Scottsdale resident Wyndham Clark has grabbed the first round lead at the WM Phoenix Open, a stark departure from his recent form.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Outside of a T-15 at The Sentry in Maui, Wyndham Clark has not had a great start to the 2025 season.
The 2023 U.S. Open champion defined the last few weeks as “crappy,” an entirely accurate description. He missed the cut at The American Express and then tied for 73rd at Pebble Beach last week.
Hence, Clark went back to the drawing board over the last few days, focusing on his mental approach and what helped propel him to glory at the Los Angeles Country Club less than two years ago. He re-listened to some books he had read, studied his notes from 2023, and went back to his process. The decision to do so paid off.
Clark fired a spectacular 7-under 64 on Thursday and sits atop the WM Phoenix Open leaderboard by himself. He made no bogies while making seven birdies and kept a clean scorecard — a hard thing to do at TPC Scottsdale.
“You never know when good golf is around the corner, and I feel like my game has been good, I just haven’t been scoring,” Clark said.
“It was nice to have some putts go in and shoot a good number.”
Clark needed only 27 putts on Thursday as he had the flat stick working all day. But his most impressive hole of the day came on the drivable par-4 17th, where he made a grave mistake off the tee. He tried hitting a straight tee ball into the green, but it went further left than planned. His ball found the water that runs down the left side of the putting surface, leaving him in a precarious position. A bogey on one of the easier holes on the course suddenly loomed, a reality that would frustrate any golfer, let alone a major champion.
“I was kind of in between shots and made a poor swing,” Clark said.
But he made a brilliant save, hitting his third shot to 16 inches away.
“To come away with a par was awesome, and that was huge,” Clark added.
“That hole is very pivotal in that tournament. Glad I didn’t lose a shot there. The tough thing for me is, as it’s getting so firm, if there’s any helping [wind], I really don’t have a club for the shot, and I’d have to hit a fade, which then is a little tough because then you’re challenging that water [left]. The biggest thing there is just trying to have a chip to get up and down for birdie.”
That par save felt like a birdie, keeping his clean scorecard intact. More importantly, Clark did not let negative thoughts enter his mind, which has plagued him over the last few weeks.
“You can’t necessarily control the score and what happens to your golf ball, but you can control your thoughts,” Clark added. “So [going back to the drawing board] was a good reminder for me to get back to, hey, when I’m playing my best, I look at the glass more half full than I do half empty.”
Clark then made a par on 18 to remain at 7-under and now holds a one-shot advantage over Taylor Moore and Lee Hodges. If he can keep his mind in check over the next three days, these last few weeks will quickly become an afterthought.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.