"It's a lot for Wyndham Clark to start barking orders" - Former Major winner rips apart $6,000,000 golfer for his recent PGA Tour comments
Wyndham Clark recently stated that he would like to see the PGA Tour adopt a membership of 100 players or less, a statement that quickly raised many opposing voices. Among the latter is Major champion Jimmy Walker.
Jimmy Walker recently gave an interview to Bunkered in which he addressed Wyndham Clark's recent statements. Walker also did not hold back in his responses to questions about Jay Monahan's leadership.
This was part of what Jimmy Walker had to say about Wyndham Clark's statements:
"It’s a lot for Wyndham Clark to start barking orders. If there were 100 players he may not have gotten to where he’s at today. Myself included. The Tour for a long time was about maximising playing opportunities for the membership and now it’s gone completely the opposite way. Now they’re creating less opportunities and it’s bad for the growth of the Tour."
Wyndham Clark is currently ranked 5th in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR), his career-best ranking to date. Clark broke into the OWGR Top 100 less than a year ago (at the age of 29), following his 5th place finish at the 2023 Valspar Championship played in March 2023.
Clark leads The Players Championship 2024 with a score of 15 under after 36 holes. He is four strokes ahead of Xander Schauffele.
About Jay Monahan's leadership, Jimmy Walker said he no longer pays "much attention" to what the PGA Tour commissioner says. Walker was quoted as saying:
"I don’t pay much attention to what Jay says anymore. I think he’s full of it. They’ve kept us in the dark and a lot of this has been handled extremely poorly. Do I have any faith in the Tour? I don’t know. I really don’t think we’ve got some of the best and brightest working on it."
Who is Jimmy Walker, the Major champion who responded to Wyndham Clark?
Jimmy Walker began his professional career in 2001. He played the 2004 and 2005 seasons on the Nationwide Tour (now the Korn Ferry Tour), after which he earned his PGA Tour card.
His beginnings at the highest level yielded a few disappointing results, so he needed to return to the Nationwide Tour. However, he quickly returned to the PGA Tour.
His results in the main circuit began to improve during the second decade of the 2000s. His peak was between 2013 and 2016, when he won six PGA Tour tournaments, including the 2016 PGA Championship.
Jimmy Walker is also credited with three victories on the Nationwide Tour, one on the Gateway Tour, and one on the Canadian Tour.
In addition to his Major victory, his tournament performance in this category includes three other Top 10s, all during the 2014 season.