Wyndham Clark admits to being 'spooked' at Masters

Wyndham Clark admitted to having a scary experience during his first appearance at the Masters last week.

Speaking ahead of the RBC Heritage at Hilton Head, S.C., Clark said Wednesday that he was frustrated with the windy conditions at Augusta National. The World's No. 5 player carded a 78 in the second round and missed the cut after finishing at 7-over par.

"I was just really bummed that my first Masters experience was under such extreme conditions because I felt like I was playing good golf, but going off late on Friday was very challenging, and the wind honestly spooked me on the greens," Clark said. "I hit a couple putts that were uphill, downwind, and I hit them 4, 5 feet by, and then ever since that happened on the third hole, I wasn't getting putts there.

"I was just a little spooked. My game was there. That's what was frustrating is I hit a lot of great shots, I just didn't score.

"I'm just putting that as a tough draw. Didn't putt well, but that's one week, and moving on to this week."

The reigning U.S. Open champion also admitted that while he respects Masters winner Scottie Scheffler, he feels that he can defeat him.

"Scottie is the best player in the world right now, and he's been so consistent. That's one thing that I've really — I've been trying to get better at," Clark said. "I think when my game is on and his game is on, I think we both can battle it out, and I believe I can win tournaments against Scottie when he's playing well."

Clark, 30, won the Wells Fargo Championship last year, fended off Rory McIlroy to capture the U.S. Open in June and then notched his third victory on the PGA Tour at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February.

—Field Level Media