Alexander: A breakthrough for U.S. Open champ Wyndham Clark

LOS ANGELES — The final day of a U.S. Open can be a matter of survival, as the course conditions become more challenging and the mental gremlins wreak their havoc.

But Wyndham Clark, five weeks removed from his first PGA Tour victory, is now a major champion because he was consistent, because he held off the mental gremlins and because … well, you may not yet know a lot about him, but he is a young man with a pretty healthy belief in himself.

“You know, I feel like I belong on this stage,” said the 29-year-old Clark, who has been a PGA Tour member since 2019 but won his first tournament May 7, the Wells Fargo Championshiip in Charlotte. “And even two, three years ago when people didn’t know who I was, I felt like I could still play and compete against the best players in the world. I felt like I’ve shown that this year.

“I’ve come up close, and obviously everyone sees the person that hoists the trophy, but I’ve been trending in the right direction for a long time now. I’ve made a lot of cuts. I’ve had a handful of top 10s and top 20s, and I feel like I’ve been on a great trajectory to get to this place. Obviously it’s gone faster than I thought as far as just starting to do some stuff mentally that I’ve never done before, but I feel like I’m one of the best players in the world. Obviously this just shows what I believe can happen.”

Maybe the end of Saturday’s round was a precursor. Rickie Fowler surrendered the lead when Clark birdied and he missed a 5-foot birdie putt. That gave Clark a share of the lead going into the final day, and he stayed atop the leaderboard all day long, playing consistently enough to outlast Rory McIlroy by a shot.

He appears to have a secret weapon when it comes to battling those mental gremlins. Mental coach Julie Elion, who has worked with Phil Mickelson and Max Homa among others, began working with Clark in January, and maybe it’s coincidence but probably it isn’t: Clark has seven top 10 finishes in the 15 tournaments since the first of the year.

It certainly helped Sunday, when Clark was paired with Fowler in the final round and heard plenty of cheers for the Murrieta native.

“(Eilon) goes, ‘Every time you hear someone chant ‘Rickie,’ think of your goals and get cocky and go show them who you are,”  he said. “I did that. It was like 100 plus times today I reminded myself of the goals. Now maybe they’ll be chanting my name in the future.

“We were talking (before the round) about anything but golf actually. We were talking about traveling. We were talking about the beautiful homes out here. She was just trying to keep it light. It’s huge in a major championship because you can kind of get really tunnel vision, and it’s great to sometimes just look up and see what’s going on and be like, hey, this is just like any other day. I’ve done this a thousand times.

“She has a great calmness and presence about her that just makes me calm and relaxed. I’m just so glad that my caddie (John Ellis) and agent (Rob Mougey) in November said, ‘Hey, we’ve got this lady that we think you should work with.’ I was a little reluctant to do it, and I’m just so glad that she was brought into my life, and what these honestly six months, it’s crazy to see how much I’ve improved and how much she’s helped me.”

Actually, playing in the same twosome with Fowler Saturday and Sunday wasn’t a bad thing at all. Both played college golf at Oklahoma State, although Clark eventually transferred to Oregon.

“He’s still a Cowboy,” Fowler said. “We had a good time the last two days. I feel like we both enjoy going out and chatting throughout the round and keeping it fairly … light, but it’s still a major in the final group the last two days.”

They are friendly enough, actually, that after a money game between the two in March – with Fowler making darned near every putt and Clark not making enough of them – Clark asked to use his putter on the practice green. He liked it so much he ordered one for himself, right down to the exact specifications, and he used it this week to average 28.47 putts per round.

Clark is also unique in that he doesn’t currently have a swing coach.

“A lot of people say I have a good swing,” he said. “I believe I have a good swing. My first few years on tour it actually really bothered me because people would say, ‘Oh, you have such a great swing,’ and I didn’t know where the ball was going, and that was really frustrating for me. I worked with some great coaches, and they were very good at what they do, but I didn’t know where the ball was going and I didn’t own it.

“So when I decided to go on my own – I do work a little bit with my caddie, but typically it’s on my own – I learned about my game and my swing, and that’s what I did when I was younger. I knew how to hit shots and I got away from that when I was with a coach. … I felt like I’ve kept my swing in those parameters to where regardless I can play good golf if I’m hitting a little draw or a little cut, and my stats have improved immensely by doing that.”

Did we say he has a healthy belief in himself? He talked about how he felt he should have won the Memorial two weeks ago –  he tied for 12th – and, “in the back of my mind I said, ‘Well, what if this is saving me for something greater?

“Obviously,  I didn’t know it was going to be a U.S. Open,” he added. “But I just had that attitude and belief that something better was going to happen.”

It did. The proof, in the form of a trophy, was right next to him during the champion’s press conference.

jalexander@scng.com