As we enter the final round of the 2023 US Open, the leaderboard is full of big names. Rory McIlroy will play alongside Scotty Scheffler in Sunday’s penultimate pairing. They will come ahead of Rickie Fowler and tournament surprise Wyndham Clark.
Clark, having posted his third consecutive 1960s tour at the Los Angeles Country Club, met with the media to discuss his tour. Although he was pleased with the way he played Saturday, he couldn’t help but put the USGA on blast.
“It’s a little silly, we pared it of late. I would say around the 15th or 16th hole it’s starting to get where you can’t see that well…we played twilight golf…I 100 percent think the bogey 17 It was because I couldn’t see, I think,” Clark said, visibly frustrated.
Clark and Fowler were not scheduled to kick off until 6:45 PM ET and did not finish until approximately 11 PM ET. He seems to have a point.
“It was definitely a challenge. 17, 18… I literally couldn’t see, and we just knocked out the feel and how Ricky’s putt came, and then my 18 putt, same thing.”
The first group did not set off until shortly after noon on the east coast. These tee times were very easy to move around, eliminating that problem.
“It’s crazy to think that we’re doing this on the last two holes of a big job when we could have knocked it out two hours ago. Hopefully tomorrow we won’t have that problem.” Tell us what you really think Windham.
“I and Ricky definitely had a bit of a flaw on those last two holes played in the dark… I’ve never played a final round of any tournament in the dark.”
Just in case you were wondering why he didn’t call her Clark or Fowler, he talked about that too.
“Honestly, we both could have called it if we wanted to put it on the green and said, hey, I can’t see, we’ll play tomorrow, and I think that’s going to look pretty bad on both sides.”
Again, he’s right. It would have been a black eye for the USGA if they had not finished in time before dark. Not when there were hours to play in the morning. But also, it would have created a perception among some fans that the golfers themselves were floundering.
Interestingly enough, Windham Clark isn’t the only golfer to criticize the US Golf Association this week. Brooks Koepka, Victor Hovland and US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick all expressed their displeasure for one reason or another.
Tee times have been released for Sunday and the USGA has already moved them up, just over an hour.
Clark and Fowler are scheduled to go live at 5:30 p.m. ET. They share a 54-hole lead at 10 par. McIlroy is a one shot and Scheffler is chasing three back. Buckle up, it must be a fun ride.
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