Wyndham Clark Admits That He 'Screwed Up' Ahead Of Ryder Cup, Is Changing Things Up For Presidents Cup

Hindsight is always 20/20 looking back at a situation that didn't go as planned, but to say the 2023 Ryder Cup didn't go as planned for Team USA would be doing a disservice because it was a roaring dumpster fire for the American side.

Wyndham Clark was one of the 11 other Americans who were embarrassed by Team Europe in Rome a year ago, and as he gets set to represent the U.S. for a third time in his first-ever Presidents Cup later this month, he's not looking to make the same mistakes he did in the lead up to the Ryder Cup.

"I think the last time I screwed up," Clark admitted about his preparation for the Ryder Cup. "I took too much time off and wasn’t quite prepared for the Ryder Cup, and this year I wanted to make sure I don’t do that. There’s no preparation better than playing against the best players. I think this is the best prep you can have."

Clark teeing it up in this week's Procore Championship, a Fall Series event with a lackluster field, proves he's not only talking the talk but walking the walk.

The ‘screwing up’ Clark referred to wasn't solely his fault, it really fell on scheduling.

Wyndham Clark admits the major screw up he performed ahead of last year's disastrous Ryder Cup. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)

Last year's Tour Championship wrapped up on August 27, a full month before the Ryder Cup began on September 29. This left Clark and his U.S. teammates with far too much time off between competitive rounds.

"Last year it was realistically four weeks (off)," Clark said during his pre-tournament press conference. "And then by the time you pegged it up to play, it was the fifth week, so it’s five weeks. I mean, I would never prepare for a big event where I had five weeks off between one tournament to the next."

"I felt like a lot of us weren’t prepared," he continued. "If it’s something that I do myself or hopefully Team USA kind of makes it mandatory that everyone does it, I think we should all play before. I know we have such a grueling schedule and we all just played the Tour Championship, but if we can just do – it’s just one more week to play and to keep us sharp so that we can win, I think it’s worth it."

The lack of competitive reps were the biggest cause for concern from everyone on the outside looking in when it came to Team USA heading into Rome, and Clark's admission proves everyone who was skeptical was spot on.

It's not just a safe bet, it's a guarantee that plenty of Team USA's players will be pegging it an event or two between the conclusion of the 2025 season and the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black at the end of September.