It’s closing in on 6 a.m. at Oakmont Country Club. The first tee time is in just about *** couple of hours, but the first action on the course is minutes away. Great work yesterday. Rotary looked fantastic. As the ground’s maintenance team gathers for what has the feeling of *** pregame speech, the game plan for the day is outlined by the man who orchestrates this operation, Grounds superintendent Mike McCormick. Rosenthal, you’re on raking bunkers. you can hop on *** roller. We’re going to double roll greens. Even before the sun is up, *** host of preparations are checked off the list. This is the drill every day at Oakmont, and at this stage every day is *** dress rehearsal for the bright lights of the US Open, which returns here next month. Our standards are always very high here at Oakmont for how we present the golf course, but the stakes are higher than ever. As you lead up to the championship and uh just really like dialing in every single imaginable detail. More than *** dozen members of the grounds team are from Western Pennsylvania, so having *** hand in *** championship at Oakmont adds to their work experience, and for some, the job carries some rather significant responsibilities. For one of my responsibilities during the US Open week is to cut the cups for the tournament Thursday through Sunday. Um, and that process starts with finding *** good hole location, rolling balls at it. It’s more of an art form than *** piece of machinery. Every player is gonna have *** ball roll into the cup that you cut, so it’s just you’re gonna be able to see it on TV every single hole and every single round. Probably the greatest honor for me is to work with our own grounds maintenance team as we lead up to this championship. The fact that our team gets to really harness our professional goals on this piece of property is is *** dream come true for each and every one of us. And one final note, while *** century plus has passed since Oakmont’s opening, *** number of the elements look exactly like they did when the course opened back in 1903. In fact, two years ago, Oakmont underwent an historic restoration to return the course to its original design for this US Open and many championships to come. I’m Ryan Reker, Pittsburgh’s Action News for.
Wyndham Clark said Sunday he feels “terrible” about damaging a locker at century-old Oakmont during the U.S. Open and that he wants to make good with the Pittsburgh-area country club and longtime U.S. Open site.Club president John Lynch sent Oakmont members a letter last week saying Clark would not be allowed back on the property until he paid for repairs and got counseling for his anger.Media were not allowed in the locker room, but a photo was leaked.“I feel terrible with what happened. I’m doing anything I can to try to remedy the situation,” Clark said after he shot 65 in the final round and tied for fourth in the British Open. “We’re trying to keep it private between Oakmont, myself and the USGA. … I’m hoping we can get past this and move on and hope there’s no ill will towards me and Oakmont.”It’s been a rough year for Clark, who was on the verge of missing a second straight cut in a major when he opened with a 76 at Royal Portrush. He rallied with rounds of 66-66-65 for his best finish in a major since he won the 2023 U.S. Open.He also threw a club at the PGA Championship after a poor tee shot that damaged a sign and nearly hit a volunteer.“I’ve been pretty open about my mental shift and change to get better, and I did that in ’23 and ’24,” Clark said. “And then having a tough year and all the expectations and just frustration all coming together, and I did two stupid things.“But one thing that it did do is wake me up and get me back into the person I know I am and the person I want to be,” he said. “I hope those things don’t reflect because I don’t think they reflect on who I am, and going forward that stuff is not going to happen again.”The U.S. Open returns to Oakmont in 2033, the final year of Clark’s exemption for winning. Asked if he expected to be there, Clark said: “I don’t know. That’s up to them. I would hope so. It’s a fantastic course and place. I did something awful, and I’m really sorry for it.“Hopefully they have it in their heart to forgive me, and maybe in the future I’ll be able to play there.”Lynch said in the letter, which was obtained by Golf Digest, that reinstatement would depend on Clark paying for damage, making a meaningful contribution to a charity of the Oakmont board’s choice and completing an anger management course.“Obviously it’s a no-brainer to pay for the damages. That was a given,” Clark said. “Then obviously all the apologies, and I want to give back to the community because I hurt a great place in Pittsburgh, so I wanted to do anything I can to show them that what happened there was not a reflection of who I am and won’t happen again.”
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland (AP) —
Wyndham Clark said Sunday he feels “terrible” about damaging a locker at century-old Oakmont during the U.S. Open and that he wants to make good with the Pittsburgh-area country club and longtime U.S. Open site.
Club president John Lynch sent Oakmont members a letter last week saying Clark would not be allowed back on the property until he paid for repairs and got counseling for his anger.
Media were not allowed in the locker room, but a photo was leaked.
“I feel terrible with what happened. I’m doing anything I can to try to remedy the situation,” Clark said after he shot 65 in the final round and tied for fourth in the British Open. “We’re trying to keep it private between Oakmont, myself and the USGA. … I’m hoping we can get past this and move on and hope there’s no ill will towards me and Oakmont.”
It’s been a rough year for Clark, who was on the verge of missing a second straight cut in a major when he opened with a 76 at Royal Portrush. He rallied with rounds of 66-66-65 for his best finish in a major since he won the 2023 U.S. Open.
He also threw a club at the PGA Championship after a poor tee shot that damaged a sign and nearly hit a volunteer.
“I’ve been pretty open about my mental shift and change to get better, and I did that in ’23 and ’24,” Clark said. “And then having a tough year and all the expectations and just frustration all coming together, and I did two stupid things.
“But one thing that it did do is wake me up and get me back into the person I know I am and the person I want to be,” he said. “I hope those things don’t reflect because I don’t think they reflect on who I am, and going forward that stuff is not going to happen again.”
The U.S. Open returns to Oakmont in 2033, the final year of Clark’s exemption for winning. Asked if he expected to be there, Clark said: “I don’t know. That’s up to them. I would hope so. It’s a fantastic course and place. I did something awful, and I’m really sorry for it.
“Hopefully they have it in their heart to forgive me, and maybe in the future I’ll be able to play there.”
Lynch said in the letter, which was obtained by Golf Digest, that reinstatement would depend on Clark paying for damage, making a meaningful contribution to a charity of the Oakmont board’s choice and completing an anger management course.
“Obviously it’s a no-brainer to pay for the damages. That was a given,” Clark said. “Then obviously all the apologies, and I want to give back to the community because I hurt a great place in Pittsburgh, so I wanted to do anything I can to show them that what happened there was not a reflection of who I am and won’t happen again.”