Wyndham Clark crumbles on Houston Open back nine amid back injury

Clark started strong but quickly fell down the Houston Open leaderboard as the back pain suffered during the week was felt.

Ahead of the Houston Open, Wyndham Clark shocked the golf world, reporting that he injured his back while working out Monday. It was uncertain how much it would bother him, but after Thursday’s round, he appeared to still have pain.

Through 12 holes, Clark seemed fine, but as the day progressed, his game went downhill.

Clark was 2-under through his first three holes. He dropped a shot at the par-4 6th but recovered at eight. Clark closed in on the leaders at the turn, getting within a couple of shots. He was 3-under through 10 holes.

It seemed like the former Oregon Duck would be on the first page of the leaderboard, but that quickly diminished.

He was facing a seven foot birdie putt on 13 to move to 4-under but missed. His round fell apart from there.

Clark would make three bogeys in his last five holes to finish with an even par 70. He three-putted on the 14th. The reigning U.S. Open champ hit his ball into the water on 16 and then missed a 10-footer to save par.

On the 18th, Clark went wide off the tee and left himself with a tough up-and-down. He would just miss a 14-footer and settle for another bogey.

Following the tough end to his round, Clark detailed how the back impacted his round.

“I felt like I had most of my speed,” he said. “I definitely felt it all day, but no excuse for how I played. I was playing, honestly, pretty good. — just missed that short putt on the 13th and another one on the 14th, and that kind of put me into a lull. Unfortunately, I bogeyed the par 5 and then 18, but all in all, it was a good day.”

He will have a quick turnaround for his second-round tee time. Clark is playing alongside reigning Houston Open champ Tony Finau and Si Woo Kim early Friday morning.

“I’m going to do some rehab and work on it,” Clark said. “It’s been getting better every day, so I’m hoping tomorrow I really don’t feel it.”

How much will his back affect him moving forward? Will it cause him to miss the cut, or will he find a way to dig deep and bounce back?

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.