U.S. Open Champ Wyndham Clark on Mental Health Struggles, Inexperience of Ryder Cup Team

Wyndham Clark, who burst onto the golf scene this year by winning the U.S. Open and Wells Fargo Championship, believes that the inexperience his U.S. Ryder Cup team has playing in Europe can only help the squad.

Eight of the 12 members of the United States team haven’t played a Ryder Cup “on the road,” but since Team USA hasn’t won on European soil in 30 years, Clark sees it as an advantage. 

Clark told Sports Illustrated:

“We watched the team lose, but we don’t know how to lose. A lot of us are winners. We’ve won at every level.”

“A lot of guys have won a national championship for their college team. They’ve played on winning Walker Cup teams. The guys who were at Whistling Straits won. So we’re treating it like ‘we don’t know what we don’t know.”

Find out how the Ryder Cup rookie made a meteoric rise from solid pro to major champion.

Exclusive interview w/ @GabbyHerzig:https://t.co/OV3RLnyKTX

— SI Golf (@SI_Golf) September 19, 2023

Clark, Brian Harman, Max Homa, and Sam Burns are playing in their first Ryder Cup. For Scottie Scheffler, Collin Morikawa, Patrick Cantlay, and Xander Schauffele, it will be their first Ryder Cup away from the U.S.

Clark is on the team for the first time thanks to a career year, which he credits to his team delivering an ultimatum to him in 2022. 

“My caddie and my agent basically came to me and said, ‘Hey, if you want us to keep working with you and be part of your team, we want you to see this lady [mental coach Julie Elion],” Clark explained. 

“I’m not gonna mention the player—for his privacy—another PGA Tour player said, ‘I really think Wyndham should see Julie. I think she will really help him. She’s helped me for the last 10 years.’ I honestly was very skeptical. The previous mental coaches I’ve worked with were good, but it never seemed to stick. I never felt like I truly grew in that area.”

Stop playing swing and start playing golf.

Our latest cover star, Wyndham Clark, is here to unlock your game. 🔓

See how “playing cocky” turned him into the U.S. Open champion: https://t.co/eFcCLynodw pic.twitter.com/Fi4vBYzG5e

— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) September 19, 2023

The Ryder Cup takes place from Marco Simone Golf Club in Rome, starting next Friday, Sept. 29.

Cover Image via New York Times