Wyndham Clark’s hopes of winning Olympic gold are all-but over after the US golfer suffered a catastrophic opening round in Paris.
Clark is one of four Americans chasing victory over four rounds at Le Golf National near Paris in this year’s Games.
But the 2023 US Open Champion sits in a tie for 56th – in a 60-man field – after a disastrous opening-round 75.
It could have been even worse for Clark, whose round began bogey, double bogey, bogey. Two of his opening three tee shots found the water, with the other flirting with disaster, too.
He succeeded in stemming the bleeding over the final 15 holes, finding three birdies but also amassing three more dropped shots.
Wyndham Clark’s hopes of winning Olympic gold are all-but over after a disastrous first round
Two of his opening three tee shots found the water, with the other also flirting with disaster
It leaves Clark on four-over-par alongside India‘s Gaganjeet Bhullar and world No 134 Daniel Hillier of New Zealand.
So after only one round, the 30-year-old Clark is already 12 shots off leader Hideki Matsuyama of Japan.
Fortunately for the United States, both Xander Schauffele and world No 1 Scottie Scheffler fared better during Thursday’s opening round.
Schauffele, who has already won the PGA Championship and Open Championship in 2024, is second – two shots adrift of Matsuyama.
Scheffler, meanwhile, is in an nine-way tie for sixth on four-under-par. He is joined by the likes of Britain’s Tommy Fleetwood and Spanish star Jon Rahm.
Collin Morikawa is three shots further back on one-under-par, while Ireland’s Rory McIlroy sits in a tie for 15th on three-under-par.
