’Felt Pressure to Play’: Struggling Wyndham Clark Ignores Defending His Title as True Aim Falls Somewhere Else

“I haven’t been playing well,” admitted Wyndham Clark, the defending champion of the US Open, after his second round, which included five birdies, four bogeys, and a double bogey. With a total score of 144, putting him at one-over par after Friday’s round, it’s clear that the 2023 US Open champion is off to a rough start. One might think Clark must be feeling the pressure to perform well, right? Surprisingly, that’s not the case. Why?

Last year, the 30-year-old golfer shot an even-par 70 in the final round to finish 10-under overall, securing the championship. This victory was unexpected, given that he had missed the cut in his only two previous U.S. Open appearances and had never finished better than tied for 75th in six major championship starts. Fast forward to this year, and things are looking rough. However, instead of thinking about his rough performance, the 30-year-old has other plans.

After the second round of the post-match press conference, Clark answered a few questions, one of them being, “As a defending champion, do you feel any kind of pressure when you come back to defend something that you just won?” While responding to the question, the golfer acknowledged his poor performance, stating, “I mean, yeah, but at the same time, no. I felt pressure to play well these last few weeks just because I haven’t been playing well.” 

However, instead of dwelling on that, he now plans to use this opportunity effectively and said, “I honestly wasn’t looking at this week as me defending much. I was just really looking forward to having a nice week of trying to gain momentum for the rest of the year is the way I’ve been looking at it.” Climbing back up might be challenging, but regarding making the cut, he revealed, “I mean, I hope I make the cut. For me right now, that would be a huge win.” 

Surprisingly, he isn’t the renowned golfer who is struggling right now. The #1 golfer, Scottie Scheffler is meeting with the same unfortunate fate. Scheffler had a tough first round with putting, finishing the day tied for 30th. In the second round, he faced more struggles and is now tied for 57th with a score of 145, 5-over par.

While the 27-year-old is struggling, renowned names like Tiger Woods, Viktor Hovland, Dustin Johnson, and more have already missed the cut for this weekend. Given these performances, one might wonder if there’s something about Pinehurst that causes the pros to struggle. Surprisingly, the answer is yes!

Pinehurst No. 2 is a challenge for many, not just Wyndham Clark

While the second round was still underway, the PGA Tour posted a video on X captioned, “Pinehurst is showing its teeth early.” In the clip, Mark Hubbard made a highly accurate and precise shot. Despite this, the ball hit the flagstick and rolled down the slope, ultimately resulting in a bogey on the par-4 hole. This incident prompted a strong reaction from fans, who swiftly shared their thoughts on the course’s level of difficulty. 

Ben Hogan once called it ‘Golf Mecca’ to highlight its difficulty. The official golf website has described it as ‘playable’ but questioned its potential for low scores. Restoration architect Bill Coore commented, “I can’t imagine that any more than a third or even a fourth of the green is pinnable. It’s pure Pinehurst.” Given these factors, it’s clear that Pinehurst is tough for many pros. Who do you think will survive this ruthless course? Share your thoughts in the comments below!