Wyndham Clark is living the dream.
Back when the Colorado resident was in high school at Valor Christian and considering where to play his college golf, he entertained thoughts of one day being one of the top college players and/or top amateurs in the game.
“Especially walking through Oklahoma State’s Hall of Fame, you see all the guys who have received the Haskins Award and the Ben Hogan Award, and you imagine yourself doing that,” Clark said in a phone interview with coloradogolf.org last week. “But at the same time I’ve had a tough college career and I hadn’t been in the mix for that in the previous years. So it’s really humbling and exciting (to be in the running this year). I’d love to finish the year out well and at least give it a shot to potentially win, but even if I don’t it’s pretty awesome and rewarding for me just to be in the mix and considered one of the top players. It’s a pretty cool thing for me.”
When the Pac-12 Conference Championship is held Friday through Sunday (April 28-30) at Boulder Country Club, Clark could take the next step in a dream season with a strong performance in his home state. The two-time Colorado state high school champion is currently the top-ranked college player in the country, according to both Golfstat and Golfweek. And, he’s very much “in the mix” for the Haskins Award, which goes to the best college player in the nation, and the Ben Hogan Award, given to a men’s college golfer, taking into account all college and amateur competitions during the past 12-month period.
It’s quite a heady position for a player who transferred to the University of Oregon for his final season of college golf after not being included on Oklahoma State’s NCAA Championship roster last year. In his one year as a Duck, Clark has notched two individual victories (the first of his college career), three second-place finishes, one third, a fifth, a sixth, a 10th and a 13th. That’s it: Nine top-10s in 10 tournaments and nothing worse than a 13th-place showing.
“I have a really good atmosphere and great coaches. My transition to Oregon has been really great,” Clark (pictured) said in the midst of a visit to Las Vegas to work with Jeff Smith, his swing coach since July. “With the coaching I’ve gotten from (Oregon head coach Casey Martin) and having really good teammates that have helped me, it’s been a really positive atmosphere and I think that’s something that’s been really helpful to me since I’ve transitioned (from Oklahoma State). I’ve had a really good year and finally feel like I’ve started to play to my ability and talent level. It’s been a fun run.”
Oregon won the national championship last year before Clark arrived, and the Ducks currently are ranked among the top 10 teams in the nation.
“We were very fortunate to get the call from Wyndham (last) summer and he’s turned out to be our best player,” Martin, who’s played 43 events on the PGA Tour, said during the mid-season break late last fall. “He’s been an incredible blessing to the program because he’s an experienced guy and a great player.”
The Pac-12 Championship will be just the second college tournament Clark has played in his home state. He didn’t compete at all in Colorado while at Oklahoma State, but finished third in October in the inaugural Paintbrush Invitational at Colorado Golf Club in Parker.
“Pac-12s is a big deal even if it wasn’t in Colorado,” he said. “But having it in Colorado makes it that much more exciting and fun. It’s going to be great to see friends and family and be able to play a course I played before. So I’m really looking forward to it.”
By his own estimate, Clark has played Boulder Country Club about eight times, but some of those made for a memorable CGA Amateur (then known as the CGA Stroke Play) in 2010. It was at that tournament that Clark won as a 16-year-old, becoming the youngest champion of the event since 1971, when Bob Byman — who would win the U.S. Junior Amateur in 1972 and later a PGA Tour event — was also 16 but slightly younger.
Clark clinched the victory with a 30-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole — No. 18 at BCC — defeating Jim Knous, who set the BCC course record with a 10-under-par 60 in the final round.
“Having some experience there definitely helps,” said Clark, now 23. “It’s a little bit of advantage, but you still have to hit the shots. It’s not like I’ve played it that much, but I have seen it in tournament conditions, so that counts for something.”
Outside of college, Clark has an impressive record both inside and outside Colorado. Besides the 2010 CGA Amateur, he won the 2009 CGA Junior Amateur and the two state high school titles. Five times, he’s qualified for the U.S. Amateur, advancing to the round of 32 last year. In 2014 at Oklahoma State, Clark was named the Big 12 Player of the Year and earned a spot on the U.S. Arnold Palmer Cup team. Currently, he sits No. 48 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings.
But now, after two or three more college tournaments, it will be on to the professional ranks for Clark. Having finished ninth in a PGA Tour Canada Q-school event last month, he’s exempt for the first four events on that circuit, which begins action on June 1, immediately after the men’s NCAA Division I finals conclude. He’s also hoping for potential exemptions on the PGA Tour or Web.com Tour.
“I’ve done that (amateur golf) for so long, and I’m kind of ready for the next stage,” Clark said. “This is what I’ve always dreamed of — to play professional golf. I’m really itching to turn pro and start that process. But at the same time, I enjoyed the last year and that in itself has been a transition, switching schools and everything. So I’m trying to enjoy it a lot before I turn pro. But I’m definitely looking forward to the next stage.”
With those plans, Clark eventually intends to reside in Scottsdale, Ariz., though he may be based in Las Vegas in his initial months as a professional. In the meantime, Clark said he’ll graduate from Oregon in June with a degree in General Social Science, geared toward business.
Clark is one of five Colorado residents expected to compete in the Pac-12 meet this weekend. For the host University of Colorado, there will be senior Ethan Freeman from Denver, junior Spencer Painton from Aurora and probably either senior Ryan Schmitz from Greenwood Village or sophomore Wilson Belk from Colorado Springs. In addition, Utah’s lineup will include sophomore Kyler Dunkle, the 2016 CGA Les Fowler Player of the Year.
As big an event as the Pac-12 Championship is regardless, it’ll be even moreso for the players who have grown up in Colorado.
“It’s a real fortunate thing for them, especially guys (from out-of-state schools) that are going to come back and play,” CU coach Roy Edwards said. “Our guys have been fired up since we announced it 2 1/2 years ago. There are only a few guys that will ever get this experience of playing (a conference championship) in their home state or on their home course. I think that’s a really cool experience.”
Clark, Freeman, Painton and Dunkle have each won at least one state high school title in Colorado.
“It means a lot being a Colorado kid and to come up and represent your state, represent your school and compete against some of the best teams and best players in the country,” said Painton, who transferred to CU in 2016 after two seasons at Kansas.
Besides Coloradans playing in the tournament, one head coach from a Pac-12 school has Colorado roots. Dustin White from Pueblo West, the 2006 winner of the Colorado Open and a U.S. Open qualifier that same year, is in his first season at the Washington State helm after previously being a WSU assistant. White played his college golf for the Cougars from 1999-2003.
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Men’s Pac-12 Conference Championship: Just the Essentials
When: April 28-30 (April 27 practice rounds). Tee times begin at 7:30 a.m. on April 28, 10 a.m. on April 29, and 8 a.m. on April 30.
Where: Boulder Country Club (7350 Clubhouse Rd., Boulder).
Admission: Free.
Format: 72 holes of stroke play: 36 on April 28 and 18 each on April 29 and 30. For the team competition, each school counts the best five of its six individual scores each day.
Boulder Country Club Course: 7,129 yards, Par-70.
Coloradans Expected to Compete: Ethan Freeman and Spencer Painton from the University of Colorado, along with probably either Ryan Schmitz or Wilson Belk; Wyndham Clark from Oregon; Kyler Dunkle from Utah.
TV: Taped coverage airing May 7 at noon on Pac-12 Network.
Defending Champion: Stanford, which has won the last three years. The Cardinal claimed the title by 29 strokes in 2016. Jon Rahm of Arizona State won the 2016 individual title as a senior and has since turned professional and won on the PGA Tour.
Where Did CU Finish Last Year?: Tied for sixth.
How Did Top Returning CU Player Fare in 2016?: Ethan Freeman (35th place).
CU’s Top Team Finish Since Joining Pac-12: Fourth in 2014.
CU’s Pac-12 Lineup: Senior Ethan Freeman; juniors Yannik Paul, Spencer Painton and John Souza; freshman Victor Bjorlow; and probably either senior Ryan Schmitz or sophomore Wilson Belk.
Honorary Starters: Prior to the first round on April 28, two former Big Eight champions from CU — Terry Kahl (1981) and Bob Kalinowski (1993 and ’94) — will serve as honorary starters and hit the first tee shots, a la the Masters.
Top 25 Nationally Ranked Teams in Field: Southern California (No. 1 by Golfstat and Golfweek), Stanford (No. 5 by Golfstat and No. 8 by Golfweek), Oregon (No. 8 by Golfstat and No. 10 by Golfweek), Arizona State (No. 22 by Golfweek), CU (No. 25 by Golfweek).
Top 10 Nationally Ranked Individuals in Field: Senior Wyndham Clark, Oregon (No. 1 by Golfstat and Golfweek); junior Sean Crocker, USC (No. 2 Golfstat, No. 4 Golfweek); senior Maverick McNealy, Stanford (No. 3 Golfweek, No. 4 Golfstat); freshman Norman Xiong, Oregon (No. 7 Golfstat, No. 8 Golfweek); sophomore Collin Morikawa, Cal (No 8 Golfstat, No. 9 Golfweek).
Players in Field in Top 50 in World Amateur Golf Rankings: 1. senior Maverick McNealy, Stanford; 8. junior Sean Crocker, USC; 9. sophomore Collin Morikawa, Cal; 13. Jared du Toit, Arizona State; 17. senior Rico Hoey, USC; 34. freshman Norman Xiong, Oregon; 48. senior Wyndham Clark, Oregon.
Stanford Coach Conrad Ray on Senior Maverick McNealy, the World’s Top-Ranked Amateur: “He’s almost at that stage where he’s in rare air. He’s tied with Tiger Woods and Patrick Rodgers for career wins at Stanford with 11. It would be neat for him to (do that) at the Pac-12s. It’s hard to put into words (what he’s meant to the program). It’s pretty neat to see him operate. He’s been a great leader for our team. He really flourishes within this environment; college golf at a really high level and high-level academics at the same time can coexist. They’re not mutually exclusive. He’s a great example of that. He’s a mechanical science and engineering major and he has a GPA north of 3.5. He’s doing great things and he’s a really good kid on top of it all. He’s very thoughtful and very humble to a fault sometimes when you talk to him. He’s had an immeasurable impact on our program, no question.”
