SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. -- When Wyndham Clark arrived at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club this week, he said to himself that if he were to shoot even par across four days of golf, he would have a good shot to win his second U.S. Open.
After two rounds, the 2023 champion at Los Angeles Country Club has bettered that mark by seven shots, following up a 6-under 64 on Thursday with a 1-under 69 Friday on his way to breaking the 36-hole scoring record for a U.S. Open at Shinnecock.
"I really felt like I could be in double digits, but you know, the great thing about that is I didn't feel like I had my best, and I still am leading as of right now," Clark said. "Hopefully I can bring my A-game on the weekend."
In 2023, Clark did not hold a lead until Saturday heading into the final round. That day he shot even par to hold off the likes of Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, Cam Smith and Tommy Fleetwood and secure his first major championship.
Clark's defense of the U.S. Open last year at Oakmont went awry when he shot 8-over through two days and made a bogey on the final hole to miss the cut by a shot. Clark then damaged the locker room inside the clubhouse and was subsequently banned from its property by the club. The month before the U.S. Open Clark also apologized for throwing his driver at the PGA Championship after an errant drive.
On Friday, Clark was asked about the incident and whether he felt like his perception has changed among fans over the course of the last year due to what happened.
"I've gotten a lot of grief since last year, rightfully so. The thing that's unfortunate is that's not who I am, what happened last year," Clark said. "I'm hoping I can win back the fans that I had or some new fans, because it was a terrible incident."
Clark, who has been open in the past about his battles with mental health and his work with mental coach Julie Elion, said Friday that his mental game "ebbs and flows" and compared it to the same way his golf game can fluctuate.
"I was on top of the world in my game at least when I won the U.S. Open and then had some good years. Then next thing you know, I'm apologizing for breaking a locker the year later," Clark said. "If you think of it as climbing Everest. Sometimes you go up, sometimes you have to go down to go back up. I think that's kind of what happens both on the golf course and off the golf course. Right now I'm trending back up, which is nice."
This week, Clark has raced out to a fast start thanks to his approach game and putting, both of which rank in the top five of the field as of Friday afternoon. Though he's not been consistent with his driver, he credited his putting, which has vaulted him to two top-10 finishes this year as well as a win at the Byron Nelson last month.
As he heads into the weekend at Shinnecock atop the leaderboard, Clark said he will rely on the experience he didn't have in 2023 and trust that his game can still be good enough to win even if it's not at its best.
"Sometimes you can get ahead of yourself when maybe a couple of bad things happen. I think early in my career, even at that [U.S.] Open, I kind of freaked out. You then get fast, and you make poor decisions and compound errors," Clark said. "I definitely feel like I'm in a better place. Hopefully a great weekend and great rest of the year, maybe I'll gain all those fans back."
