ARNOLD PALMER INVITATIONAL

March 8, 2024

Wyndham Clark

Bay Hill Club and Lodge

Quick Quotes

Q. What was the best putt of all of 'em that you made today?

WYNDHAM CLARK: Probably, I mean, it's funny, probably -- the bogey putt on 12 was about a 5-footer. There's hardly any grass on the greens right now, they're so fast. That putt could have wiggled off line, and making a double there on essentially a birdie hole on the 12th would have been terrible. So, making that was huge, because it's kind of one of those momentum putts. Then I proceeded to birdie five of the last six.

Q. Struggles on Bermuda greens, was it just Bermuda in general or just the ones here?

WYNDHAM CLARK: It's funny, you know, I've had good weeks on Bermuda greens and not so good weeks. It's just more I haven't putted on 'em. Where I live in Arizona it's either bent or overseeded grass. Then all the West Coast is poa. And then I hadn't, I didn't play any tournaments leading up to this, so I just haven't been on Bermuda in a while.

Q. Which one of the five birdies on the last six holes was the most pleasing for you?

WYNDHAM CLARK: I would say I always -- a stat I always love to try to excel at and do well is a bounce back. So, birdieing 13 after bogeying 12 was huge. It's kind of a pretty straight putt and straight putts from 20 feet are so hard to make. We played just inside right and it stayed right where we wanted, and literally the last roll it went in. So, that was just huge, because it's always nice to bounce back after a bogey.

Q. You talked about a love/hate relationship with this place. Do you remember your first time here and what you were thinking leaving that week?

WYNDHAM CLARK: Yeah, I left early on a Friday and said, I don't think I'm ever coming back. I wouldn't have come back, but it's a signature event and hard to turn down coming to an event like this with all the best players. So, last year I played it and, honestly, I mean, to be honest, I really didn't have high expectations going into last year. I hit it really good and found myself kind of in the top 20 and I said, Okay, our game's progressed where I feel like I can play here. So, I kind of carried the same mentality into this week, and, honestly, for me, making the cut and to be where I'm at is a win on a course that maybe traditionally hasn't been my favorite.

Q. Your wins are a major, two signature events, you're in contention in another one, is there something about bigger events that you feel like you excel at?

WYNDHAM CLARK: Not particularly, I think it's --

Q. Good timing?

WYNDHAM CLARK: Just good timing. Shoot, I hope I continue to do in these big events, with the amount of points and money that there is, it's nice to time it correctly.

Q. What reactions have you heard to the Netflix episode on you?

WYNDHAM CLARK: I mean, thus far, the only thing I really know is from my friends and family, and they all gave me great feedback. They said they were pretty emotional and loved it, and so, yeah, all good stuff thus far.

Q. A lot of -- there's been a number, a few 80s out there, and it's a hard day. Did you see nine birdie at the start of your round?

WYNDHAM CLARK: I like to always think there's nine birdies out there, but, no, this golf course is one of the toughest courses on TOUR. There's no hole that just is, you know, there's no hole that just feels like a birdie, you have to always kind of sack up and hit a great shot, and if you do, then it becomes a birdie hole. Hole 6 is a great example. You got to hit a great tee shot, and then you have to hit a great second shot, but once you do that, it's a birdie hole. So, yeah, I mean, nine birdies out here didn't seem realistic, and so I really didn't even know I made nine birdies until someone told me.

Q. So we should say that you sacked up a lot today?

WYNDHAM CLARK: Yeah, I would say so. I don't know if you can write that or say that, but, yeah.

Q. I lost track, I think there's five or six guys now at 7, a bunch of guys at 6, and there you go. But what would it take on the weekend, assuming Bay Hill does what it usually does, to separate?

WYNDHAM CLARK: I mean, honestly, I bet you if I shot even par you would be in the top 5 and have a chance to win. Tomorrow's supposed to have some wind and be hot, so it's going to get firmer and faster, which it's already doing, into the greens, so even par tomorrow would be fantastic. Then it looks like maybe a little rain on Sunday, so it might ease up. But, yeah, I mean, if you, right now, if you said, hey, you shoot 3-under on the weekend, I would take it, because I think that would have a really good chance on the last couple holes.