Wyndham Clark says that it is better for the game of golf that there is a dominant player but admits that there is a gulf in class between Scottie Scheffler and the rest of the PGA TOUR.
Scheffler has won three times on the PGA Tour this term including his second Masters title last weekend and nobody is better placed than Clark to comment on the quality of the world number one having lost out to him at Bay Hill and The PLAYERS Championship in successive weeks.
“Scottie is the best player in the world right now, and he’s been so consistent,” said the US Open champion who missed the cut on debut at Augusta National. “That’s one thing that I’ve really — I’ve been trying to get better at. I think when my game is on and his game is on, I think we both can battle it out, and I believe I can win tournaments against Scottie when he’s playing well.
“But the thing that I really am impressed by him is just the consistency that he’s always in contention, and either he wins or he finishes kind of top 5. I do think there’s a little gap right now, and I’m hoping as I progress as a player mentally and physically and everything that maybe by the end of the year or sometime next year maybe I’ve closed that gap a little bit.”
Clark admits he is looking up at Scheffler despite being ranked world number five himself. He feels Scheffler has raised the standard required to be the best but also sees it as a good thing as it will inspire the chasing pack to improve.
The 30-year-old hopes someone can develop a rivalry with Scheffler at the top of the game and believes he has the potential to step up to the plate.
“I think it’s better for players like myself because it’s challenging us to get a lot better and play better, and I think it just brings the overall quality of play up significantly when someone is playing that good all the time. I think everyone looks at themselves in the mirror and goes, what do I need to get better at because you feel like you’re playing good golf and you’re not beating him.
“I think it is good. I think it would be great if we could have multiple guys that are kind of battling it out all the time.
“I don’t know if that’s me or could be someone else, but I would love for it to be me, and I’m working as hard as I can to be that person.”
Clark believes his short game needs to improve rapidly if he is to even maintain his place in the top echelons of the game let alone challenging Scheffler on a consistent basis.
“I’ve got to improve my putting consistently. I think my short game at the beginning of this year until now has not been at the level that I think is has been in the past and can be, and then I think for me, I’ve got to be a little bit more focused on the golf course. I have been hitting some shots and making some kind of — just dumb plays not based off of course management or anything but just simply hitting shots without being focused and losing shots there.
“As I look at my game, those are probably the three things that I think I can improve on that if I’m shaving one shot a day, I win maybe — maybe I’m in a playoff against him at Bay Hill and then I win THE PLAYERS and then maybe it would be a different conversation. That’s stuff I’ve got to work on.
“We’ll see. It could happen overnight or it could be a year or two from now.”
Leave a comment