In golf, the latter happens far more often than the former, but sometimes an outlier emerges where the typical formula is flipped on its head, and a player almost nobody latched onto is left standing in the winner's circle all by their lonesome.Wyndham Clark was that outlier at the U.S.Open at Shinnecock Hills, and it's a role he not only looked comfortable playing across four days and 72 holes of major championship golf, but one he had to play.Beyond the typical touch of arrogance and brashness that we see from various figures in sports deemed a "villain" by the masses — who it's worth pointing out almost always enjoy success — Clark has well-accounted-for baggage.ZERO BS.
JUST DAKICH.TAKE THE DON'T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD.
DOWNLOAD NOW!Wyndham Clark of the United States looks on after playing a shot on the 18th hole during the third round of the 126th U.S.OPEN at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on June 20, 2026 in Southampton, New York.
(Photo by Mike Mulholland/Getty Images)During the final round of the 2025 PGA Championship, Clark violently threw his driver behind him after an errant tee shot.The club ended up breaking, and the head of the club went through an advertisement sign just a few feet away from a volunteer on the tee box.
He apologized for the incident the next day.Just a month later, after missing the cut by a shot at the 2025 U.S.Open at Oakmont, Clark took apart two lockers inside the clubhouse in frustration.
Weeks after damaging the lockers, Oakmont barred him from the property.Clark first apologized for the incident at Oakmont the following week at the Travelers Championship, and has done so on multiple occasions since, while explaining that he regretted his actions.Clark has done what anyone else in his situation would do: continue to apologize, begin to say the right things and try to move past the very public mistakes.Actions, however, do have consequences, and when a former major champion throws a driver through a sign and destroys two l...