Wyndham Clark admits to “screwing up” in the last Ryder Cup as Team USA suffered a crushing defeat against Rory McIlroy and Co.
Wyndham Clark isn't proud of how he played in his Ryder Cup debut last year. He and the entire American team were soundly defeated by the Europeans, and Clark commented on why he wasn't in the best shape. While he alone may not have changed the tide of the tournament, Clark believes he cost his team during his Ryder Cup debut.
The 2024 Pebble Beach Pro-Am winner reflected on his 2023 Ryder Cup performance and said (via "GolfWeek"):
“I think the last time I screwed up. I took too much time off and wasn’t quite prepared for the Ryder Cup, and this year I wanted to make sure I don’t do that. There’s no preparation better than playing against the best players. I think this is the best prep you can have,” Wyndham Clark said.
Clark didn't play from August 27 to September 29. The Tour Championship concluded in late August, and since there was no Olympics, Clark didn't play a tournament in between. He continued, saying he took four weeks off and then didn't even compete until the fifth week:
“I mean, I would never prepare for a big event where I had five weeks off between one tournament to the next,” he said.
His first event was paired with Max Homa, to whom the golfer felt the need to apologize for his poor start.
“I kind of was not playing good the first four holes. I said, ‘I’m sorry, I’m not tournament sharp right now, I’ll get into it.’ Then eventually I started getting more comfortable,” Clark said.
The Americans as a whole did start playing better, but by then it was too late and could only stave off defeat from Rory McIlroy and company for so long before ultimately succumbing. They will try to take back the trophy in 2025 at Bethpage Black.
Wyndham Clark wants one change before 2025 Ryder Cup
Assuming Wyndham Clark is once again on the 2025 Ryder Cup team captained by Keegan Bradley, he has one thing he'd like to change from 2023.
The golfer believes most of the team was not prepared for competition and stressed having more game time before the event to shake off any sluggishness and perform better. He said (via the aforementioned source):
“If it’s something that I do myself or hopefully Team USA kind of makes it mandatory that everyone does it, I think we should all play before. I know we have such a grueling schedule and we all just played the Tour Championship, but if we can just do – it’s just one more week to play and to keep us sharp so that we can win, I think it’s worth it.”
The 2025 edition of Ryder Cup will take place from 26-28th September 2025, at Bethpage Black Course, New York.