Wyndham Clark’s week in Michigan started with a perfect strike at Comerica Park and opened at Detroit Golf Club with something far less tidy.
The reigning U.S. Open champion shot 1-over 71 in Thursday’s first round of the Rocket Classic, leaving himself work to do if he wants to play the weekend. While the leaderboard was going low around him, Clark never quite found enough momentum to keep pace and sits 10 shots behind early leader Peter Malnati.
The round had a promising stretch in the middle. Clark began on the back nine and picked up birdies at the par-5 14th and par-3 15th to get to 2 under. But the finish turned messy, with bogeys at the long par-4 sixth and seventh holes, then another dropped shot after he found the left bunker on the par-3 ninth and failed to get up and down.
It was a rougher scorecard than Clark would have liked, especially after the kind of run he’s been on since May. He has four top-10 finishes in seven starts, along with two wins, and he’s ranked ninth in the Official World Golf Rankings and fourth in the PGA Tour playoff points race. He did miss the cut in his last start, the British Open earlier this month.
Still, this is hardly a downbeat week for Clark. Michigan has taken on a familiar feel for him, thanks in part to his relationship with Metro Detroit native Emily Tanner, 31. Tanner, an Instagram model, social-media influencer and Michigan State alumna, has made this a home-away-from-home kind of stop.
“I mean, I've always enjoyed coming here,” Clark said this week. “Now, I have a little more of a family relationship here. My girlfriend's from this area, so that makes it really fun.
“Kind of a home week, it feels like.”
Clark lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, while Tanner is based in Los Angeles, but they’ve been spending part of the summer in Michigan, including some time on the water over the July 4 holiday. Tanner and her friends and family were expected to be in the gallery all week at Detroit Golf Club.
“For her to come home, see her friends and kind of show me her stomping grounds has been amazing,” Clark said.
The couple also made a stop at Tuesday night’s Tigers-Baltimore Orioles game at Comerica Park before the tournament began. Clark threw out the ceremonial first pitch and fired a fastball right down the middle. Tigers third-base coach Billy Boyer caught it and told Clark it was the best first pitch of the season.
Clark wore a No. 2 Tigers jersey, which may have been a nod to his two U.S.
Open titles. The latest came last month at Shinnecock Hills in New York, where he celebrated with Tanner on the 18th green.
Clark has called Tanner his “good-luck charm” since they began dating. They went public at the Masters in April, when she caddied for him in that week’s par-3 contest.
“It’s just fun to be there and support him,” Tanner told Johnny Kane on Detroit SportsNet before Tuesday’s Tigers game. “And, you know, watching someone you love do what they love.”
Clark is playing the Rocket Classic for the fourth time and finished tied for eighth in 2022. Even after Thursday’s uneven start, he made it clear the week still carries some appeal.
“A bummer that we're not coming back next year,” Clark said.
The Rocket Classic ends after this year, but Clark figures he’ll have plenty of reasons to return to Michigan anyway.
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