For the first time in 44 years, the U.S. has bragging rights when it comes to hockey.
And as it turns out, Wyndham Clark isn’t keen to let any Canadian hockey fans forget about it.
On Saturday at the RBC Canadian Open, Clark took it to the Canadian golf faithful with a playful troll, reminding the fans of the hockey-obsessed TPC Toronto of the winner of this year’s Olympic hockey competition.
The scene arrived at The Rink, the hockey-themed 14th hole at the Canadian Open. The Rink is a new-ish development of the Canadian Open — a place aimed at replicating the success of the so-called “Stadium Hole” at the WM Phoenix Open. Each year, enormous grandstands are erected at “The Rink” and in recent years, players have been encouraged to play into the craziness of the crowd through all manner of goofy side-efforts. This year, the special effect is a hockey jersey for any player who wishes to wear one.
Wyndham Clark was certainly among the players interested in The Rink. He shot a 63 on Saturday, seven under, to put himself in the early afternoon lead. By the time he’d made it to the 14th, he was feeling it — and ready to have a little bit of fun of the Canadian Open faithful.
As he stepped to the tee, he plucked out a fresh hockey jersey and stretch it over his shirt. But this wasn’t any normal hockey jersey. It was a Team USA, Jack Hughes No. 86 jersey in blue. It was, for the uninitiated, the exact jersey and color and player who defeated the Canadians in overtime in the gold medal game back in February. Hughes scored the “golden goal” just minutes into overtime, driving a dagger through the hearts of the Canadians and bringing a gold medal to American hockey for the first time since the 1980 “miracle on ice” in Lake Placid, NY.
Now, Clark was wearing that same jersey in front of the Canadian golf faithful, and they were having none of it. Boos rained down on Clark as he stood on the tee box with a grin and no shortage of gumption.
Those boos didn’t stop as he hit his tee shot — a stuffed approach to just five feet — nor did they stop as he strode up to the green and confidently knocked down his birdie putt.
Eventually, Clark did remove the jersey and continue on the rest of his round, and the Canadian golf faithful returned to their trademark kindness … just maybe this time with a new tournament villain.
