THE MODERATOR: We would like to welcome Wyndham Clark to the interview room, four-time PGA TOUR winner. You're coming off your fourth win two weeks ago. Can you tell us a little bit about that.
WYNDHAM CLARK: Wow, it's amazing to be back in the winner's circle. It's been a tough kind of year and a half. So more than anything it's just relief and excitement. I would say my first two wins were -- it was all new to me and amazing in its own right, but this one feels a little different just in the sense that I had such a bad year last year, and I worked really, really hard in the off-season to work on my swing and so many different things. So to win and to win in the fashion I did was just pretty awesome.
THE MODERATOR: You're making your seventh appearance here at The Memorial Tournament Presented By Workday. Have you seen the course yet? Can you tell us a little bit about the week?
WYNDHAM CLARK: Yeah, I just played nine holes. The course is, as usual, in amazing shape. This course you got to be playing from the fairways. Even though it's somewhat wide off the tee, you have to be in the fairways. It's all about controlling your irons. There's a reason Scottie does really well here. He's one of the best iron players in the world.
So it's all about that and I'm looking forward to the week. I've been hitting it good, really starting to putt it good, so I'm excited for a good week.
THE MODERATOR: We'll open it up for questions.
Q. You're sort of Mr. Closer. I think, what, two 60s to close out? What's the secret? How do you close tournaments? How do you personally do it and what have you learned through the years? I'm sure you've had some that didn't go that way. What's the difference?
WYNDHAM CLARK: I've had more that didn't go my way. I've only won four times. But the difference of the ones that I do win versus the ones I didn't is I'm so patient, and even if you do or don't start off good, it's almost like I believe that good things are going to happen. In that round in particular, I knew I had to go shoot low. Fortunately, I made some birdies early.
But not birdieing 9 was definitely a little bit of a test when I missed about a 5-footer and almost found myself in trouble on 10 and I'm down two shots. I just said, all right, let's just keep going about our business and then I really caught stride.
So the biggest thing is just believing that things are going to go your way rather than reacting to what's going on. You just continue to believe that good things are going to happen.
Q. Would you rather chase? I assume there's situations where you've been leading and you kind of have to hold on?
WYNDHAM CLARK: Yeah, they're both fun. It's really fun to look at the leaderboard, and you know you're playing good and you're like, okay, we're two back. All right, we're one back. And that's how Sunday was at Byron Nelson, which was a blast, honestly. I don't think I would have shot as low if Si Woo and Scottie weren't continuing to play well because, you know, sometimes you get up, and then you maybe go a little more conservative, which is a great lesson in itself.
But I birdied -- I remember I birdied 11, and I was 2-down, and then I birdied -- or eagled 12, got tied. Then before I even got to the next hole, I saw that I was 1-down. So I'm like, okay, I got to birdie this hole. And that's really fun.
But I think having the lead, there's something about holding on and sleeping on a lead and knowing, all right, I'm going to have a chance to win this tomorrow. That's, I think, the ultimate.
Q. I think a lot of people would be surprised that your first Monday after a tournament win where you shot 60, you're on the range working, trying to tweak your driver and your 3-wood. Can you talk about what you were doing?
WYNDHAM CLARK: This week? So all my equipment is dialed in other than I would say my driver was spinning a lot that week. So I was average spin of about 3100. And as most people know, that's a little high on the spin side. So I was hitting it really straight at Byron, but I was just spinning it too much.
So wanted to get here and just knock off about 400 RPMs, which would come out to be almost, you know, 8 to 10 yards, which would gain back my advantage of hitting it far. So that's really what we were doing.
Q. Did you end up changing the 3-wood at all?
WYNDHAM CLARK: No. I mean, we might work on it a little bit more this afternoon, but the 3-wood's been really good. I told them, it was, like, an 8 out of 10. It would just be nice to get it a touch more draw bias. But right now, it's just driver.
Q. And this is your first season as an equipment free agent. How have you kind of embraced that? Because it seems like you're enjoying it.
WYNDHAM CLARK: Yeah. I mean, I've made some funny comments of, you know, that it's like a girlfriend I've been dating a lot. Let's just say that with clubs. But I'm kind of a club junkie, which is bad, I think, if you're a free agent.
But now what I love is I'm really -- I love every club in my bag. From my 60 degree all the way up to driver and putter, it's every club that I think is the best for me. So in that sense, I love it. It just took maybe a longer time to get there. Unfortunately, sometimes that affects your golf, but now I feel like I'm in a great comfortable spot, so hopefully, I can start seeing the fruit of all the labor and work I put in.
Q. As you noted, it was your fourth win. Is there any more optimism coming to this property having a win right under your belt?
WYNDHAM CLARK: Oh, for sure. Last year I came in and didn't even have a -- I don't even know, a top 25 coming into this event. I wasn't hitting it great. I end up missing the cut. It was just so frustrating.
But, yeah, coming in after a win -- it's amazing what winning does in golf or even just playing consistently really good golf. You just move on to the next week. You're super confident, super -- just believing that good things are going to happen. So, yeah, I feel great. Regardless of what happens, at least mentally I'm like, hey, I got a chance to win this tournament.
Q. Then you had a week off. While Tour players say that there's a way of learning how to win, is there a way of learning how to deal with a win and coming back and kind of having an outlook for your next start?
WYNDHAM CLARK: Yeah, for sure. I would say you end up doing pressers like this, which -- there just brings a little bit more expectation. But I've now done this for a few years and it doesn't really bother me or affect me anymore. I've learned to handle it. More than anything, I'm really happy where I'm at both on and off the golf course, and I just continue to focus on the good things going on and hope good things happen on the golf course.
Q. When you walked off the golf course and headed to scoring, we saw on TV that you turned around and you said to somebody, Finally. Like, you had finally won again or whatever. I'm wondering what the emotion was. Was it more relief or a sense of satisfaction or what was going through your mind emotionally?
WYNDHAM CLARK: Yeah, actually I think that was to my caddie, ex-caddie John, which was awesome that he was there. But he and I are still such, I mean we're such good friends, and it's been a really hard year and a half for both of us. And that's kind of why when I saw him I said, Finally, and he knew what I meant, just because we've had so much frustration. And to finally have success and just good, something good happen in golf, it just was, yeah, like you said, it was relief. More than anything it was just a relief. And I would say, of all the wins I've had, that was probably the most excited I've been. Just pure joy that I finally did it, I'm back in the winner circle, I feel like I'm maybe myself again, which is really nice.
Q. The 18th hole statistically is the hardest one here, what is your strategy from tee to green and can that change by the day?
WYNDHAM CLARK: I mean, the hardest shot is probably off the tee. The fairway is sloped from right-to-left, the bunkers right are hard to get on to the green, so you have to challenge the water on the left. So for me the biggest thing is just hitting the fairway. If I hit, if I could have four balls in the fairway, then I think I'll play the hole really well. Traditionally, that hole's been difficult for me. But really it's, when you get out of position at this golf course you got to take your medicine and eliminate the big number almost more than anywhere else, just because of all the water and tough sloping greens. So, yeah, I mean my strategy is hit the fairway and hit the green, very simple.
Q. Jack's tournament. Of all the numbers he's put up and the records, 18 majors, where do you put the 19 runners up that he had? How impressive is it to you that he finished second in majors 19 times?
WYNDHAM CLARK: I mean, it would be frustrating, but I would take finishing second in 19 majors, it's a pretty amazing feat. Jack and Tiger are the greatest of all time, and to have that many times to be in contention to win a major in itself is amazing. So, yeah, I mean, I think the most impressive thing in Jack's career is the fact that he was always in contention. That's hard to do. I mean, Tiger did it, Scottie is now doing it, and that's what I think the greats do.
Q. Put yourself in his shoes, would you be bothered by some of those 19 runners up? Would that get in your craw a little bit?
WYNDHAM CLARK: I'm sure -- I bet you half of those he is very, it's like, I gave that away. And I bet you the other ones, he might have stormed from behind and turned it into a great finish. But, yeah, I think if that was my career and you didn't win any, oh, my gosh, you would be hitting your head against the wall, for sure.
THE MODERATOR: All right. Well, good luck this week, Wyndham.
WYNDHAM CLARK: Thank you, guys.
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