Wyndham Clark is enjoying a huge resurgence in form in 2026, with victory at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson one of several standout performances.
That seemed set to get even better at the US Open, where he had a lead of six with a round remaining in his efforts to claim the title for the second time, having initially won it in 2023.
It was after that first US Open win that Clark was touted for a quite different career path, with the American heavily linked with a move to LIV Golf in 2024.
In the end, he opted not to follow the likes of Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton and Adrian Meronk to the league by staying on the PGA Tour.
That proved a good choice when, the same week the 2024 LIV Golf season began, he won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
On that occasion, poor weather resulted in the tournament finishing after 54 holes. Before the final round was canceled, Clark admitted he had held discussions over a move to LIV Golf before deciding against it.
He said: “Yeah, there’s definitely some truth. I definitely met with LIV and went through those discussions. I wanted to see what they could bring to the table.
"I ultimately declined going to LIV because I felt like I still have a lot of things left in the tank on the PGA Tour and I wanted to chase records, I wanted to chase world ranking. My dream is to try to be one of the top players in the world, if not the top player."
While Clark didn’t quite reach the top of the world rankings in 2024, he was certainly one of the world’s best players and never dropped out of the top 10 all year.
However, there was another reason he chose to stay on the PGA Tour: his legacy.
He said: "I just grew up always imagining winning PGA Tour events. So, ultimately, I chose my legacy over LIV, and that’s really what it came down to.
“You know, I don’t know what the future holds with my career and what the PGA Tour and LIV is going to do, but at least for this season I am 100% set on the PGA Tour, and I want to try to get to as high in the world as I possibly can."
While 2024 was excellent for Clark, his form suffered the next year, slipping to 39th in the world by the end of 2025.
It’s possible that the dip in form could have left him questioning whether he’d chosen the right path after all, although his return to his best this year again sees him as one of the PGA Tour’s top performers.
Now, with doubts over the future of LIV Golf after the Saudi Public Investment Fund decided to pull out its backing, the PGA Tour looks an even more attractive proposition.
Clark admitted in 2024 that he'd done his research on what staying on the PGA Tour meant in light of its own investment from the Strategic Sport Group.
He said: "I did my due diligence. I felt like if I was going to make a life-changing decision, I wanted to make sure I did all the right things and call the right people, get the right information, understand what both tours are doing, what I should do, et cetera.
"I honestly have to give a huge hats off to Adam Scott, Patrick Cantlay and Jordan Spieth because they have put so much effort - and Tiger Woods, sorry, and Tiger Woods, please put that in there."
He added: "I didn’t want them to sway me in a certain way, but I definitely wanted their counsel and I just wanted to honor them and the amount of time and work and effort they have put into this agreement now with SSG and where the Tour is going.
"I sought a lot of counsel. I asked guys on both sides. I feel like that’s the right thing to do. Ultimately, it came down to talking with close people in my camp and my team of what we should do, and we decided to stay on the PGA Tour."
Two years after Clark’s career-defining decision, his loyalty to the PGA Tour appeared stronger than ever, even admitting he was "torn" over the return of Brooks Koepka to the circuit via the Returning Member Program.
Clark explained to the PGA Tour's Sirius XM Radio: "Gosh, I'm so torn. I, personally, really like Brooks and I ultimately think it's really good for the PGA Tour, but it's also a guy that had an opportunity to go to LIV... it's kind of frustrating that he's able to get the cake and also eat it.
"I don't know, I'm very torn because, at the end of the day, I want whatever's best for the PGA Tour. I think, if guys come back - especially top players like Brooks - it's only going to help the tour which is ultimately going to help me.”
"But I don't know really how I feel. I wish maybe that there were a few more repercussions, but I'm glad the things they set in place are pretty decent.
"And I also like the hard deadline. I just hope they stick with that and they don't waiver on that maybe in a year or two."
With Clark back to winning ways in 2026 and closing in on his second US Open title, his loyalty to the PGA Tour over a move to LIV Golf looks set to continue reaping rewards.
