There has been a trend in recent months of top PGA Tour stars skipping media interviews. And former US Open champion Wyndham Clark is the latest.
Some of the best players in the world, namely Collin Morikawa and Rory McIlroy, have been unusually combative with the media this year. On multiple occasions, McIlroy has passed on talking to the media even after completing his quest of winning the career grand slam.
After shooting a 66 to vault up the leaderboard after the third round of the Open Championship at Royal Portrush, Wyndham Clark joined those who chose to pass. And it did not go unnoticed. James Corrigan of the UK’s Daily Telegraph was particularly annoyed, saying “weak does not begin to describe it” in a social media post.
Out of all golfers, Wyndham Clark probably has the best reason of any to hide from the media. Earlier this week, it was reported that Clark was banned from Oakmont after a locker room temper tantrum damaged property at the venerable US Open host venue earlier this summer. It wasn’t Clark’s first anger management episode as he also almost took out a volunteer with a club throw at the PGA Championship earlier this year.
Clark probably didn’t want to have to answer questions about the ban in the wake of his excellent round on Saturday. And maybe he feels like he already talked about it in the immediate aftermath. But at some point, he’s going to have to address the Oakmont ban, whether it’s this week, next week, next year, or when he joins the Champions Tour.
The entitlement of some players to feel like they don’t have to talk to the media they don’t want to has led to a huge debate in the golf world. Even though they are not mandated to do so, it hurts the growth of the game when players are willing to skip out on sharing their thoughts and speaking to the media, thereby dismissing any need to further connect with fans. Or in this case, with Wyndham Clark, an opportunity to begin to make some much-needed amends for past mistakes.
About Matt Yoder