Houston Open: Wyndham Clark in “pretty bad shape,” suffers injury

Wyndham Clark was working out in the gym early Monday morning in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he resides.

A regular in the fitness center, the reigning U.S. Open champion felt something pop in his back while performing a lift.

“I threw it out. I was in pretty bad shape yesterday, but fortunately, I have a great team that has gotten me to be able to swing and hit,” Clark said Wednesday ahead of the Texas Children’s Houston Open.

“So I flew in early [Tuesday] morning. I was only really able to chip and putt, then I did a bunch of rehab and I was able to hit balls today. So, just in a short time, I’ve improved a ton, and I think I’ll be ready for tomorrow.”

Clark had been healthy until Monday. He most recently finished runner-up to Scottie Scheffler at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players Championship.

When discussing his injury, Clark added that he was in “an awkward spot” during his lift. But he has since learned from this experience and is “trending in the right direction.”

Photo by Raj Mehta/Getty Images

He managed to play in Wednesday morning’s pro-am, alongside children who have heart transplants and are battling cancer. He felt obligated to play, knowing that his injury was a minor setback compared to what these youngsters face daily.

One of the children in his group, Jhett Skaggs, is a double transplant recipient.

“What’s amazing is, one, it’s amazing how good the doctors are because you could barely even tell that Jhett had gone through so much,” Clark said of his playing partner.

“And then with that, it’s amazing how much fight and how much determination that kid has. He just seemed so happy out there, enjoying himself. He’s a really good golfer, and I really enjoyed spending time with him. It was quite a special moment spending those nine holes with him.”

Clark will begin his opening round on Thursday at 12:53 p.m. ET alongside defending champion Tony Finau and Si Woo Kim.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.