Wyndham Clark apologizes for destroying Oakmont lockers after missing cut at U.S. Open

Oakmont got the best of Wyndham Clark last week, and he took his frustrations out on a locker at the country club outside of Pittsburgh.

Clark, who bogeyed his final hole last Friday and missed the cut by a stroke at the U.S. Open, busted a few lockers after his round in what was just his latest incident this season. He confirmed the incident on Thursday after his opening round at the Travelers Championship and, without getting into specifics, apologized for his actions.

“I’ve had a lot of highs and lows in my career, especially this year some lows,” he said. “I made a mistake that I deeply regret. I’m very sorry for what happened.

“But I’d also like to move on, not only for myself but for Oakmont, for the USGA, and kind of focus on the rest of this year and things that have come up.”

Advertisement

The incident last week at Oakmont came about a month after he launched his driver into a sign at the PGA Championship. Clark, after hitting a bad drive off the tee during the final round at Quail Hollow Club, turned and threw his driver with both hands. It went slamming into the sponsor wall behind the tee box, and the club head came off the shaft.

Thankfully, nobody was standing directly behind Clark when he erupted.

Clark apologized after that incident, too.

Clark, who won the U.S. Open in 2023, has largely struggled since. He missed the cut in three of the four major championships last season and entered this week’s event with just a single top-10 finish on Tour this season.

Advertisement

Despite that, Clark came out hot on Thursday in Connecticut. He fired a 6-under 64 to open the final Signature Event of the season while making five birdies in his final 10 holes of the day. That put him just two shots off the lead when he entered the clubhouse.

“I made some of the short putts to keep the round going,” he said. “I had a couple of par saves, even though it seems really small, like four- or five-footers that really keep the round going, and then the same thing with birdies. I hit a lot of good shots in there to kind of six, eight feet and I made those, which really for me mentally just keeps it going.

“Then I was kind of always in play. I was never really in too much — I didn't have too much stress, which is a sign of a really good day off the tee and with the irons.”