Since winning the 2023 US Open, PGA Tour pro Wyndham Clark has spent significantly more time in the public eye, making headlines both on and off the course.
No stranger to controversy, he offers candid comments that have landed him in the news. It was also more than commentary: he received a lot of backlash after smashing Oakmont lockers in anger during this year’s US Open.
But that hasn’t silenced Clark. On Thursday he found himself in controversy again with some unvarnished feedback for the Albany GC, the host course of the Hero World Challenge, after being tied for the lead on the first round.
Here’s what you need to know.
Wyndham Clark criticizes the Hero course conditions
Clark’s reputation took a serious blow when images circulated online of the damage he caused to Oakmont’s historic locker room in June.
Clark was suspended by the club and later apologized for the incident, saying he “did something terrible” during the Open Championship.
On Thursday at the Hero World Challenge 2025, the low-stress, limited-field tournament hosted by Tiger Woods, Clark shot an opening-round 66 to is on par with four othersincluding Scottie Scheffler, number 1 in the world.
But despite his stellar round in an unofficial invitational Tour event in the Bahamas, Clark didn’t mince words about the conditions on the host course, Albany GC, after his round.
When asked specifically about the difficulty in shredding Albany’s Bermuda grass, which is known to be a challenge, Clark didn’t hesitate.
“Do you want the politically correct answer?” Clark asked. “It’s not in good condition.”
He continued: “You’re always chipping in the grain and there’s a lot of chips that keep going up and down, so you’ve got to chip, and you’re coming out of really bad lies in Bermuda and you’ve got to pick it up and there’s just very little room for error.”
It is unclear whether Clark considers the answer he gave “politically correct.”
To be fair, he wasn’t alone among the players in the field.
Clark wasn’t the only Hero competitor asked about chipping conditions in Albany on Friday. A reporter asked Scheffler the same question after his own opening round 66.
Although Scheffler encountered many of the same points as Clark, his response was more diplomatic.
;)
How to deal with sticky Bermuda grass around the green
Bill Schmedes III, Nick Dimengo
“I mean, I think the grain has a lot to do with it,” Scheffler said Friday. “The ball has a tendency to sit in the turf. And a lot of it here is rough, so you’re under the green, the ball is sitting on the ground. It can be quite challenging.”
Corey Conners, who shot a 67 and will play alongside Scheffler on Friday, echoed those thoughts about the grain of the Bermuda grass at Albany.
“Yeah, it’s really gritty, the ball stays a little bit. The ground isn’t very forgiving and you have to get some height on the shots,” Conners said. “The greens are all a little bit higher, so kind of a low-area shot, softer, tighter and really grainy. It’s quite important to make sure you have good contact.”
With 54 holes to play, Clark and Scheffler are tied for the five-way lead as Scheffler battles for his third straight victory in the Hero World Challenge.
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