Wyndham Clark Reportedly Splits With Long-Time Caddie John Ellis

The pair, who first linked up when Clark was attending the University of Oregon, are said to have gone their separate ways - according to Matt Gannon

Jonny Leighfield's avatar
By
published
Wyndham Clark (right) and his former caddie John Ellis look on during The Players Championship in 2026
(Image credit: Getty Images)

One of the longest player-caddie relationships on tour has reportedly reached its conclusion.

The pair first linked up in 2016 when Ellis retired from pro golf to take up the role of assistant head coach for the University of Oregon's men's golf program.

Article continues below

Clark - who was in his senior year there - was assigned Ellis as his looper and a flourishing on-course relationship helped to strengthen their bond.

Once the three-time PGA Tour winner turned pro, he kept Ellis on and they climbed up the ranks together before managing to achieve their first victory at the 2023 Wells Fargo Championship.

At that point, Ellis was talking up Clark's chances of becoming World No.1 at some point.

Following the Valspar Championship win, Ellis said of his boss: "He has the work ethic to be the best player in the world. To win against this field, on this course, the next step will be feeling comfortable in Majors, but the sky is the limit.”

As it turned out, they would only have to wait a few months to taste Major success together, with Clark defeating Rory McIlroy and co. by a stroke at the US Open.

The fact that it happened at all was, in no small part, down to the influence of Ellis - who encouraged Clark to bring in psychologist and performance coach Julie Elion in the first place.

The 32-year-old's most recent victory arrived at the 2024 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am where Clark shot a stunning 12-under 60 on the Saturday. It proved to be the final round as storms cancelled the final day's play.

Since the end of the 2024 campaign, Clark has struggled to maintain a consistently high level of performance and is able to boast only two top-10s in 31 tour starts. Over the same duration, Clark missed six cuts.

With a best of T13th at the American Express - his first appearance of 2026 - Clark has apparently decided now is the best time to make a change to his team.

Dave Pelekoudas stands behind Beau Hossler who is lining up a putt at the 2022 Players Championship

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Also per Gannon, Dave Pelekoudas will be on Clark's bag "for the foreseeable future" after filling in for Ellis in the past.

The man who is sometimes also known as "Big Wave Dave" has looped for multiple pros previously, including Xander Schauffele, Taylor Moore, Sam Ryder and Brian Campbell.

Pelekoudas is set to make his debut alongside Clark at this week's Valspar Championship, hosted at Innisbrook Resort's Copperhead Course.

Jonny Leighfield
Jonny Leighfield
News Writer

Jonny Leighfield is our Staff News Writer who joined Golf Monthly just in time for the 2023 Solheim Cup and Ryder Cup. He graduated from the University of Brighton with a degree in Sport Journalism in 2017 and spent almost five years as the sole sports reporter at his local newspaper. During his time with Golf Monthly, Jonny has interviewed several stars of the game, including Robert MacIntyre, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, and Joaquin Niemann. An improving golfer himself, Jonny enjoys learning as much about the game as he can and recently reached his Handicap goal of 18 for the first time.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.