Denver native Wyndham Clark savors U.S. victory in his Presidents Cup debut, which marks his first team win as a pro while competing for America. Jennifer Kupcho scores another top-10 on LPGA Tour
By Gary Baines – 9/29/2024
In the same month that Jennifer Kupcho was part of a winning U.S. team for the first time as a pro, fellow Colorado native Wyndham Clark followed suit on Sunday.
The Valor Christian graduate, who represented America at last year’s Ryder Cup but was part of a loss to Europe, was able to savor victory on Sunday in his first Presidents Cup — similar to how Kupcho did in her third Solheim Cup two weeks earlier.
“We had so much camaraderie and positive energy between us,” Kupcho said of the American squad. “When things weren’t going well, we still were all picking each other up. It was an amazing team room. So many laughs, so many fond memories.
“… I think we all just have a little bit of dog in us. I feel like we’re the best players in the world for a reason, and I think you get us all together, and I just think we have a little extra something that maybe other people don’t have. I think it’s the little dog in us.”
And while the Americans had already clinched the Cup by the time Clark wrapped up his singles match on Sunday in Montreal, the Denver native did contribute to the victory margin as the U.S. prevailed 18.5-11.5 over the International squad. The impending Colorado Golf Hall of Famer — he’ll be inducted on Dec. 1 along with Kupcho and four others — scored a singles tie against Min Woo Lee on Sunday.
That gave Clark, the first Colorado high school graduate since Hale Irwin in 1994 to play in Presidents Cup, a 1-2-1 record for the week. He went 1-1 in four-ball matches, tied his singles matchup and lost in his lone foursomes session.
Clark’s victory came alongside 2025 U.S. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley, who won the BMW Championship at Castle Pines Golf Club a month ago. As it turned out, Bradley scored the Cup-clinching point on Sunday as he posted a 1-up victory over Si Woo Kim, who missed an 8-foot birdie try on 18 that could have forced a tie in their singles match.
As for Clark’s match on Sunday, he rallied from a 2-hole deficit after nine holes and took a lead with a conceded 3-foot birdie on 14. That marked the first lead change Clark had experienced in any of his Presidents Cup matches this week.
Clark earned a tie in Sunday singles with Australian Min Woo Lee.
Lee, who hadn’t competed since the Thursday session, tied things again on 15 when Clark hit his tee shot in the water and missed a 7-foot par attempt. But the Colorado native retook the upper hand when he made his fourth birdie in eight holes on the par-3 17th, sinking a 5-footer. But Clark conceded Lee a 2-foot, 5-inch birdie putt after the Australian stuck his approach on No. 18 from 164 yards. And when Clark couldn’t sink his birdie chip from the deep rough left of the green — it finished 2 feet from the cup — they finished with a tie.
The team victory was another high point for Clark, currently the No. 6-ranked player in the world, in a year in which he won for the third time on the PGA Tour. He also represented the U.S. in the Olympics, where he finished 14th individually.
HOW WYNDHAM CLARK FARED AT THE 2024 PRESIDENTS CUP
Thursday Four-Ball
Wyndham Clark and Keegan Bradley, U.S., def. Taylor Pendrith and Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Internationals, 1 up
Friday Foursomes
Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes, Internationals, def. Wyndham Clark and Tony Finau, U.S., 6 and 5
Saturday Four-Ball
Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim, Internationals, def. Wyndham Clark and Keegan Bradley, U.S., 4 and 3
Sunday Singles
Wyndham Clark, U.S., tied with Min Woo Lee, Internationals
For all the results from the Presidents Cup, CLICK HERE.
— Elsewhere in professional golf for players with strong Colorado ties:
Colorado native Jennifer Kupcho tied for seventh on Sunday at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, marking her sixth top-10 of the 2024 LPGA season and fifth since mid-May.
Kupcho, a three-time winner on the LPGA circuit, posted rounds of 70-64-67 for a 12-under-par total, which left the impending Colorado Golf Hall of Famer five strokes behind champion Jasmine Suwannapura. Late in the front nine, Kupcho was within a stroke of the lead.
The showing pushed Kupcho past $1 million in official LPGA Tour prize money in 2024.
For the scores from Arkansas, CLICK HERE.
About the Writer: Gary Baines has covered golf in Colorado continuously since 1983. He was a sports writer at the Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, then the sports editor there, and has written regularly for ColoradoGolf.org since 2009. The University of Colorado Evans Scholar alum was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2022. He owns and operates ColoradoGolfJournal.com