Lost major champs can erase disappointing years on Scottish Open Sunday

Wyndham Clark sat at the podium at TPC Sawgrass in March and bared part of his soul when discussing the course of his career since his tournament-tying putt on the 72nd hole of the 2024 Players Championship was denied. How his defining win at the 2023 U.S. Open caused the ground to shift beneath his feet, led expectations to grow and left him trying to find the joy that has since evaporated as his play slipped.

“My biggest thing is kind of playing to my potential, and whether that changes each day and each tournament, but I get frustrated when I have lack of focus, or I get angry out there, or I’m giving away shots or not playing to my potential,” Clark said at Sawgrass. “Those are things that frustrate me. When I am enjoying myself on the golf course, I feel like I’m maximizing those things. I’m having fun with my caddie. I’m really embracing the moment. Those are things I’m trying to get back to because I think I play my best golf when I’m in that state of mind. I’m hoping I’m there this week, and if not, I’m hoping I’m building towards getting there in the coming weeks.”

It didn’t come at the Players, where he withdrew with a neck injury. Since a T5 finish at the Houston Open, Clark’s season has been a complete dud filled with disappointing major performances and emotional blowups, including smashed lockers at Oakmont Country Club after a missed cut at the U.S. Open.

Clark’s apology the following week left a little to be desired as he tried to immediately turn the focus to “moving on.” He finished T17 at the Travelers and then missed the cut at the Rocket Classic. Clark hasn’t finished inside the top 15 since March, but he rolled into the Genesis Scottish Open at Renaissance Club and put together rounds of 66, 69 and 66 to post 9 under through three rounds and put himself two shots back of Rory McIlroy and Chris Gotterup heading into Sunday.

“Just being back in contention, to be honest,” Clark said on Saturday after his round. “I haven’t had a great year, and I haven’t been in contention very often. It’s just nice to be back in this position, and let’s see if I can go put a good round together and have four solid days of golf.”

Clark entered the week 79th in the FedEx Cup standings. He has work to do to make the playoffs and secure his spot in the Signature Events next season. Per DataGolf’s true Strokes Gained metric, Clark ranks 60th off the tee, 149th in approach and 76th in putting this season.

The game just hasn’t been there.

This week, however, he ranks 14th off the tee and second in putting, although the iron game is still subpar (-3.231 on approach).

Regardless, he’ll go off Sunday in the final threesome with McIlroy and Gotterup with a chance to erase what has been a disappointing 15 months since fate rejected him at TPC Sawgrass.

Clark isn’t the only major champion who has found himself on the other side of the Atlantic.

One month after Clark opened up at the Players, Matt Fitzpatrick gave a brutally honest assessment of his game after the first round of the RBC Heritage.

“It’s rubbish, simple as that,” he said. “It’s been awful. Yeah, it’s been the worst I’ve ever played, in fact.”

What was wrong with the 2022 U.S. Open champ’s game? The problem was that there was no simple answer.

“A bit of everything,” he said. “Every week seems to throw something at me, putting bad or chipping bad. Mostly it’s been the irons have not been good enough, and then obviously that puts pressure on everything else, as well. I’ve actually driven it okay this year, and that’s probably the only positive, but outside of that, everything else has not been good enough.”

The 30-year-old Fitzpatrick’s last win came at the 2023 RBC Heritage. In 2024, his game tanked. He didn’t register a win in 2024, carding only three top-10 finishes and landing at 40th in the FedEx Cup standings. Fitzpatrick struggled to start the season but flashed with a T8 finish at the 2025 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club. Some pedestrian finishes followed, but he, like Clark, has dug something out of the ancient turf in Scotland.

Fitzpatrick has gone 69, 63 and 69 to post 9 under through three rounds and give himself a chance to track down the crowd favorite McIlroy on Sunday.

While the recent results might not have suggested this was coming, Fitzpatrick could feel his game bubbling to the surface.

“Definitely,” Fitzpatrick said when asked if his confidence was returning. “There’s no doubt about it. I feel more confident in my game and the shots that I’m hitting. I definitely feel like there’s been some good underlying performances that haven’t necessarily equalled the results but I feel like that’s one of those you’ve got to stay patient and keep doing what you’re doing if you feel like it’s on the right track and that’s where I feel like I’m going.”

On the season, Fitzpatrick ranks 40th off the tee, 72nd in approach and 70th in putting. This week, Fitzpatrick is gaining more than two shots per round on approach and 5.8 on the greens; however, the driver (-0.073) remains squirrely.

McIlroy will be the center of attention on Sunday at the Renaissance Club. After taking two weeks off, McIlroy is finally feeling refreshed following a post-Masters win malaise.

“It’s my first realistic chance to win after the Masters, and I’ve had a great season,” McIlroy said on Saturday. “I won at Pebble. I won the Players. I said this, when you do something that you’ve been dreaming your whole life to do, it was a huge moment in my life, my career. I think I just needed that little bit of time. And to be back here for the last couple weeks, and feel like I could actually digest all of it, I feel like I came to this tournament with renewed enthusiasm and excitement for the rest of the year.”

But while McIlroy will be the headliner of a Scottish Open Sunday, two lost major champions will be nipping at his heels, hoping that 18 good holes on the Scottish seaside can erase months of disappointment and frustration.