FEDEX ST. JUDE CHAMPIONSHIP

August 7, 2025

Wyndham Clark

TPC Southwind

Quick Quotes

Q. How would you characterize the round today?

WYNDHAM CLARK: Grinding. This course with the new greens and with how high the rough is, if you don't hit the fairway, it's tough. I had a little stretch where I missed the fairway by like a yard or two and you have to really grind to make pars. I made a lot of good putts, but I'm really pleased with how I started.

Q. You talked yesterday about a conversation with John about getting back to some old stuff ball-striking wise. What was that conversation and what have been the results of that?

WYNDHAM CLARK: I would say kind of around -- right around the U.S. Open is when we started kind of going back to some old things, and I would say right as Travelers started, we really started hitting some good shots. Really since Travelers we've played some nice golf, we just haven't put it together for four years.

Q. You've been with the Jailbird forever. What did it take to get into the LAB?

WYNDHAM CLARK: I've been trying the LAB, honestly, for four or five years. At home I would mess with it all the time. I played two tournaments with it maybe about four years ago.

But it was always the big one, and I didn't personally like the big one. So when they came out with the small one, I still always liked it. J.J. Spaun and I practice a lot at Whisper Rock, and sometimes I would grab his and hit with it.

I had putted just very average this year, and in Detroit I went to the putting green on Monday and just tried a million different putters, and the LAB was the best one, and we've really started to make some nice putts.

Q. With where you are in the FedExCup and how important being inside the top 50 is, has this tournament become more important than even making it to the TOUR Championship because of what you get if you make it inside the top 50?

WYNDHAM CLARK: Yeah, it's kind of seemed that way. The goal is always the TOUR Championship. But yeah, that top 50 sets you up really well for the next year.

So yeah, I still want to try to get to TOUR Championship, but making it to next week is obviously the first goal.

Q. I know you've just spoken about how the greens are since they did the renovations. What different approaches did you take this round and throughout the practice rounds just to get ready compared to years in the past here in Memphis?

WYNDHAM CLARK: It always is really tough to make putts here because of the grain change. It was so difficult. But the greens were way more receptive, so you could be in the rough anywhere and you could hit a good shot. Now the greens are really pure, so it's easier to make putts, but the greens are super firm, and if you hit it in the rough you almost can't hold the green.

Pretty much if you hit it in the rough you're looking where is the best place to get up-and-down, and you need green to work with.

That's probably the biggest adjustment, and I felt like today we did a good job with that. When we got into a bad spot, we gave ourselves the opportunity to get up-and-down.

Q. We've been asking everybody, when was the last time you paid for a round of golf?

WYNDHAM CLARK: I paid Troon in Arizona about two years ago charged me and I was shocked. But yeah, I paid 75 bucks and they said it was a good discount, which I think it is. I was really shocked. But prior to that, yeah, it's been seven, eight years.

Q. You talked at The Open about dealing with the expectations after all the success the last few years. What have you learned about expectations or have you changed a mental approach to deal with them or do you feel like you're handling them better?

WYNDHAM CLARK: Yeah, I think a little bit was I got so focused on score and making Ryder Cup teams and points and Comcast and whatever and outside stuff, all the sponsorship things, and really what I've done is just gone back to what I do daily on the practice area and then when I go out and play, that's all I'm focused on, and really not worried about any sort of outcomes.

Q. Returning to the recipe that led to that success?

WYNDHAM CLARK: Yeah, not that I would ever leave that. It's just -- I know I had a lot of success in '23 and '24 and I wasn't trying to change or do anything different. You just sometimes get sidetracked and you think you're doing those things but then you realize you're still focused on certain things. I'm really just trying to get back into my little tunnel vision and not really look at what's going on around me.