The US Open has a new champion in Wyndham Clark. The 29-year PGA golfer began his professional career roughly 7 years ago in 2016. However, with no important wins to his name, very few people outside the core golfing community recognized him.

But all that changed in 2023. This is Wyndham’s year to etch his name in history.

Wyndham Clark’s winnings are turning heads

For years now, Wyndham Clark has been on several professional events, striving, swinging, and putting to make his way to the top. However, he still remained in the background, with legendary players such as Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm, and other current golf giants dominating the leaderboard.

But he is no longer in the background. As of June 2023, he is the winner of two important tournaments, making $7.2 million in all from just these two wins.

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Clark made two good finishes on the scoreboard in 2020 but kept missing the cut for the major tournaments. He reevaluated and started playing more, working on his form and swing to improve his score.

Read More: Who Is Wyndham Clark’s Girlfriend? A Look Into the 2023 US Open Winner’s Low Profile Love Life With Partner, Alicia – EssentiallySports

His persistence paid off and things started changing for him once he entered the Wells Fargo Championship earlier this year. His first PGA tour win came at North Carolina’s Quail Hollow Club. As one of the designated PGA Tour events, the competition was tough. But in the end, Clark emerged victorious over Xander Schauffele by 4 shots.

To say that the Wells Fargo Champion was exhilarated wouldn’t do justice to the monumental moment in his life. He was beyond happy, and more so with the prize money he took home.

Earlier this year, the competitive world of professional golf decided to expand their purses in deference to the payouts offered by LIV Golf. Both the PGA Tour and the US Open offered $20 million, with 18% of the sum awarded to the winner. This meant winning the Wells Fargo PGA Championship fetched Wyndham $3.6 million in earnings.

Looking back at his career earnings as per Spotrac, in 2017, Clark made chump change short of $17000. The next year, he made $1200 shy of $70K. In the following years his income went thus:  $1,278,721 in 2019, $814,737 in 2020,  $1,198,800 in 2021, and $1,544,055 in 2022.

At last his time came. And this year in 2023, so far he made a total earning of $10,092,979. The majority of the amount, a sum of $7.2 million came from his two major winnings at the Wells Fargo and the US Open. So, he basically topped his entire career winnings from last seven years with only two wins.

Wyndham came very close to leaving golf

Looking at the two-time champion, fans wouldn’t believe how close he came to never getting to this position at all.

Wyndham started playing golf at the behest of his mother, Lise Clark who admired the sport. His father, Randall Clark forfeited his professional career in Tennis owing to injuries. Wyndham was inspired by him, but he was motivated to pursue golf by his mother.

Unfortunately, in 2013, when Wyndham was still in college, Lise Clark passed away due to breast cancer. Wyndham was heartbroken. He was playing college golf at the time, but it reminded him too much of his mother so he decided to quit the game altogether.

Once he learned to accept his grief and loss, he came to realize that his mother would probably want him to pursue the sport they both loved. So, instead of changing careers, he switched schools and moved from Oklahoma State to the University of Oregon. There he continued his endeavor to master the sport and prepared himself to go pro.

To think, if he hadn’t made the right choice at the time, Wyndham Clark would never have been known to his fans as a major champion. After winning his title and the massive earnings at the US Open, Clark remarked that “I just felt like my mom was watching over me today.” He misses his mother and was probably motivated more towards winning to prove her right. Way to go, Wyndham!

What did you think of Clark’s remarkable performance at the US Open 2023? Do you think he performed better than at the Wells Fargo Championship? Share with us your favorite moments below.

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