Windham Clark played in his first Masters this week and has been comfortable with his shots.
After shooting a 1-over 73 in Thursday’s opening round, the reigning U.S. Open champion was overshadowed by the LIV Golf Circuit, which hosts 54-hole tournaments versus the PGA Tour’s 72 holes.
The 30-year-old is eight strokes behind LIV golfer Bryson DeChambeau for the lead and will need to catch up in Friday’s second round.
“Yes, there are 54 holes.” [to go]” Clark said when asked about DeChambeau. “He only plays 54 shots at LIV Golf, so I think he has a chance. There’s still a lot of golf left. As you can see, someone hit him seven under. He can do that tomorrow.”
However, it may not be all that surprising for LIV Golf players to sit at the top of the leaderboard after the first round.
Last year’s Green Jacket winner Jon Rahm joined the Rebel Tour in December, along with fellow LIV players Tyrell Hatton, Joaquin Niemann, Cameron Smith, Patrick Reed, Sergio Garcia and Brooks Koepka. He is among the players who could be on the leaderboard by the opening game. The second round is over.
Rahm’s comeback got off to a rocky start, with the Spaniard struggling on the back nine on Thursday and finishing the day with a 1-over 73.
“It’s a difficult golf course. That’s all I can say,” Rahm said. “It’s not easy. You don’t have the luxury of missing shots, especially tee shots. Unfortunately, on that back nine, I missed too many shots.”
He wasn’t the only one dealing with rainy and windy conditions that led to rough play.
But Clark is positive he can put the extra 18 holes to good use in his bid to become the first player to win the Masters on his debut since Fuzzy Zoller 45 years ago.
“It was pretty calm. I felt pretty good out there,” he said. “If I had played the par 5s a little better and made a putt or two here and there, this would have been a different interview by now. I felt like I played great. It feels good.”
Clark starts Friday at 2 p.m.
