Wyndham Clark might have played well all week at The Open to seal a top ten finish but unfortunately for him, all the talk has been of his situation involving Oakmont at the US Open.
Clark was in the news for smashing up a locker and subsequently, he has now been banned by the powers that be at Oakmont.
That means he won’t be able to play any PGA Tour events held there, including the 2033 US Open when it circles back around to the popular venue.
Clark, of course, has been apologetic all week about the incident but there’s been no getting away from questions about it.
Now, even after a fine final round of six under saw him shoot up the leaderboard, Clark has once again been pressed on the matter.
Wyndham Clark responds to questions over his Oakmont ban
One of the issues Wyndham Clark has with this scenario is that it isn’t his first rodeo in terms of getting into trouble.
Clark has been forced to apologise on numerous issues over his career and this is simply the latest one.
Clearly, the American feels bad about things but according to the man himself, there’s little he can do about any decisions taken by the Oakmont chiefs.
“Yeah, so obviously I feel terrible with what happened. I’m doing anything I can to try to remedy the situation. We’re trying to keep it private between Oakmont, myself and the USGA. I’m just happy we have a pathway moving forward, and like you said, I’m hoping we can get past this and move on and hope there’s no ill-will towards me and Oakmont,” Clarke admitted when asked on the current situation.
Like you said, I’m just trying to get past it. I want the best for Oakmont, the USGA and myself. Like I said, I’m very sorry for what I did and feel terrible, and hopefully in a few months we’re past this, and it’s something of the past. Yeah, we were hoping it was going to be private. I’ll just leave it at that.”
Quizzed further on whether he feels he’ll ever be allowed back on the property, Clark suggested that is something out of his hands now.
“I don’t know. That’s up to them. That’s up to them. I really don’t know. I would hope so. It’s a fantastic course and place. But that’s up to them. I did something awful, and I’m really sorry for it. Hopefully they have it in their heart to forgive me, and maybe in the future I’ll be able to play there.
Specifically on the 2033 event being back at Oakmont and being authorised to play, Clark again suggested it wasn’t down to him.
“No idea. That’s up to them. I hope so.”
Wyndham Clark shares what he’s done to try and apologise to Oakmont
Like any sportsman who makes a mistake, Clark has been forced to back pedal and wind things in and with that, apologise.
Clark is clearly upset and wants to make amends and continuing the discussion at Royal Portrush, he admitted he’d been in touch with Oakmont to try and correct things.
“Yeah, we reached out and we wanted to do that [make a charitable donation]. Obviously it’s a no-brainer to pay for the damages. That was a given,” Clark carried on.
“Then obviously all the apologies, and I want to give back to the community because I hurt a great place in Pittsburgh, so I wanted to do anything I can to show them that what happened there was not a reflection of who I am and won’t happen again. But I want to show them who I really am with the apology and the things I’m going to do.”
Right now, it’s clear that Clark has done plenty of soul searching but the damage has already been done, both physically and in terms of his reputation.
Put simply, he just has to be better in the future.
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