Wyndham Clark Confesses He Was Charged Money to Play Golf at the Height of PGA Tour Fame

It wouldn’t be untrue to say Wyndham Clark was on a hot streak on the PGA Tour during the 2022-2023 season. He notched two wins, including his first PGA Tour win at the Wells Fargo Championship and the 2023 U.S. Open title. That season turned out to be one of his most profitable, as he raked in $10,757,490 and finished among the top 10 money winners on the PGA Tour – a mark he’s having trouble hitting this season. Looking back at that standout season, you’d think the golf courses would be pretty friendly to the fresh U.S. Open champion.

But Wyndham Clark is here to burst your bubble. Currently playing at the 2025 FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis, the pro’s answer to “We’ve been asking everybody, when was the last time you paid for a round of golf?” was pretty interesting. Interesting as well as shocking.

“I paid Troon in Arizona about two years ago, charged me and I was shocked,” Wyndham Clark replied, “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.” As shocking as it is, golfers have to pay a green fee to play at Troon North in Arizona. Troon North’s a public course, and like most public courses, it charges a fee to access the course and its amenities.

Still, that doesn’t take away the shock of the situation. Think about the fact that those were Clark’s peak PGA Tour season earnings-wise, and just behind his 2024 season haul of $10,856,870.

Notably, Clark brought this up during a period when he was coping with a suspension due to his conduct on a legendary golf course. In June, Clark stirred up controversy by damaging lockers at Oakmont during the 2025 U.S. Open. Later, he expressed regret for doing something so awful and hopes that the Oakmont ban gets revoked.

Nevertheless, the moment is likely to stay in Wyndham Clark’s memory for a while now, even when he is “grinding” to make even half of his previous year’s earnings.

For Wyndham Clark, making it into the “next week is obviously the first goal”

For the 2025 season, Clark climbed from No. 80 to No. 49 in the rankings. He’s been on fire lately, finishing T-17 or better in four of his last five tournaments, with a standout T-4 finish at The Open being his season’s best so far. All in all, he has had two top 10 finishes and only 3 missed cuts out of 21 events played.

And when it comes to TPC Southwind, Clark’s got good vibes about it, as he nailed a T-7 last year.

To lock in a spot at the TOUR Championship at East Lake and keep his Ryder Cup dreams alive, he’ll need to finish no worse than 68th this week. Right now, he’s sitting 49th in the FedExCup standings, and snagging a ticket to the TOUR Championship would be a huge deal.

Talking about his goal to make it into the TOUR Championship, he said following the first round at Memphis, “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.” 

And he’s made a solid case for himself. He fired off an opening round of 67 (-3) at the FedEx St. Jude Championship on Thursday, and he’ll be looking to keep building on that over the next three days. Right now, he’s sitting top 10 in the field. Still, talking about his first pro, the pro seemed a little critical of himself, and said that he is “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.” Clark’s assessment of the conditions is spot on. TPC Southwind has undergone a massive transformation—its most extensive since 1998. The Ron Prichard-designed layout saw all 18 greens completely rebuilt and resurfaced, and the total yardage was stretched by 50 yards, bringing it to a demanding 7,288 yards. With penal rough and tighter fairways, the course demands precision from tee to green.

Still, Clark is holding his own. After an encouraging opening round and solid recent form, he’s proving he has both the resilience and momentum to keep pushing forward. With the stakes high and the road to East Lake narrowing, Wyndham Clark seems ready to grind his way into contention—just like he always has.