Wyndham Clark Believes Some LIV Golfers Have Earned the Right to Return to PGA TOUR

Wyndham Clark said on the No Laying Up podcast that he believes some golfers who left the PGA TOUR for LIV Golf have earned the right to return without any sanctions based on their play before they left.

Clark met with LIV officials in the past to negotiate what would have been his departure from the PGA TOUR. He chose legacy over the money, he says.

The gratitude I feel for this moment will never be matched. Thank you to every person who has ever supported me and continues to support me. I am humbled and honored to be your United States Open Champion. #PLAYBIG pic.twitter.com/zU9MwTfXhg

— Wyndham Clark (@Wyndham_Clark) June 20, 2023

But he believes that some players who made the decision to leave the PGA TOUR should be allowed back, simply based on their careers and accomplishments before going to LIV:

“Guys that have had careers where they should be lifelong PGA Tour players, I think they deserve the right to be able to come play on the PGA Tour. I think guys that maybe left and didn’t have that pedigree and career—I don’t know—I think those are the guys that I’d struggle with because they made their decision, right? So they chose to go play there, take the money, and I think that’s what a lot of us wrestle with.”

Certain players did more than enough to help the PGA TOUR earn its status as the premiere tour in professional golf. Some are golfers of the past, of course, like Nicklaus and Palmer. Others are modern-day giants who kept the TOUR as an exciting place to watch professional golf.

Who, exactly, would Clark be okay with returning? He detailed his choices:

“If Dustin Johnson wants to come back, Phil Mickelson, and Brooks [Koepka], and guys who have won majors, they deserve to play wherever the hell they want because they’re so good. But there are these other guys I struggle with because then we look at it going, man, a lot of us had a chance to take the money. And if we 100% knew we could take the money and come back, then we all would have done that because we all would have been way richer.”

Clark seems ready to end the divide in pro golf:

“I just hope that we have all the best players playing together and that it works out to where it’s mutually beneficial for everyone involved. It’s a tough question, but at the end of the day, I really try to just concern myself with what I can control. If I’m playing my best golf, regardless of what happens, I’m going to have a place to play.”

Cover Image via New York Post