Wyndham Clark, leading by five strokes after the third round of the BMW Championship, was asked late Saturday afternoon what it would be like to go to sleep leading by five strokes after the third round of the BMW Championship — and he talked about the “angst when you wake up.” “You wake up,” Clark said, “and you have that little pit in your stomach.”
But that’s not all.
“It’s also fun,” he said.
Fun, hey? Maybe for the folks in the gallery at Bellerive Country Club, or those watching from home. They saw pros having all kinds of un-fun.
There was Gary Woodland, who’s authored one of the best stories in recent memory by playing well while coping with the effects of having a brain lesion. He was a stroke out of the lead on the 9th hole — then bizarrely cold-topped a drive into the water about 100 yards in front of him on his way to a double bogey.
Then there was Patrick Cantlay, who found form this week in search of his first victory since winning the 2022 BMW. On the 11th hole, he co-led for a brief moment — but a tee shot into the right fairway bunker and a second shot into the water short and right of the green doomed him.
And there was Clark. Oh man. This year’s U.S. Open winner had that five-shot lead.
Then he bogeyed the first hole, and Rory McIlroy, playing with him, birdied it, and Clark’s lead was three.
Then he bogeyed the 6th.
Then he bogeyed the 10th.
And then?
Hey, fun!
While Clark struggled, he never fell out of the lead. Then on the par-3 16th, he dropped a 16-footer for birdie to grab a one-shot advantage over McIlroy. On the par-5, Clark added another birdie bomb, from 13 feet, while McIlroy simply bombed — he bogeyed after hitting his tee shot into the left rough before finding bunkers on his next two shots.
Then on 18, Clark rolled in a 17-footer for birdie. Birdie, birdie, birdie to finish. And he won by three over Cantlay and by four over McIlroy, after an even-par 70. The victory was Clark’s third of the year.
Fun, right?
The takeaway
Hell of a year for Clark. Three wins, including a major.
The leaderboard breakdown
– Sunday’s final round starts with Wyndham Clark holding a five-shot lead. Clark is at 17-under, Rory McIlroy and Patrick Cantlay are at 12-under, and Chris Gotterup and Gary Woodland are at 11-under.
– Clark bogeys the 415-yard, par-4 1st hole on a three-putt, then McIlroy birdies it, and Clark’s lead is three. Clark is at 16-under, McIlroy is at 13-under, and Woodland, Cantlay and Collin Morikawa are at 12-under.
– Woodland birdies the 472-yard, par-4 5th, and Clark’s lead is two. Clark is at 16-under, Woodland is at 14-under, and McIlroy and Cantlay are at 13-under.
– McIlroy bogeys the 524-yard, par-4 4th after hitting his tee shot into the left rough. Clark is at 16-under, Woodland is at 14-under, Cantlay is at 13-under, and McIlroy and Morikawa are at 12-under.
– Woodland bogeys the 401-yard, par-4 7th on a three-putt, and Clark’s lead is three. Clark is at 16-under, Woodland is at 13-under, and McIlroy and Cantlay are at 12-under.
– Clark bogeys the 227-yard, par-3 6th after missing the green with his tee shot, and his lead is two. Clark is at 15-under, Woodland is at 13-under, and McIlroy and Cantlay are at 12-under.
– Woodland birdies the 611-yard, par-5 8th on an 8-foot putt, and Clark’s lead is one. Clark is at 15-under, Woodland is at 14-under, Cantlay is at 13-under, and McIlroy is at 12-under.
– Cantlay birdies the 8th after hitting his third shot to 3 feet, and he moves one back of Clark. Clark is at 15-under, Cantlay and Woodland are at 14-under, and McIlroy, Gotterup and Morikawa are at 11-under.
– Woodland makes a double bogey on the 436-yard, par-4 9th after bizarrely topping his tee shot. Clark is at 15-under, Cantlay is at 14-under and Woodland is at 12-under.
– Cantlay bogeys the 9th after hitting his second shot into a greenside bunker, and Clark’s lead is two. Clark is at 15-under, Cantlay is at 13-under, and McIlroy and Woodland are at 12-under.
– Cantlay birdies the 507-yard, par-4 10th after hitting his second shot to 3 feet, and Clark’s lead is one. Clark is at 15-under, Cantlay is at 14-under, McIlroy is at 13-under, and Morikawa and Woodland are at 12-under.
– Clark bogeys the 10th after hitting his second shot into a greenside bunker, and he is tied with Cantlay — for the moment. Clark and Cantlay are at 14-under, McIlroy is at 13-under, and Woodland is at 12-under.
– Cantlay makes double bogey on the 376-yard, par-4 11th after hitting his second shot into the water right of the green, and Clark leads by himself again. Clark is at 14-under, McIlroy is at 13-under, and Woodland and Cantlay are at 12-under.
– McIlroy birdies the 11th on a 9-foot putt, and Clark and McIlroy are tied for the lead. McIlroy and Clark are at 14-under, and Gotterup, Woodland and Cantlay are at 12-under.
– Morikawa eagles the 607-yard, par-5 17th hole, and he moves to one shot back of the lead. McIlroy and Clark are at 14-under, Morikawa is at 13-under, and Gotterup, Woodland and Cantlay are at 12-under.
– Clark birdies the 232-yard, par-3 16th on a 16-foot putt, and McIlroy misses his birdie putt, and Clark takes a one-shot lead. Clark is at 15-under, McIlroy is at 14-under, and Morikawa is at 13-under.
– McIlroy bogeys the 17th after finding two straight bunkers, then Clark birdies on a 13-foot putt, and he leads by three. Clark is at 16-under, and McIlroy and Cantlay are at 13-under.
– On the 468-yard, par-4 18th, Clark hits to 17 feet after hitting his tee shot into the right rough, then drops the birdie putt for a three-shot win. Clark finishes at 17-under, Cantlay at 14-under, and McIlroy at 13-under.
The final word
“As much as I wanted to run away with this, it was fun to get the juices flowing.” — Clark on CBS after his win
