PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Wyndham Clark’s decision to stay with the PGA Tour and reject an enormous payday from LIV bore quick fruit with his victory at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, and $3.6 million deposited into his bank account.
Clark confirmed rumors that he had met with LIV officials and “did his due diligence,” speaking with representatives from both sides.
“I wanted to see what they could bring to the table,” he said Sunday during a virtual press conference after the AT&T was shortened to 54 holes and he was declared the champion. “I ultimately declined going to LIV because I felt like I still have a lot of things left in the tank on the PGA Tour and I wanted to chase records, I wanted to chase world ranking. My dream is to try to be one of the top players in the world if not the top player. I just grew up always imagining winning PGA Tour events. So I ultimately, I chose my legacy over LIV. … that’s really what it came down to.”
Clark, 30, won the U.S. Open in June, which makes him eligible for that major for the next 10 years and the other three majors for the next five. Like major winners Jon Rahm, Cameron Smith and Bryson DeChambeau before him, Clark didn’t have to worry about his world ranking falling outside of the cut off for an automatic exemption into the majors.
He was rumored to be in line to join Rahm’s new team for this season and give LIV three of the four reigning major winners.
“I felt like if I was going to make a life-changing decision, I wanted to make sure I did all the right things and call the right people, get the right information, understand what both tours are doing, what I should do, et cetera,” he explained.
He credited player directors Adam Scott, Patrick Cantlay and Jordan Spieth on the PGA Tour policy board with helping him come to the conclusion that the Tour was the right place for him – at least for the time being.
Wyndham Clark and Jordan Spieth walk across the 18th green during the third round of the 2023 WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo: Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
“And Tiger Woods, sorry, and Tiger Woods, please put that in there,” Clark said of the oversight while failing to mention player directors Webb Simpson and Peter Malnati. “They put so much effort in making sure that the PGA Tour is going to make the right moves to continue to try to be the best tour.
“And they also really gave me some great advice and some counsel. I didn’t want them to sway me in a certain way, but I definitely wanted their counsel and I just wanted to honor them and the amount of time and work and effort they have put into this agreement now with SSG (Strategic Sports Group) and where the Tour is going.”
Clark seemed to leave the door slightly ajar that his commitment to the Tour could change in the future. He wouldn’t be the first pro to make the jump after proclaiming their fealty to the Tour.
“You know, I don’t know what the future holds with my career and what the PGA Tour and LIV is going to do, but at least for this season I am 100 percent set on the PGA Tour and I want to try to get to as high in the world as I possibly can.”
Clark, who entered the AT&T at a career-best No. 10 and leaped to No. 6 with his win on the Monterey Peninsula, is off to a great start.