Wyndham Clark received a fairly brutal introduction to the Ryder Cup in 2023, with USA needing an impressive fightback to only lose by five points in Rome.
The 2023 season proved to be something of a game-changer in the career of Wyndham Clark. He secured his first PGA Tour win at the Wells Fargo Championship, before then winning the US Open at LACC less than a month later. Unsurprisingly, his Ryder Cup debut came later that year.
Unfortunately for the visitors, Marco Simone proved to be the sight of yet another one-sided Ryder Cup. Europe were absolutely sensational for three sessions in the Italian capital, taking a 9.5-2.5 lead. USA had won just one of the opening 12 matches of the week.
Clark did help the US claim a potentially important point late on Saturday alongside Patrick Cantlay – though it was Cantlay’s performance which many will remember. But they still had a mountain to climb, with Europe needing just four points in the Sunday singles to regain the trophy.
Wyndham Clark suggests one thing he dislikes about the Ryder Cup
Zach Johnson‘s men put up a brave fight. However, Europe did just about enough to get across the line, and that proved to be particularly disappointing for Clark who had been put in the anchor match against Robert MacIntyre.
Speaking on the Sky Sports Golf Podcast, Clark admitted that he found it difficult knowing that he was likely to be in a match which would not matter come the end of the day. He also shared one change he would make to the event as a whole.
“Yeah I was really bummed that I was the 12th guy. Yes, it could ultimately come down to my match, and if we had a chance to come back, it would have. But I also knew if things didn’t go well, no-one’s watching me and it doesn’t matter – and it was exactly what happened. Four or five holes to play, we had a good match going, Bob and I, and it was even, and then it’s like well shoot, we just lost. That’s what’s unfortunate,” he said.
“The one thing that I dislike about the Ryder Cup is that there’s individual records. I don’t think that that should be kept. I think it’s all about if you win or you don’t, and that’s a great example of that because it’s a team thing, who cares about the individual part, but that’s just me going on a rant.”
Where Wyndham Clark sits in the US Ryder Cup qualification standings for Bethpage
Clark has got plenty of work to do if he is going to make the team later this year at Bethpage. It has been an underwhelming start to the season for the 31-year-old, with just one top 10 on the PGA Tour this year.
He had been struggling with injury, with Clark withdrawing from The Players Championship. But he currently finds himself 17th in the qualification standings for the Ryder Cup.
Admittedly, he has an advantage over a number of the names ahead of him. The likes of Maverick McNealy, Andrew Novak, J.J. Spaun and Tom Hoge are all higher in the standings. And it is hard to see Keegan Bradley picking a number of players who have no experience in the Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup.
Not only does Clark have that experience, but he also played alongside Bradley at Royal Montreal last year. So it will come as a surprise to no-one if Clark is indeed on that team in September.
Receive exclusive golf news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
