CASTLE ROCK — Wyndham Clark is thrilled to be home and playing in a PGA event for the first time.
He’d like to do it again soon.
Clark, who first hit golf balls at the long-gone Mountain View Golf Course and first dreamed of playing on the PGA Tour while practicing at Family Sports Center, will be the hometown hero at the 2024 BMW Championship, which begins Thursday at Castle Pines Golf Club.
It’s the first PGA Tour event in the state since Billy Horschel won the BMW at Cherry Hills Country Club in 2014. The tour is returning to Castle Pines for the first time since 2006, after a 21-year run for The International at this course.
“It’s amazing,” Clark said. “I wish we played here every year, to be honest. This tournament hasn’t been here in 10 years, and then at Castle Pines, almost 20 years. I grew up coming to this place and always dreamt of playing this tournament.
“When they stopped playing here, it was kind of a stab to the heart for me because it was so fun coming out and watching it. To be back here playing in front of my home crowd is pretty special.”
Previously known as the Western Open, this tournament is the middle chapter of a three-weekend postseason for the PGA Tour. It does not have a permanent home.
Castle Pines will be the ninth venue to host the BMW since 2011. It is going back to previous locales the next two seasons, so Clark might not get his wish of playing here every year, but it shouldn’t be another decade if this weekend goes well.
Clark hasn’t played a competitive tournament of consequence in Colorado since he won the Pac-12 championship at Boulder Country Club in 2017 in his final collegiate season at Oregon.
He has spoken on multiple occasions this summer about his memories of coming here for The International as a young fan and watching some of the best players in the world.
Now, he’s one of them. And the ticket requests from people who know Clark for this week at Castle Pines were … plentiful.
“A ton,” Clark said. “I’ve kind of had to limit it to mainly really close friends and family, otherwise we’d be giving out hundreds and hundreds of tickets. But I hope all those people still come out because it’s fun seeing friendly faces.”
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