From a video surfacing on the internet, Wyndham Clark’s mistake became a big issue for the spectators. The incident of adjusting the ball for a better shot probability has happened in the past. Take the example of Patrick Reed in 2019, the Hero World Challenge, where his ball landed in a bunker and he was caught manipulating the sand. The result of his action led to a two-stroke penalty. Fast forward to 2025, the fans think, a similar case has happened at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

During the second round at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, his shot on the 3rd hole after bouncing from the fairway returned to his original pitch mark. Now, with his ball being plugged, Clark got a free drop to place the ball. But for the fans, it was assumed that he used another player’s marker, which left the golf world questioning him on his move and accusation.

Even with his participation at the Players Championship, the incident was brought up in the press conference. He was asked, “The internet was very quick to bury you last week about that drop situation, and then the video showed that you were right; it did roll into its own pitch mark. Are you aware of any of that? Do you care at all?” This led him to voice out about the issue. Clark answering to it said, ” The ball just hit — we didn’t see the ball bounce from our distance, and we get up there and it’s plugged. How was I supposed to know? No one told us.” He expressed how the ball was placed and, being 300 yards away, players could not see the position of the ball. There was no message conveyed to him on the issue.

Further, he even shared clarifying, “So my frustration was that if I did get stroked, how is that my fault when no one told me that I rolled into something — if I did roll into someone else’s pitch mark.” Clark followed the embedded ball for his shot. After inspecting the video, it was his pitch mark, which led to offering him a ball drop.

However, if the accusation was true, the result would have definitely been against him. For the major winner, the Arnold Palmer Invitational is filled with controversy, as something similar happened earlier too.

Wyndham Clark controversy in 2024

Arnold Palmer Invitational and Wyndham Clark is a story of controversies. With the air of 2025 incident, last year too the golfer was accused of his actions. On the 18th hole, his drive landed on the right rough side surrounded by grass. He used his wedge to set the grass, but unfortunately, the ball moved. The broadcast showed the ball movement and, as per the rule, it would lead to two two-stroke penalties.

Luckily, as per the officials, the ball reached back to its original position, which helped him from getting away without penalty. Even Clark clarified, saying, “I wasn’t trying to cheat or anything like that or improve my lie. I just simply put my club down. Obviously, they zoom in, and it makes it look worse… We all talked about it. Scottie [Scheffler], the rules official, didn’t think it moved. So, fortunately, that (a penalty) didn’t happen.” The ball moved down into the rough and it got him in an even worse situation.

With the support of the officials, he was not awarded a penalty. Despite his clarification, the accusations skyrocketed and were criticized by fans on social media. Though the final result is in favor of the golfer, what are your thoughts on the two incidents? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.