Scottsdale, Ariz. – Outside of the T-15 at Maui Sentry, Wyndham Clark hasn't made a big start to the 2025 season.
The 2023 US Open Champion defined the past few weeks as “Crappy,” a completely accurate description. He missed the cut at the American Express, leading him to 73rd place at Pebble Beach last week.
Therefore, Clark has returned to the drawings over the past few days, focusing on his spiritual approach and what has helped to promote glory at the Los Angeles Country Club within two years. He relisted in the books he read, studying his notes from 2023 and went back to his process. The decision to do so paid off.
Clark fired an epic 7-under 64 on Thursday, sitting himself on the open leaderboard of WM Phoenix. He made bozzies while making seven birdies and had a beautiful scorecard. This is a difficult thing to do at TPC Scottsdale.
“I never know that good golf is round the corner. I feel my game was good. I haven't scored,” Clark said.
“I'm glad I was able to put in a few putts and shoot quite a few.”
Clark only needed 27 putts on Thursday as flat sticks worked all day. But his most impressive hole of the day came on the 17th on the driveable par 4, who made a serious mistake from the tee. He attempted to hit a straight tee ball green, but went even left more than planned. His ball spotted water running to the left of the putting surface, placing him in an unstable position. One of the easier holes on the course suddenly came nearer.
“I was in between shots and my swing was bad,” Clark said.
But he made a great save and hit his third shot 16 inches apart.
“It was amazing to get pars and it was huge,” Clark added.
“That hole is very important in that tournament. I didn't lose any shots there. The hard thing for me is that it's so solid, so if anything helps, I think it's so solid, what's hard for me is. [wind]I really don't have a club of shots, and I need to hit the fade. [left]. The biggest thing there is having a tip to stand up and go down for birdies. ”
That par save felt like a birdie and kept his clean scorecard intact. More importantly, Clark did not let any negative thoughts enter into his mind.
“We don't necessarily have control over what happens to the score and the golf ball, but we have control over what we think,” Clark added. “So [going back to the drawing board] It was a good reminder to come back. Hey, when I'm doing my best, I look half full of the glass rather than half empty. ”
Clark then made a par at 18, staying at 7 under, retaining the one-shot advantage over Taylor Moore and Lee Hodges. If he can hold his mind down for the next three days, these last few weeks will soon be an afterthought.
Jack Mirco is a golf staff writer who plays SB Nation. Follow him with x @jack_milko.
