Wyndham Clark “chose legacy over LIV;” keeps promise with Pebble Beach win

Windham Clark shot an incredible 12-under 60 on Saturday, ultimately leading to victory at Pebble Beach.

He relied heavily on his putter and paraded it around Stillwater Inlet as if on a mission.

However, his victory on the Monterrey Peninsula may not have happened. He might have been soaking up the sun last weekend at Mayakoba, where LIV Golf held its first event of the 2024 season.

“I definitely met with LIV and had some discussions. I wanted to see what they could bring to the table,” Clark said late Sunday.

“In the end, I declined to participate in LIV because I felt there was still a lot left in the PGA Tour. I want to chase records. I want to chase world rankings. But it’s about trying to be one of the top players in the world. I always grew up imagining winning PGA Tour events.”

“Ultimately, I chose my legacy over LIV.”

Clark spoke to golfers from both tours to learn more about their respective positions. He wanted to better understand not only the variables involved, but also their impact, so he did his “due diligence.”

In the end, the people he relied on most were Patrick Cantlay, Adam Scott, Jordan Spieth and Tiger Woods, who serve on the PGA Tour’s policy committee.

“I didn’t want them to throw me around in a way, but I definitely wanted their advice and I wanted to respect them and the time and effort and effort they put into this agreement with SSG. That’s it. The tour is ongoing,” Clark explained.

“Ultimately, I discussed what I should do with those close to my camp and team and decided to remain on the PGA Tour.”

One person in Clark’s camp is John Ellis, a two-time U.S. Open player and former PGA Tour of Canada player.

Ellis, a native of San Jose, Calif., currently caddies for Clark and says Pebble Beach is his favorite place in the world.

“If there’s one thing I can do in my career, I don’t care if I win 100 games or one, I just hope one of those wins is at Pebble Beach,” Ellis told Clark. I said it repeatedly.

Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Ellis competed in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am four times, but missed the cut three times in 2009, finishing tied for 69th place.

But 15 years after his last competitive appearance on the Monterey Peninsula, Ellis finally won during the Clark loop.

“I always told him, I’m going to make it happen,” Clark said.

“It was pretty cool that we were able to do it the way we did. Thursday was a pretty mediocre round, Friday was a great round, but we struggled a little bit with the finish on the back nine. But then I was able to break the course record on one of the most historic golf courses in the world. In the end, winning was just the icing on the cake.”

Late Sunday evening, both Clark and Ellis shed tears when the PGA Tour announced it would cancel the tournament after 54 holes.

“When we found out, we both cried, laughed and celebrated on the phone,” Clark recalled.

“Then he rushed over to where I was staying to meet me and we just hugged and talked about all the great things and shots and how amazing the last 36 hours have been. ..

“You never think about winning a 54-hole tournament. And that may not be the way you dream of winning, but with that said, I think many of us [Saturday] I didn’t know anything about it, but I thought this might be my last round, so I hit the outside shot. ”

Still, if Clark had joined LIV, he would have secured a promise to win at Ellis and Pebble Beach, even if, ironically, he won after 54 holes, the same number of holes used on the LIV golf circuit. I couldn’t have done it.

Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through.Be sure to check it out @_PlayingThrough Cover more golf. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko In the same way.