Wyndham Clark finally breaks silence after being banned from US Open course
Clark lost his temper on June 16 at this year's US Open and destroyed two locker doors - resulting in Oakmont CC president John Lynch banning the American from the property.
More than a month later, Clark has apologized for his actions - and revealed his future at Oakmont is unclear.
'That's up to them,' Clark told reporters on Sunday from The Open, via ESPN. 'I really don't know. I would hope so. It's a fantastic course and place, but that's up to them.
'I did something awful, and I'm really sorry for it. Hopefully, they have it in their heart to forgive me, and maybe in the future I'll be able to play there.'
In a letter sent out to the members of the club, Lynch said that the ban could be lifted if Clark pays for the damages, makes a 'meaningful contribution' to a charity of Oakmont's choosing, and undergoes counseling and/or anger management therapy.
While Clark called it a 'no-brainer' to pay for the damages, he seemed taken aback that his transgressions were made public.
'We were hoping it was going to be private,' he said. 'I'll just leave it at that.'
Oakmont won't host the US Open again until 2033, when Clark will be 40 years old.
He won the event in 2023, giving him a 10-year exemption in the competition.
This year, he missed the cut after bogeying the final hole of round two.
Clark, who also had an anger incident at the PGA Championship in May, touched on the mental struggles he's been working to improve in the last two years.
'I've been pretty open about my mental shift and change to get better, and I did that in '23 and '24, and then having a tough year and all the expectations and just frustration all coming together, and I did two stupid things,' he said. 'But one thing that it did do is wake me up and get me back into the person I know I am and the person I want to be.
'I hope those things don't reflect because I don't think they reflect on who I am, and going forward that stuff is not going to happen again.'
During the PGA Championship at the Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, Clark let out his frustration at the course's 16th hole during the second round by violently whipping his driver backwards - destroying an advertising board.
After that incident, he said his actions were 'uncalled for', and that it was' clear that I have things I need to work on.
'I hold myself to a high standard, trying to always play for something bigger than myself, and yesterday I fell short of those standards.
Clark's mea culpa on Sunday came after a strong finish at Portrush, as he tied for fourth at the tournament with a six-under final round.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
10 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Heartbreaking new details about Blackstone executive's final moments as she was gunned down in NYC skyscraper by crazed gunman
The Blackstone executive who was killed in Monday's mass shooting in Manhattan was on her way out to meet a friend for a drink when she was shot dead in the lobby, it has been revealed. Wesley LePatner, 43, was on her way out of the 345 Park Avenue skyscraper where she worked when crazed gunman Shane Tamura, 27, killed her and three others in a horror shooting spree. The mother-of-two tried to cower behind a pillar for cover but was killed by Tamura, who also shot dead off-duty police officer Didarul Islam, security guard Aland Etienne, and Julia Hyman, a young worker at Rudin Management. The colleague who was set to meet LePatner for a drink after work then came down in the elevator and saw her lying on the floor, according to the Wall Street Journal. Another Blackstone employee told the outlet that she had a terrifying near-miss as she was waiting for an elevator to the lobby to pick up a DoorDash dinner when the delivery driver messaged her to warn her about the active shooter. She said she copied many Blackstone employees by finding a room in the offices that requires a keycard to enter before barricading the door. The accounts offered a horrifying glimpse inside the heavily fortified office tower in Midtown Manhattan, which also houses the NFL headquarters. Investigators believe that Tamura may have been targeting the NFL but got the wrong elevator before he shot Hyman on the 33rd floor, where he then turned the gun on himself and left a note blaming football-induced CTE for his mental health problems. Questions have been raised over how Tamura was able to cause such chaos inside a high-security skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan. The skyscraper was fitted with security features including panic rooms and off-duty NYPD officers such as Islam, leaving many to question why the shooting was not prevented. 'The random selection of this target is impossible to predict and really, really difficult to defend against,' Michael Balboni, former Homeland Security Adviser for New York state, told the New York Post. 'Did he know he could come into a Class A building like this and just spray the building? That's very unlikely, you know, typically.' Many inside the building told the Journal that they were wrapping up a long workday on Monday evening when alarms blared inside, and they were sent two messages, the first telling them to evacuate and a second telling them to shelter in place. KPMG tax associate Jon Ferrer said he initially brushed off the alarm sounding in his office, until a colleague told him there was an active shooter prowling their building. 'My heart sank to my stomach,' Ferrer said. Like other colleagues, Ferrer said he was ushered into a partner's office where they barricaded the door and windows before sitting and waiting anxiously for the all-clear. The sudden vulnerability has shaken many in Midtown Manhattan, where high-security buildings like 345 Park Avenue are designed with massive safety features. After breaching the lobby, Tamura reportedly shot at one of the turnstiles to then enter an elevator. Investigators said that they believe Tamura mistakenly got off at the wrong floor, intending to enter the NFL offices but instead got off on the 33rd floor where Rudin Management is based. There, he killed Hyman before turning the gun on himself. Tamura was a star football player while growing up in California and appeared to blame the National Football League for his behavior - even though he never played for the NFL He was found with a letter on his body indicating he had grievances with the NFL and its handling of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) after the rampage. In the note he railed against the NFL and pleaded for his brain to be studied. 'Terry Long football gave me CTE and it caused me to drink a gallon of antifreeze,' Tamura wrote, according to CNN. 'You can't go against the NFL, they'll squash you.' The shooter was referring to former Pittsburgh Steeler Terry Long, who committed suicide by drinking antifreeze in 2006 after suffering from CTE. 'Study my brain please I'm sorry Tell Rick I'm sorry for everything,' the note read.
The Independent
11 minutes ago
- The Independent
Justice Department says Epstein and Maxwell grand juries heard from only 2 law enforcement witnesses
Just two witnesses, both law enforcement officials, testified before the federal grand juries that indicted Jeffrey Epstein and his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell on sex trafficking charges, the Justice Department said in support of its request to unseal transcripts of the usually secret proceedings. In a filing late Tuesday in Manhattan federal court, officials describe the grand jury witnesses in a memorandum in response to a call from judges presiding over both cases to provide more details about their request earlier this month. Judges would have to approve any request to unseal records. Grand jury transcripts are rarely released by courts, unless they need to be disclosed in connection with a judicial proceeding. The papers filed Tuesday cite a 1997 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that said judges have wide discretion and public interest alone can justify releasing grand jury information. The Epstein grand jury heard only from an FBI agent when it met in June and July 2019, while the Maxwell grand jury heard from the same FBI agent and a New York Police Department detective when it met in June and July 2020 and March 2021, according to the submission. The memorandum was signed by Jay Clayton, the interim U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, and included the names of Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. The request to unseal the transcripts came after the Justice Department enraged parts of President Donald Trump's base of supporters when it announced in early July it wouldn't be making public any more Epstein files. The decision not to make additional materials public shocked some Trump supporters because members of his administration had hyped the expected release and stoked conspiracies around the well-connected financier. Epstein took his own life in a federal jail in August 2019, weeks after his arrest on sex trafficking charges, officials say, but his case has generated endless attention and conspiracy theories because of his and Maxwell's links to famous people, such as royals, presidents and billionaires, including Trump. Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence after her December 2021 conviction on sex trafficking charges that accused her of luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by Epstein. Last week, she sat for 1 1/2 days of interviews with Justice Department officials in Florida, answering questions 'about 100 different people,' her attorney said. Maxwell was being interviewed because of Trump's directive to gather and release any credible evidence about others who may have committed crimes, the deputy attorney general said. Trump has denied prior knowledge of Epstein's crimes and claimed he had cut off their relationship long ago. But he faces ongoing questions about the Epstein case, overshadowing his administration's achievements. When reporters last week pressed the Republican president about possibly pardoning Maxwell, he deflected, emphasizing his administration's successes. After the request to unseal grand jury records, two former prosecutors in Manhattan told The Associated Press the transcripts would be relatively short and contain only the testimony of law enforcement witnesses talking about evidence that tracks information in the indictments. In its filing Tuesday, the Justice Department further dampened expectations the grand jury transcripts would contain new revelations when it said 'certain aspects and subject matters' contained in them became public during Maxwell's trial. The memorandum said many of the victims whose accounts relating to Epstein and Maxwell came up in grand jury testimony testified at trial consistent with what was described by the FBI agent and the NYPD detective and some information was made public through civil litigation. The government said no Epstein or Maxwell family members have come forward to express an interest in the request to unseal the grand jury transcripts, although Maxwell has indicated she will file a position with the court. The memorandum says the request to unseal the transcripts is 'consistent with increasing calls for additional disclosures in this matter.' 'There is undoubtedly a clearly expressed interest from the public in Jeffrey Epstein's and Ghislaine Maxwell's crimes," it says. 'Beyond that, there is abundant public interest in the investigative work conducted by the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation into those crimes.' Under a 2008 nonprosecution agreement, Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida to state charges of soliciting and procuring a minor for prostitution. That allowed him to avert a possible life sentence, instead serving 13 months in a work release program. He was required to make payments to victims and register as a sex offender. Epstein was later charged by federal prosecutors in Manhattan for nearly identical allegations in 2019.
Reuters
12 minutes ago
- Reuters
Pirates trio looks to continue uptick against former team in San Francisco
July 30 - Pittsburgh's Bryan Reynolds will attempt to complete a homecoming hat trick Wednesday afternoon when the visiting Pirates go for a sweep of the San Francisco Giants. The Pirates, who occupy last place in the National League Central, clinched a third consecutive series win with 6-5 and 3-1 wins over the Giants on the first two nights of the three-game set. Pittsburgh, which has won four straight games and seven of its past eight, will look to hang a sixth straight loss on the Giants. The Pirates' offensive hero in each game of this series has been a former member of the Giants. Andrew McCutchen, who played 130 games for the Giants during the 2018 season, produced the difference-making runs with a two-run homer on Monday before Joey Bart, San Francisco's top draft pick that year and a member of the Giants from 2020-23, broke a 1-1 tie with an eight-inning single in the rematch. McCutchen hit 15 homers in his only season in San Francisco. When he hit his 10th of this season on Monday, it gave him double digits for a 17th consecutive season as he became just the 11th player in Major League Baseball history to achieve that feat. Unlike his two teammates, Reynolds never played for the Giants, but he was their second-round pick in 2016 and, coincidentally, the key export in the 2018 acquisition of McCutchen from the Pirates. Reynolds, who was batting just .226 as of July 18, has heated up a bit just as trade winds have swirled at a season-high rate around the Pirates. The 30-year-old has hits in six of his past nine games, a stretch in which he's gone 11-for-39 (.282) with four doubles and five RBIs. The switch-hitting outfielder has gone on record as insisting he wants to remain in Pittsburgh, noting that he has an eight-year, $107 million contract that doesn't expire until 2031. "Obviously, I don't want to get traded," he told reporters. "I've got five more years. I wouldn't have signed here if I wanted to get traded two years later. Hopefully, it doesn't come down to that. It's why I have that (no-trade clause), right?" According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Reynolds has six teams on his no-trade list. The Giants are one of them. Reynolds and his mates will go for a series sweep Wednesday against Giants right-hander Logan Webb (9-8, 3.38 ERA), who will try to finish his worst month of the season on a positive note. He's pitched to a 7.36 ERA in his first four July starts, allowing six runs in both of his home outings against the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets. The 28-year-old will make his fourth career start against the Pirates, having compiled a 1-1 record and 2.89 ERA in the first three outings. The Giants desperately need Webb to play stopper. They have been in a freefall since June 13, when they sat tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers atop the National League West at 41-29. A loss Wednesday would put the Giants under .500 for the first time all season. They enter the contest nine games behind Los Angeles for the division lead and five games behind the San Diego Padres for the National League's third and final wild-card berth. "We've had meetings," Giants manager Bob Melvin said. "We've had team meetings. We've had all kinds of meetings. It's going out there and fighting a little harder and winning a game and having a little more resolve, which we've shown this year. We just have not done it here recently." The Pirates are scheduled to counter on Wednesday with right-hander Mike Burrows (1-3, 4.15 ERA), who hasn't faced the Giants in 13 career games. The 25-year-old is winless in his past nine appearances despite having pitched shutout ball in two of his four July outings, limiting the Seattle Mariners and Arizona Diamondbacks to a total of six hits over 11 innings. --Field Level Media
