SOUTHAMPTON, New York, June 19 (Reuters) - Wyndham Clark hopes to win some fans back in pursuit of his second U.S. Open title at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, a year after a now-infamous locker room meltdown saw him banned from Oakmont Country Club for property destruction.
The 2023 U.S. Open winner wrecked a locker after missing the cut at the tournament last year, prompting Oakmont to prohibit him from returning to the property.
"I've gotten a lot of grief since last year, rightfully so. The thing that's unfortunate is that's not who I am, what happened last year," Clark told reporters at Southampton on Friday, where he was superb carding a seven-under par through two rounds.
"I'm hoping I can win back the fans that I had or some new fans because it was a terrible incident. I really feel like I can show people that I'm fun and outgoing, I'm fierce, competitive, love the game, respect the game, and I just had a bad moment. Hopefully I can win those people back."
The American has done well keeping his cool at the challenging Shinnecock course, doing great work off the tee after a swing coach helped him regain his momentum.
He had two top-five finishes on the PGA Tour this year, including a win at CJ Cup Byron Nelson.
"I was on top of the world in my game at least when I won the U.S. Open and then had some good years. Then next thing you know, I'm apologising for breaking a locker," Clark told reporters.
"With the mental game there's ebbs and flows. If you think of it as climbing Everest, sometimes you go up, sometimes you have to go down to go back up."
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in Southampton, New York, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
