SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Exterior of a T-15 at The Sentry in Maui, Wyndham Clark has not had a fantastic begin to the 2025 season.
The 2023 U.S. Open champion outlined the previous few weeks as “crappy,” a completely correct description. He missed the reduce at The American Categorical after which tied for 73rd at Pebble Seashore final week.
Therefore, Clark went again to the drafting board over the previous few days, specializing in his psychological strategy and what helped propel him to glory on the Los Angeles Nation Membership lower than two years in the past. He re-listened to some books he had learn, studied his notes from 2023, and went again to his course of. The choice to take action paid off.
Clark fired a spectacular 7-under 64 on Thursday and sits atop the WM Phoenix Open leaderboard by himself. He made no bogies whereas making seven birdies and stored a clear scorecard — a tough factor to do at TPC Scottsdale.
“You by no means know when good golf is across the nook, and I really feel like my recreation has been good, I simply haven’t been scoring,” Clark stated.
“It was good to have some putts go in and shoot quantity.”
Clark wanted solely 27 putts on Thursday as he had the flat stick working all day. However his most spectacular gap of the day got here on the drivable par-4 seventeenth, the place he made a grave mistake off the tee. He tried hitting a straight tee ball into the inexperienced, however it went additional left than deliberate. His ball discovered the water that runs down the left facet of the placing floor, leaving him in a precarious place. A bogey on one of many simpler holes on the course immediately loomed, a actuality that might frustrate any golfer, not to mention a serious champion.
“I used to be sort of in between pictures and made a poor swing,” Clark stated.
However he made an excellent save, hitting his third shot to 16 inches away.
“To come back away with a par was superior, and that was big,” Clark added.
“That gap may be very pivotal in that match. Glad I didn’t lose a shot there. The powerful factor for me is, because it’s getting so agency, if there’s any serving to [wind], I actually don’t have a membership for the shot, and I’d need to hit a fade, which then is a little bit powerful as a result of you then’re difficult that water [left]. The largest factor there’s simply making an attempt to have a chip to rise up and down for birdie.”
That par save felt like a birdie, preserving his clear scorecard intact. Extra importantly, Clark didn’t let unfavourable ideas enter his thoughts, which has plagued him over the previous few weeks.
“You possibly can’t essentially management the rating and what occurs to your golf ball, however you’ll be able to management your ideas,” Clark added. “So [going back to the drawing board] was reminder for me to get again to, hey, after I’m enjoying my greatest, I have a look at the glass extra half full than I do half empty.”
Clark then made a par on 18 to stay at 7-under and now holds a one-shot benefit over Taylor Moore and Lee Hodges. If he can hold his thoughts in test over the following three days, these previous few weeks will rapidly turn out to be an afterthought.
Jack Milko is a golf employees author for SB Nation’s Enjoying By. Comply with him on X @jack_milko.
