Mark Wahlberg Took a Risk on a Random Golfer. It Paid Off Big Time.

As Mark Wahlberg tells it, watching golfer Wyndham Clark swing his way to a U.S. Open victory in Los Angeles last month was more nerve-racking than watching the Patriots play in the Super Bowl. 

“I found myself right back there, on the edge of my seat, waiting and praying with every single shot, every time he approached the ball,” Wahlberg said.

That is about the highest praise anyone can receive from Marky Mark, the storied son of Boston, a man as closely associated with New England as a bowl of clam chowder.

Of course, he would feel anxious about Clark—Wahlberg has a lot riding on the 29-year-old contender. Clark is the sole golfer sponsored by Municipal, the nascent athleticwear brand that Wahlberg co-founded in 2019. “I have a real vested interest,” in how Clark plays, said Wahlberg, a widely documented fitness freak himself who conducted the interview from his home gym, answering questions mid-set. 

When Municipal signed Clark in late 2021, he was hardly a sure thing. His highest-ever finish at a major tournament was a tie for 75th at the PGA Championship. That year, Clark didn’t even make the cut in the U.S. Open. He was several course lengths from being a household name like Rory McIlroy or Jordan Spieth. But he showed promise as one of the most powerful drivers in the game. By this year, he was, in the words of my golf-covering colleague Andrew Beaton, “basically the best player whose name nobody knew.”

When Clark accepted the U.S. Open silver trophy in a baby-blue polo with the Municipal name clearly printed across his left shoulder, it validated the brand’s wager on a promising but unproven, contender. As Wahlberg said in a euphoric Instagram post captured at the moment Clark edged out McIlroy for the win (between, many “wows” and hollers), “The dream, the plan, the hustle.” 

Clark had drifted onto the label’s radar years earlier. “If Wyndham could really tap in to what his potential was, we felt like then we would track that climb into being one of the top players,” said Municipal’s co-founder Harry Arnett.

While he claimed “nobody watches and follows the game more closely than Mark,” Arnett was the one that brought golf-world expertise to the neophyte label, having spent years at the golf gear megacorps Callaway and TaylorMade. 

In Clark, Municipal saw a player who could be described similarly to their brand: a scrappy upstart, with solid fundamentals and big aspirations. Also, this is the modern pro tour, where Nike

“From day one we [said we] don’t care if you ever win a major championship or if you ever get to be a top 10 player, we’re in this for the ride,” said Arnett.

Two years on, that ride has driven Clark and Municipal firmly into the spotlight. As Arnett said a few weeks after the win, with all the swagger of a gambler whose long-shot bet just made him a fortune. “If you think that Wyndham was an overnight success, you really haven’t been paying attention.” After the U.S. Open, Clark is now ranked 13th in the world. 

The golfer, who previously had an apparel deal with Nike, saw Municipal as “a brand that fully believed in me as a player and was going to treat me like a top player in the world.” 

Choosing a comparatively small player in the golf-apparel world means that Clark has a voice in things like product development and marketing. Municipal, he said has “sought out my advice and values my opinions regarding future product options.”

During the U.S. Open, Arnett said he received hundreds of texts from people who spotted the company’s logo on Clark’s medley of short-sleeve polo shirts throughout the weekend. In hindsight, the Municipal team wished the brandmark had been larger. “We gotta make that brand more visible on his shirt!” Arnett said. “You can hardly see it. We’re in the big leagues now.”

According to Google Trends, searches for “Municipal Golf” hit a four-year peak the week of the Open. While declining to share specific numbers, the brand said Clark’s win had a positive impact on sales and its top search after Clark’s win was for “polo.” 

“There was a lot of new attention to us, not only from the weirdo golf fans that notice that kind of stuff—who’s wearing what—but an event like the U.S. Open, you have so many people that that’s one of the few events they watch every year,” said Arnett.

Clark said that other pros have asked him questions about his nascent sponsor, and fans have messaged him about the company, his clothes, and of course, working with Wahlberg. 

For the actor, who once lived a few stop lights from the Los Angeles Country Club where the tournament was held, having Clark win on his home turf felt personal. “One of my favorite [courses], played it a bunch of times,” said Wahlberg, before elaborating on just how difficult that final series of holes is. “Eighteen, with all the pressure, anything can happen.” 

Clark hasn’t been able to re-create the magic from L.A. yet, finishing 25th at last week’s Scottish Open, where he played out the final day in a navy Municipal sweatshirt. This weekend, he’ll be vying in the British Open, one of the year’s major tournaments. While Wahlberg won’t be there in person, he didn’t rule out seeing Clark play, or even caddying for him in the future. “Whatever he wants,” said Wahlberg, “My guy is my guy.”

Write to Jacob Gallagher at [email protected]