US Open champ Wyndham Clark shades Bryson DeChambeau, LIV Golf after slow Masters start

Things are getting shady at Augusta National Golf Course. 

2023 U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark took a not-so-subtle dig at LIV Golf on Thursday after he finished the first round of the Masters tournament eight shots behind leader Bryson DeChambeau. 

"We’ve got 54 holes. In LIV Golf, they only play 54," Clark said of the rival Saudi-backed tour’s format.  

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"We’ve got a lot of golf left. As you can see, someone shot seven under. I could do that tomorrow."

Clark’s debut at the Masters hasn’t gone according to plan, but he certainly has the momentum from last year’s major win to keep in the race. 

He won the Wells Fargo Championship earlier in the year at Quail Hollow and added another victory at Pebble Beach in February. Clark finished second at both the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Players Championship, and he shot a final-round 66 in the Houston Open in his last start before the Masters.

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Clark shot a 73, thanks to a double bogey on 15 – the same hole that saw Jordan Spieth quadruple bogey on in his opening round.

"I was pretty calm. I felt great out there. Like I said, if I played the par-fives a little better and maybe made one or two putts here and there, we'd be having a different interview right now," Clark said Thursday. 

"I felt like I played great. My game feels good. Just got to make some putts and tighten it up on the par-fives."

Clark was T28 by the end of round 1. DeChambeau still held the lead halfway through round 2. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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