In sport in general and golf in particular, there are tournaments that change careers, moments that forever define a player’s future. When one thinks of Wyndham Clark, there is a very specific and defined before and after: the Wells Fargo Championship 2023.
Exactly one year ago in May, Clark was a 29-year-old player who landed at Quail Hollow in 80th place in the world ranking. It was his best position ever in the seven years he had been playing professionally between the Korn Ferry Tour and the PGA Tour. A player established in the elite of the American circuit, in fact he had been accessing the end-of-season playoffs for four consecutive years, but the reality is that he was not standing out. He didn’t know what it was like to win on the circuit and only had one second place, in Bermuda back in 2020.
Clark’s most notable performances could be summed up in nine top 10s on the PGA Tour in the previous four seasons. It cannot be said that it was a poor record, to stay in the elite you have to play this sport very well, but if a year ago someone tells Wyndham where he would be twelve months later, he would simply have been amazed.
Twelve months later, the PGA Tour returns to that same field, the sixth designated tournament of the season is played at Quail Hollow, but with a completely different scenario.
Today, the American is champion of the US Open, champion at the mythical venue of Pebble Beach, has played a Ryder Cup, is in the top 10 in the world and is second in the FedExCup. There is no story that surpasses the reality of the American. He had never finished the year within the top 150 in the world and now he is in third place. Until a year ago the Denver boy had ‘only’ pocketed six million dollars in prizes, today he already far exceeds 25.
Wyndham’s story is not the typical linear and ascending story of a player who grows and grows until he achieves a victory. Clark’s story is tortuous and complicated, he was about to quit golf. The death of his mother during his university years left him very touched and despite finding his refuge in golf clubs, his then coach practically forced him to stop. He needed to reset the computer. That break saved his career as the player himself has acknowledged.
Despite so many years of comings and goings, the boy from Oklahoma State knew he had the level to be among the best, but the years passed and the victories did not come. The level was there, the results did not correspond. That’s where another vital figure in Wyndham’s life comes in: Julie Elion, his sports psychologist, his mental coach or whatever you want to call her. She is the person who helped fit the puzzle together, remember that Wyndham does not have a coach. At the end of 2022 Julie joined Clark’s team. She was the missing piece, the click he needed to put everything in its place: game, confidence and past wounds. From there everything fit and the rest of the story you already know.
Clark returns to Quail Hollow, the stage that changed everything, where all that years of work came out. A year ago, the now Major champion, would not have entered any list of tournament favourites, this week he is one of the clear contenders to win on Sunday and more so if we take into account that Scottie Scheffler is not playing the tournament due to the imminent birth of his first child.
Long live a sport that does not understand logic and a player who just twelve months ago was not on any betting list is today one of the best players in the world. A hurrah for Wyndham Clark.
Sin entrenador, con Julie y pegando puñetazos al coche hace cinco años
