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Wyndham Clark defied the odds by winning the US Open last weekend, his first-ever major title. It was just months ago that he even earned his first win in any PGA Tour event, so this was certainly a big surprise. He fended off Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler on the final day, as well as world number one Scottie Scheffler, to win by a single stroke.
He comes into this weekend's Travelers Championship riding a high most golfers haven't experienced this year, except for Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka. Will it translate into a big performance once more? Possibly, but a victory in this tournament after a victory in last weekend's major is very unlikely.
Why Wyndham Clark may not win this weekend
3) He's far from the favorite
While he's certainly not a long shot, Clark is by no means the betting favorite this weekend. It's a pretty impressive field, which leaves the reigning US Open champion with the 12th-best (tied with several other golfers) odds of winning:
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- Scottie Scheffler +600
- Patrick Cantlay +900
- Rory McIlroy +1000
- Jon Rahm +1000
- Xander Schauffele +1200
- Viktor Hovland +2000
- Tommy Fleetwood +2200
- Tony Finau +2500
- Collin Morikawa +2800
- Tom Kim +3300
- Russell Henley +3300
- Wyndham Clark +4000
- Max Homa +4000
- Matt Fitzpatrick +4000
- Rickie Fowler +4000
That doesn't make him a bad choice and he can certainly defy these slightly underwhelming odds and win. He defied the odds and won last weekend at the Open, so there's no reason he can't do it again. It's just not very likely.
2) He's already behind
Winning doesn't always require a hot start at the PGA Tour, but it certainly doesn't hurt. Clark isn't off to a stellar beginning, falling six shots behind the leader. He is two under par, which is a solid start, but a repeat victory would likely need a -8 like Keegan Bradley has posted.
There are several rounds in a tournament for a reason, but for Clark to do what is borderline impossible, it's going to take a much better performance this weekend.
1) It's very difficult to repeat
No PGA Tour winner this year has repeated in the following event. Every single tournament this year, including all majors, has had a different winner the very next weekend. Jon Rahm almost did it, winning the Tournament of Champions and The American Express, but they bookended the Sony Open.
In fact, no tournament this year has had its winner place in the top five the next weekend. The PGA Tour has such excellent competition that repeating as a victor is difficult. The odds of it are low and anecdotally, it hasn't happened once this season.
Wyndham Clark is obviously a good golfer, but he's probably not good enough to break the streak. At least not in a tournament with such good golfers. Even if he plays well, it is still a long shot.
