“I’m not cheating:” Wyndham Clark firmly responds to Arnold Palmer Invitational controversy
Clark addressed the Arnold Palmer Invitational cheating fuss with a simple answer, insisting nothing wrong had happened.
Wyndham Clark entangled himself in a bit of a cheating scandal during the third round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
While in the 18th rough, Clark appeared to ground his club, moving the ball before hitting his second shot.
Following his round Saturday, Clark addressed the controversy.
“I wasn’t trying to cheat or anything like that or improve my lie. I just simply put my club down,” he said. “Obviously, they zoom in, and it makes it look worse… We all talked about it. Scottie [Scheffler], the rules official, didn’t think it moved. So, fortunately, that (a penalty) didn’t happen.”
Clarks answer in full: pic.twitter.com/qenjMvG9Jq
— Espen Blaker (@espenblaker) March 10, 2024
Clark shared the lead at 9-under heading onto the 18th hole. Off the tee, he went far right into the deep rough. That scenario is a gnarly one to get out of at Bay Hill Country Club.
While he and his caddie John Ellis decided what to hit, the reigning U.S. Open champion addressed the ball with a wedge. NBC cut the shot to a close up, and the ball appeared to move — sinking deeper into the grass.
A number of individuals in the industry, including Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee, believe the ball moved and that Clark should have been assessed a two-stroke penalty.
However, ruled officials ultimately deemed that the ball nestled back into its original position, therefore not improving his lie.
That didn’t stop speculation from ensuing on social media.
Once the world saw it, people began destroying Clark, calling him a cheater and the next Patrick Reed. The broadcasters all saw some kind of movement while they watched.
Yet, PGA Tour lead TV rules and video analyst Mark Dusbabek said on air that he didn’t think Clark did anything wrong and what happened was within the rules.
Clark sits in solo third at 8-under after he recorded a 1-under 71 on Saturday. The 30-year-old is one shot behind the 54-hole leaders Scottie Scheffler and Shane Lowry.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, be sure to follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.