV and we held negotiations. I wanted to see what they could bring,” said the American.
The talks did not go well. According to the current champion of the US Open, the reason for his refusal was history. “I declined to go to LIV because I feel that I still had many things to do on the PGA TOUR. I want to achieve records, I want to climb in the world ranking (he is sixth right now), I dream of being one of the best players in the world, if not the best. I grew up imagining winning PGA TOUR tournaments. So, I finally chose my legacy over LIV. That’s really what it came down to,” he stressed.
Obviously, one does not have to read too much between the lines to realise that Clark does not close the door to LIV in the future. Now he has said no, but it does not mean that his answer next year will be different. His sincerity is crushing. “I don’t know what the future holds regarding my golf, nor what the PGA TOUR and
LIV are going to do, but at least for this season I am 100 percent committed to the PGA TOUR and I want to try to reach as high as possible”. The translation could well be that LIV has not yet reached the figure for which the legacy may take a back seat, as has happened with other players. The future will tell in Clark’s case.
In this sense, the new champion at Pebble Beach, admitted that he had contacts with other PGA Tour players before making a decision. “Yes, I did my due diligence. It was a life-changing decision and I wanted to make sure I was doing the right thing. I called the right people to get the most accurate information and understand what both circuits were doing. Honestly, I have to tip my hat to Adam Scott, Patrick Cantlay, Jordan Spieth and Tiger Woods. They have worked hard to ensure that the PGA TOUR is going in the right direction, trying to be the best Tour. They also gave me very good advice. I didn’t want them to influence me, but I did want their advice and to give them their place for the time and effort they have put into this agreement with SSG. I asked people on both sides and finally with the closest people and my team we decided to stay on the PGA TOUR”.
