THE MODERATOR: We'd like to welcome Wyndham Clark to the interview room here at the TOUR Championship. You're entering the week at No. 3 in the FedExCup. You're coming off your third win of the season, clearly in good form. Can you just talk about what it's like to be back at East Lake and your mindset heading into this week?
WYNDHAM CLARK: Yeah, I'm glad I'm here. Last year I didn't make it here, and to be back is a great feeling. I love being at this golf course, love being in this moment.
I'm in good form, so it's one more week to keep the good golf going, and then I get to enjoy the off-season. It's full pedal to the metal and focus, and I'm just hoping I have a chance come Sunday.
Q. What do you think of the news today about the TOUR Championship moving to match play over two weeks?
WYNDHAM CLARK: I mean, I personally like it. I think it's exciting. I think the TOUR Championship maybe the last few years is just -- I don't know, I don't think it's been right. I think this new format is going to be exciting. I think going to new venues is going to be, I think, great for the fans, great for us, especially iconic ones. If we really do go to the Cypress Points and the Pine Valleys and these places that I'd say the majority of people have never seen or gotten to go to, I think will be amazing.
Then match play is where we began in golf. I think of all the great moments in the U.S. Am and old videos you saw of Bobby Jones and guys winning tournaments against a guy head-to-head, I think it's really exciting.
The two-week thing kind of reminds me of a major in tennis, and it's kind of fun. Those guys spend two weeks at Wimbledon, and that's what it is. It's unique to golf and new to it, but I think over time people will accept it and like it a lot.
Q. What are you going to do in that off-season that you're looking forward to?
WYNDHAM CLARK: I'm going to be in Cabo next week. That's my happy place. So I'll be down there having fun.
Presidents Cup, I'm playing a tournament in Japan, hopefully get engaged, and then going to South Africa for a tournament as well.
Q. What do you mean "hopefully"?
WYNDHAM CLARK: Hopefully she says yes.
Q. With the talk of leaving in the new schedule, leaving September to November open and a lot of chance for Europe, to seize on that, could you see yourself wanting to go over there and play some of the national opens or whatever they've got going on?
WYNDHAM CLARK: Yeah, I think for sure. I love playing overseas. I've really enjoyed the times that I've done that.
I think it all just kind of depends on your season. If you're burned out, maybe you take more time off. I think if you're feeling good, they set up some amazing events, then yeah, I would want to do that.
Next year, I was already thinking of playing two or three prior to the Ryder Cup if I'm on the team, which then, if you do that, I'd qualify for the Race to Dubai or the Rolex Series, so then I would continue to play.
It just all depends. I love the fact that we kind of have a built-in off-season, and I'm one of the guys that's pro "Hey, we have to play." It's kind of like football. We start the season, you play, and when it's done, you don't have to.
I think it's great because it also leaves guys the opportunity to take full time off or also play in the fall.
Q. You made a couple of really visible equipment changes this year, and it's led to arguably your best season ever. I'm curious if you had to pick one of the clubs, I know it's not the only reason you've had success, but were one of those clubs part of this successful season, and which would it be?
WYNDHAM CLARK: Yeah, probably my putter. To be honest, I think the stat that was the worst from last year that has improved the most to this year was probably my putting.
I've really liked the luxury of being a free agent where I could play any club I want. Early in the season, it's a lot because you're trying to find the clubs that you love, but once I did, it was amazing. And one of those, the most important one, has been that Ping putter.
Q. This me-against-the-world vibe you've had this summer, are you enjoying it? Are you getting juice out of it? Or are you tired of it and you'd just like to go under the radar for a while?
WYNDHAM CLARK: I'm enjoying how the year is going. You know what's funny is I've now had six wins, and I think in all six of those wins I was never the crowd favorite. I always heard other people's cheers. Maybe one day I'll be who everyone is rooting for.
At the end of the day, I'm having fun with what I'm doing. It's been a lot of fun.
Q. You mentioned the Presidents Cup. After making two teams in a row, how tough was it to be on the outside looking in last year, and was that in your goal set coming into the season, to get yourself back into that team room?
WYNDHAM CLARK: For sure. Outside of what happened at Oakmont, I think the next worst thing was not making the Ryder Cup team. I was super gutted. I played two team events on foreign soil, and I was like, I want to experience being at home where they're rooting for us, not against us.
Obviously I didn't deserve to be on the team, but I know I was in discussions for it. Yeah, that was definitely one of the goals.
Now making the team, I'm just kind of proud of myself that I overcame everything from last year, and I'm excited to play on foreign soil. I can't wait to have that momentum that fans can bring to an event because it's tough in golf to play against the tide and the momentum, and it's really easy or easier when the fans are rooting for you. Yeah, so I'm really excited.
Q. Wyndham, your drive on 14 Sunday went into the right rough, and there was a lot of scrutiny on social media but also even the TV announcers. Curious about you changing clubs and tapping down the rough multiple times. Just curious what you were thinking there, and there was a similar situation possibly at the U.S. Open, and if you've been hearing about this at all.
WYNDHAM CLARK: I didn't really hear much about it. I know the shot that you're talking about. I think any player, when they're trying to judge a lie, takes out different clubs to see what it feels like.
I never fully put the club down behind it. I don't think anything of it. When the cameras are on you, they're going to find anything. And I think you saw that in Bryson's case. It happened to me at the U.S. Open, it happened to me at Bay Hill. It's happened to a lot of guys where they can see stuff that maybe looks like something that maybe it's not.
That lie was never bad. It was more just judging what it was. By no means did I take a bad lie and make it really good.
People can think what they want. I know I didn't do anything that was costing the integrity of the field. That's all I've got to say about that.
Q. There's a lot of parallels between your wins at the U.S. Open and BMW, not getting off to the start that you wanted. When you get off to one of those starts, especially in the final round, is there a mental thing that you just reset or just have to pull from? Is it one thing or is it something mechanical that you lean on when it's in the heat of the moment and maybe you're a little bit in flux with your mindset and things are happening fast?
WYNDHAM CLARK: Yeah, you know, I've learned that it's really tough. If there's a one-shot lead, I think it's a little easier to play your best golf. When you're up by five or six shots, it can be difficult because you're kind of just -- your mind is almost wanting to just be on the last three holes knowing you're going to win the tournament and you want it to be over, versus if you had a one-shot lead or you're tied or you're one back, you're so excited and focused for every opportunity. And that's something I've got to learn to get better at.
As far as what happened at the BMW, I just kind of was -- I just wasn't focused. I was kind of just foggy when I was playing. I think what got me out of it wasn't anything physical. It was more when Rory tied it up, and then it kind of hit me like, oh, my gosh, I could lose this. Finally making that putt on 16 I kind of snapped out of it and I got back to playing the good golf that I know I can play.
Q. When you were mic'd up from start to finish at a tournament like last week, when it's over, do you get to review what gets used? Do you have any say in what gets used, or is it just let it rip?
WYNDHAM CLARK: Yeah, so NFL Films does an amazing job. They send it to us each day and then send us the final product, and anything that we do not like or want out there, they'll take out. I applaud them on that.
But yeah, I'm excited to see and have everyone see our episode of us four that did it. It was fun. Honestly, I just talked with McAfee, you don't realize after a while that the cameras are watching you or that you have a mic on you, you just go about your business.
And for anyone else that's going to do it in the future, you don't have to worry about what you say because they're not out there to try to make you look bad. They just want to show the inside of what's going on inside the ropes, especially in a heated moment of a tournament.
Q. How much time have you personally spent reviewing those recordings and making suggestions?
WYNDHAM CLARK: Well, I mean, my agent, myself, my caddie, we looked at each video. So let's say they sent us eight-minute clips of each day, and then the final product, whatever it ends up being, we watched the whole thing and said, yeah, take this out, you can keep that, et cetera. They were awesome.
Yeah, we spent time. Like I said, we've got to make sure that we're representing our sponsors the best we can, ourselves, the TOUR, et cetera.
By the way, none of us are really doing that, but you never know when you say something that normally people wouldn't hear that might come out. So yeah, they're not trying to hurt us in any means. We probably spent 30 minutes looking over that.
Q. Following up on that, when you're a part of a production like "Chasing Sunday" and you're reviewing it and kind of on the course with that, does it make you change how you view yourself with social media presence or your team or changing anything like that, kind of having the skill even further close on you like that?
WYNDHAM CLARK: I wouldn't necessarily say that. What comes to mind actually was a great tool for me to see, hey, I was in a moment of when I -- a great week where I won. It was awesome to kind of see what we say. You don't remember everything you say every day.
Looking back at it going, oh, that was a cool moment or I can learn from that, maybe I didn't like how I handled that. That to me, when I was watching it, was honestly the most intriguing thing, is, hey, we actually were really in sync, my caddie and I, and I was thinking this on Sunday, and that's something I could tweak. Or, hey, that was funny. Or whatever.
Yeah, as far as social, I don't pay attention too much to that, and hopefully it improves my followers or scores or whatever that is. But I'm not too concerned about that or worried about that stuff.
Q. I heard a fair number of people in St. Louis that did give you some cheers and you did a lot of high-fiving, side-fiving along the way and so forth. Did you feel like there was enough that sort of -- the fans were at least backing you somewhat?
WYNDHAM CLARK: Oh, no, for sure. St. Louis fans were amazing. Honestly, they were never rooting against me. It's just I was playing against Rory. It's Rory.
I think when someone has a lead like I did, they want to see it get close and exciting, and then it's Rory. By no means were they mean or anything. When I hit good shots, they cheered for me, and I heard a lot of good things. I just wasn't maybe the crowd favorite.
Q. The first hole here has been pretty hard over the last years. What makes it so difficult tee to green?
WYNDHAM CLARK: Well, the first year they redid the course was the last time I played here, and I think if you didn't hit the fairway, you couldn't hold the green the year I played. Now I know the greens are softer and more receptive now, so that changes it a little bit.
But the tee shot is just difficult. You have out of bounds left, it's the first tee shot of a tournament, and it's imperative to hit that fairway. Then it's an elevated green. You're typically hitting a long iron in. It's definitely one of the tougher starting holes that we play on TOUR.
It's funny because it's a little deceptive. You don't look at it and go, wow, that's to your eye the toughest hole. But every year it seems like you're not really birdieing it, and if you just walked away with four pars, you're gaining on the field.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports