TELFER’S THOUGHTS 23.6.26

It was indeed a strange sight (and sound) watching an American golfer who had led the US Open Championship from start to finish nonetheless being jeered and booed as he neared the finish line.

This was the fate Wyndham Clark suffered on his way to a second US Open title at Shinnecock Hills.

It seems New Yorkers hadn’t forgotten the scenes which played out on video a year ago at the US Open at Oakmont in Pennsylvania. Clark missed the cut and there and then went into an all-out rage in the locker room, smashing two lockers to pieces. Oakmont, it would be fair to say, was not amused and banned him from the course until he repaired the damaged lockers and underwent an anger management course. He obliged on both counts. Unfortunately for Clark he was paired with Scottie Scheffler on the final day this year. Scheffler of course just happens to be America’s most popular golfer and it was very obvious the bulk of the crowd wanted Scheffler to win.

The fans’ negativity towards Clark seemed to have had an impact on his play. After three near perfect rounds which saw him build a 6-shot lead going into the last round, Clark stumbled all day and eventually got home with just one shot to spare. He admitted it was his putter that both let him down but also crucially saved him from what would otherwise have been another infuriating loss.

Ryan Fox, on the other hand, enjoyed a very good day both on and off the course.

Starting the last round positioned in the mid-fifties in a field of 72, Foxy at last produced the sort of form that has elevated him to the game’s upper echelon.

His form at Shinnecock through the first three rounds wasn’t poor but at best average, given that he didn’t manage to break par in any of those first three rounds. He shot an even par 70 on Day One, struggled on Day Two with a 3 over 73 which saw him just make the cut. He was right on the cut number at 3 under par. Day Three wasn’t much better with a 4 over 74 and that saw him slip down the leaderboard towards the bottom of the field. But on Day Four Foxy got it right, shooting a 2 under par 68, one of the day’s lowest scores which initially lifted him slightly by a few places. When he finished his round he was in line for a cheque of around $US50,000.

By the time the Open had concluded a few hours later, his $50,000 had tripled to $181,000 as player after player struggled on this tough Shinnecock layout. And one by one Foxy’s finishing position improved to the point where his official final placing was a tie for 23rd place. It could have been as much as another $US100,000 if he hadn’t bogeyed two of the last four holes.

There can’t be too many positions or jobs where you can sit at your desk after your day’s work and watch your weekly pay climb while you don’t have to as much as lift a finger. That’s the league Ryan Fox is in now, playing for at least $US20million every week he tees it up.

Meanwhile at the top of the field, the golfing gods were smiling on the American Wyndham Clark, even if not all the fans were. He did achieve the rare feat of leading a Major championship from wire to wire, as they like to say in America. The last time a golfer went all four rounds in the lead at a Major was the German Martin Kaymer in 2014.

Clark essentially won the Open on Day One when he fired a 6 under 64. He had doubled his lead from 2 to 4 strokes by the end of the second round, then extended that lead to 6 shots going into the final day.

It would have been something of a miscarriage of justice if Clark hadn’t prevailed. He was the best golfer at Shinnecock over the four days and he was big enough afterwards to apologise profusely for his unfortunate behaviour at last year’s Open.

Holding the large trophy aloft after completing a live television interview, he called out to the large crowd around the 18th green, “I hope one day I can get you all to like me”.

Well said. Matter closed.