2025 U.S. Open: (Point) Missers
Those who had less than idyllic weeks at Oakmont.
If I could separate the top (Point) Misser from the rest? I would.
Wyndham Clark. Two straight majors. Acting like a DB. The 2023 U.S. Open champion arrived off a PGA Championship where he threw a club backwards and nearly hit a marshal. He apologized for damaging the sign and one of his sponsors thought it was cute. Still, one might assume Clark would be on better behavior at Oakmont. He was not. Privately circulated photos went public Sunday, with on-site sources confirming the damage to Wyndham Clark’s locker was the result of Wyndham Clark. He has not apologized nor denied this: after missing the cut by one stroke, Clark went all rock star on his locker along with the one next to his. Did he think he was Keith Moon? Or HOF room trasher Joe Walsh? At least Joe wrote Pretty Maids All In A Row which Dylan said “could be one of the best songs ever.” And he’s Joe Walsh. You’re Wyndham. Not a rock star. The latest bad behavior is even more embarrassing since these are not just any lockers. Check out Jon Cavalier’s Instagram deep dive into the details of the historic stalls dating to 1903. Or remember what the USGA’s Chief Championships Officer said last week about the locker room.” For those of you that haven't been in the locker room here, maybe it's not this week, but in the future, I'll leave you with something,” John Bodenhamer said. “It's an indelible image on my mind and always will be. Not only the lockers but the benches. The benches in that locker room are the same benches that were here when Jones played and Hogan played and Nicklaus and Palmer played. When you go in…those spike marks are from those players, Hagen, Sarazen, all those great players. Those are the ghosts that make this place special.” That Clark hasn’t apologized and offered to pay for the repairs only makes the tantrum worse. He’s exempt through 2033 when Oakmont next hosts so he might want to mop this one up ASAP.
Tyrrell Hatton. Another major contending and another impregnable quadrilateral championship where Hatton wasted gobs of energy whining, slamming clubs, and blaming others. This time, Hatton declared it bad luck when Sunday’s 17th hole tee shot finished in the jaws of Big Mouth. Note to Tyrrell: we label these short, strategic holes “risk/reward” because taking the aggressive route means that when you are offline, you should accept the risks involved. Sure, the layup area wasn’t as ample as it could have been but there is no rule requiring you to drive the green. Try taking responsibility for the outcome. Assuming you want to win a major some day.
Caddie Mark Carens. We understand the extenuating circumstances. It was raining (again) and your SoCal client J.J. Spaun doesn’t do rain (based on his words and the way he kept running for umbrella-cover when the skies opened up). We also realize that your man had just made one of the most amazing putts in golf history and you were “blacking out.” But Mark, buddy, you made a mess of the winning putt photos. The whole Fred Astaire thing? As if you’re rehearsing for a 21st century revival of Singin’ In The Rain? Not great. Particularly with another group yet to play the hole. Occasional friendly reminder: no one pays full admission to watch you carry luggage and scrub balls.
Kevin Kisner. Remember when NBC Sports President Rick Cordello and EVP of Ruining Production Sam Flood flew to Aiken in hopes of luring the journeyman pro away from the course to replace Paul Azinger as lead NBC analyst? As if they’d found out Bobby Jones was alive, well and hawking cashmere hoodies on YouTube. Look, people grow into jobs and sometimes execs spot something no one else could see. Next thing you know it, a trusted voice emerges. Kisner could grow in the job and he’s not offensive or absurdly egotistical like Greg Norman’s in his Fox years year. But Kisner did not seem very engaged in proceedings that were predictably zany. Maybe that’s his style and plays to the trying-too-hard bros NBC seems obsessed with reaching. Kisner didn’t sound that excited about working his first major and maybe his past hate of the USGA played a part in pretty relentlessly stating the obvious. Kisner was not helped by Sunday’s juxtaposition of his inanity with a replay featuring Johnny Miller’s 2008 U.S. Open work. It’s also possible that he’s a victim of the chaotic “four-wide” announce setup that’s a total free-for-all and which reduced the on-course reporters to bit players (in a week when on-the-ground views were essential to telling the story).