Wyndham Clark secured his fourth PGA Tour victory this past week, with a final round 60 ensuring that he finished three shots clear of Si-woo Kim at the CJ CUP Byron Nelson.
Clark is a divisive figure within the game. The 32-year-old is clearly extremely talented, having held off Rory McIlroy to win the US Open back in 2023.
However, some of his actions, particularly in 2025, led to Clark coming in for a lot of criticism.
Why Wyndham Clark came in for so much criticism during the 2025 season
Clark smashed his driver after one tee shot at the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow. He threw the club backwards, snapping the head off. He also seemed to be extremely fortunate to not hit one of the volunteers who was stood on the tee box.
He did issue an apology and asked for forgiveness, insisting that he planned to work on how he handled his frustrations on the course.
The only problem was that his behaviour at the following month’s US Open saw him banned from Oakmont. It was revealed after the tournament that Clark had damaged a number of lockers.
Bizarrely, rather than issue another apology, Clark decided to try and insist that he was focused on moving on when he next spoke to the media. He even mentioned trying to make the Ryder Cup team.
Unfortunately, his form gave everyone little other reason to talk about Wyndham Clark. Heading into the CJ CUP Byron Nelson, he had not finished inside the top 10 on the PGA Tour this year.
That wait is obviously over now. And speaking on the Sky Sports Golf Podcast, former Ryder Cup player Stephen Gallacher suggested that he does have some sympathy for Clark, even if he has not always conducted himself in the best way.
“He’s a standout player. I don’t mind this streak. The only thing that I mind about that is he should have apologised,” he said.
“You know, I’ve seen plenty of locker rooms get smashed up by nice people. I’ve seen it happen plenty of times, but just man up and just say, I’m sorry, and I don’t mind that. It means you’ve got a proper fire in your belly and you want to win, you want to do well. But there’s obviously a time and a place to do it. Yeah, he’s not everybody’s cup of tea, he’s a hell of a golfer.”
Wyndham Clark has not helped himself at all with some of his comments
Clark is such an intriguing figure within the game. He does not appear to relish the idea of being some sort of pantomime villain. Figures such as Patrick Reed and Patrick Cantlay seem to embrace how they are viewed by some golf fans. It may even make them better.
And yet, Clark clearly does not help himself at times.
He faced criticism when he called for the PGA Tour to be reduced to just 100 players, with 20 players getting relegated each year.
As reported by the Daily Mirror, the problem for some was the fact that Clark was calling for the door to be shut shortly after he had made a rapid rise up the world rankings that would not have been possible under the system he was suggesting.
Elsewhere, he once stated on Golf Today that he felt that he was better than Rory McIlroy.
Again, while you can understand the importance of self-confidence, there are certainly much better ways to try and position yourself as one of the best players on the planet.
It therefore feels important that Clark conducts himself differently if he is now about to rediscover his best form, if he wants to finally be loved by the majority of the golfing world.