SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Exterior of a T-15 at The Sentry in Maui, Wyndham Clark has not had a terrific begin to the 2025 season.
The 2023 U.S. Open champion outlined the previous couple of weeks as “crappy,” a wholly correct description. He missed the minimize at The American Categorical after which tied for 73rd at Pebble Seaside final week.
Therefore, Clark went again to the drafting board over the previous couple of days, specializing in his psychological strategy and what helped propel him to glory on the Los Angeles Nation Membership lower than two years in the past. He re-listened to some books he had learn, studied his notes from 2023, and went again to his course of. The choice to take action paid off.
Clark fired a spectacular 7-under 64 on Thursday and sits atop the WM Phoenix Open leaderboard by himself. He made no bogies whereas making seven birdies and stored a clear scorecard — a tough factor to do at TPC Scottsdale.
“You by no means know when good golf is across the nook, and I really feel like my sport has been good, I simply haven’t been scoring,” Clark stated.
“It was good to have some putts go in and shoot an excellent quantity.”
Clark wanted solely 27 putts on Thursday as he had the flat stick working all day. However his most spectacular gap of the day got here on the drivable par-4 seventeenth, the place he made a grave mistake off the tee. He tried hitting a straight tee ball into the inexperienced, but it surely went additional left than deliberate. His ball discovered the water that runs down the left aspect of the placing floor, leaving him in a precarious place. A bogey on one of many simpler holes on the course all of the sudden loomed, a actuality that may frustrate any golfer, not to mention a serious champion.
“I used to be sort of in between photographs and made a poor swing,” Clark stated.
However he made an excellent save, hitting his third shot to 16 inches away.
“To come back away with a par was superior, and that was enormous,” Clark added.
“That gap could be very pivotal in that match. Glad I didn’t lose a shot there. The robust factor for me is, because it’s getting so agency, if there’s any serving to [wind], I actually don’t have a membership for the shot, and I’d need to hit a fade, which then is just a little robust as a result of you then’re difficult that water [left]. The largest factor there may be simply attempting to have a chip to rise up and down for birdie.”
That par save felt like a birdie, protecting his clear scorecard intact. Extra importantly, Clark didn’t let detrimental ideas enter his thoughts, which has plagued him over the previous couple of weeks.
“You possibly can’t essentially management the rating and what occurs to your golf ball, however you possibly can management your ideas,” Clark added. “So [going back to the drawing board] was an excellent reminder for me to get again to, hey, once I’m enjoying my greatest, I have a look at the glass extra half full than I do half empty.”
Clark then made a par on 18 to stay at 7-under and now holds a one-shot benefit over Taylor Moore and Lee Hodges. If he can hold his thoughts in test over the subsequent three days, these previous few weeks will rapidly turn out to be an afterthought.
Jack Milko is a golf workers author for SB Nation’s Taking part in By way of. Comply with him on X @jack_milko.