Wyndham Clark gave a steely explanation after being accused of using multiple irons to better his lie before a shot during the final round of BMW Championship.
Clark came under fire after a questionable turn of events on the 14th hole at Bellerive Country Club on Sunday, which even got called out on the CBS broadcast.
What are the cheating allegations?
After hitting his tee shot into the rough, Clark began to approach his ball with an iron, placing it behind the ball and then taking a few practice swings. He then changed his mind, took out another iron and repeated the process.
The two-time U.S. Open then tried out a third club, doing the same routine as his caddie, David Pelekoudas, stepped between the golfer and the camera during the process.
After returning to his bag for a fourth club, Clark did the routine and hit his shot — while CBS analysts Trevor Immelman and Frank Nobilo called attention to the potential violation.
“He’s taking a long look at this, this is like the third club he’s placed down behind the ball there,” Immelman said.
“So the lie might be better,” Nobilo added.
The footage and comments were enough to send social media and golf fans into a frenzy, asking Clark deserved a penalty for the infringement, though one never came.
The American went on to win the tournament by three shots and hold a ton of momentum heading into this week’s Tour Championship.
What did Wyndham Clark say?
During his news conference on Tuesday ahead of the FedExCup playoff finale, Clark was asked about the controversial moment and the golfer took the chance to explain his side of the story.
“I think any player, when they’re trying to judge a lie, takes out different clubs to see what it feels like,” Clark said. “I never fully put the club down behind it. I don’t think anything of it.
“When the cameras are on you, they’re going to find anything. And I think you saw that in Bryson (DeChambeau)’s case. It happened to me at the U.S. Open, it happened to me at Bay Hill. It’s happened to a lot of guys where they can see stuff that maybe looks like something that maybe it’s not.
“That lie was never bad. It was more just judging what it was. By no means did I take a bad lie and make it really good.”
Clark concluded his response by shrugging off any sort of fan criticism.
“People can think what they want,” he said. “I know I didn’t do anything that was costing the integrity of the field. That’s all I’ve got to say about that.”
What does the rulebook say?
According to USGA Rule 8.1b(4), players are allowed to “ground the club lightly right in front of or right behind the ball.”
As Clark himself mentioned, this isn’t the first time that he has faced such allegations.
Earlier this year during the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills — which he also won — he was accused of using a similar tactic to improve his lie.
At this year’s Open Championship, DeChambeau was assessed a two-stroke penalty for “improving the area of his intended swing” after he was spotted walking around an area and appearing to stamp down some high grass while looking for his ball in the fescue.