AUGUSTA – Some Masters rookie, this Wyndham Clark.
Defending U.S. Open champion.
Ranked No. 4 in the world.
Three-time winner.
Yet, Clark will tee off in his first Masters on Thursday. The group of just three golfers who won the Masters in their first attempt may very well become a foursome. It hasn’t been done since 1979, 45 years ago, when Fuzzy Zoeller won in his debut. The others: Horton Smith, who won the first Masters in 1934, and Gene Sarazan, who won the second Masters in 1935.
“Stats like that are meant to be broken,” Clark said this week about joining the Masters rookie winners club. “So, I know it’s a tall task. It’s a challenging golf course. There’s a bunch of good golfers. With that said, you still have to match -- you have to still bring your game. So it’s not like you can just flip a switch and win it.
“But, yeah, that would be an amazing accomplishment. And I like my chances. I really like myself on this golf course. I feel good on a lot of tee shots and approaches, and there’s so much creativity. So I feel good coming into the week.”
Clark hasn’t exactly come out of nowhere for his first official trip down Magnolia Lane. But he was ranked No. 159 in the world before last year’s Masters in April. He won the 2023 Wells Fargo Championship in May. His first Masters invite was sealed. Less than a month later, he won the U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club. Now, he is a two-qualification entrant as a previous winner and major champion.
Clark won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February for his third win. Last month, he finished second at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Players Championship.
Clark has come a long way in a year.
The No. 4 world ranking is the highest ever for a Masters rookie.
Will Zalatoris finished tied for fourth as a rookie in 2021.
Clark is trying to treat the Masters as any other tournament. Good luck with that.
“I know this is the premier tournament in golf and at the most iconic venue, and, yeah, I would love to have a great week. But at the same time, I am a rookie in this event,” Clark said. “So I’m trying not to put the expectations too high, and I really do just want to enjoy it. My first goal is to be mentally ready for day one. So I’m not thinking about the tournament as a whole, just more focusing on my round one on Thursday and then focus on Friday and Saturday and Sunday.”
Still, he has been constantly reminded of this big week for golf – and his career.
“I definitely think the lead-up, before I even got here, it’s amazing how just friends and family and random people I see back home in Scottsdale, people just saying, man, good luck at the Masters, and bringing up the Masters, where when I’m going into a regular PGA Tour event, they’re not necessarily saying that,” Clark said.
About the Author
