Since his win at the 2023 U.S. Open, PGA Tour pro Wyndham Clark has spent significantly more time in the public eye — and has made headlines both on and off the course.
He’s no stranger to controversy, offering candid comments that have landed him in the news. It’s been more than comments, too: he received plenty of blowback after smashing Oakmont lockers in anger at this year’s U.S. Open.
But that hasn’t silenced Clark. On Thursday, he waded into controversy again with some unvarnished feedback for Albany GC, the Hero World Challenge host course, after tying for the first-round lead.
Here’s what you need to know.
Wyndham Clark critiques Hero course conditions
Clark’s reputation took a serious hit when images circulated online of the damage he caused in Oakmont’s historic locker room this June.
Clark was suspended by the club and later apologized for the incident, saying he “did something awful” at the Open Championship.
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On Thursday at the 2025 Hero World Challenge, the low-stress, limited-field tournament hosted by Tiger Woods, Clark shot an opening-round 66 to tie for the lead with four others, including World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.
But despite his great round in an unofficial, invite-only Tour event in the Bahamas, Clark didn’t mince words about the conditions at host course Albany GC following his round.
When asked specifically about the difficulty with chipping in Albany’s Bermuda grass, which is famously challenging, Clark didn’t hold back.
“Do you want the politically correct answer?” Clark asked. “It’s not in good shape.”
He continued: “You’re always chipping into the grain and there’s a lot of chips that are up and over so you have to chip up, and you’re coming from really bad lies in Bermuda and you have to hit it up and there’s just very little margin for error.”
It’s unclear if Clark considers the answer he supplied as the “politically correct” one.
To be fair, he was not alone among the players in the field.
Clark wasn’t the only Hero competitor asked about the chipping conditions at Albany on Friday. A reporter asked Scheffler the same question following his own opening-round 66.
While Scheffler hit on a lot of the same points as Clark did, his answer was more diplomatic.
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“I mean, I think the grain has a lot to do with it,” Scheffler said on Friday. “The ball has a tendency to sit down in the turf. And a lot of it’s rough here, so you’re below the green, ball’s sitting down. It can be pretty challenging.”
Corey Conners, who shot a 67 and will play alongside Scheffler on Friday, echoed those thoughts about the grain of the Bermuda grass at Albany.
“Yeah, it’s really grainy, the ball just kind of sits down a little bit. The ground’s not very forgiving and you’ve got to get some height on the shots,” Conners shared. “The greens are all raised up a little bit, so kind of hitting from low areas, softer, tighter, really grainy lie. It’s pretty important to make sure you have good contact.”
With 54 holes to play, Clark and Scheffler are in a five-way tie for the lead as Scheffler vies for his third consecutive Hero World Challenge victory.
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