Wyndham Clark did not hold back when it comes to shattering the aspirations of professional players in other sports who think they can make it to the highest level of golf by just putting in the work. The 2023 US Open winner completely dismissed the possibility, saying there is no chance of it happening.
Clark was a guest on The Rich Eisen Show to discuss Netflix‘s new season of “Full Swing,” which premiered this week.
The host took the opportunity to talk about some NFL players who think they can make it at the pro level in golf, which prompted jokes from the three-time PGA Tour winner.
“That’s like me saying I could be starting left tackle for the Denver Broncos,” Clark said. “I think it’s no chance. I’ve played with a lot of good golfers that are either NFL guys, or NBA guys, or baseball guys, and they are good, they’re scratch, maybe plus one or two but at the end of the day it’s just a totally different level.”
Clark even brought up the PGA Tour‘s term for those players who could be considered at the highest level if the professional level did not exist.
“We call it ‘Country Club Good,’ you know. They’re good at their country club and they might beat us in a money game with their strokes that they get. But when they get inside the arena, inside the ropes on the PGA Tour, at really tough golf courses, we’d probably beat them by 8 to 12 shots a day.”
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Eisen probably wasn’t expecting such a stinging response and asked for a case that could save golf’s honor from the stars of other sports.
Legendary former NFL quarterback and well-known golf enthusiast Tony Romo‘s name came up, but Wyndham Clark didn’t back down and forcefully set clear boundaries on quality levels.
“Just ask Romo how much money he’s given to Scottie Scheffler in money games they play in Dallas. If it’s not in six figures, then I’ll be shocked… He’s over the cap…”
As if he hadn’t already made his point, Clark backed it up with an example of how Romo has finished in the amateur events they’ve both entered in the past.
“Romo is great, don’t get me wrong, Romo is fantastic. I played amateur events, when I was in college, where he was part of it, and he shot good scores, but his good scores… he was still finishing on the bottom half, and that’s amateur golf, and then you go to the professional level, it’s even higher.”
Golf is extremely popular with stars of other sports, who often choose it as a sideline.
In addition to Romo, the list includes Michael Jordan, Michael Phelps, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Steph Curry and many others. Among younger players, golf’s popularity has only grown, as evidenced by the declared efforts of Caitlin Clark and Saquon Blarkley to improve their handicaps.
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