Wyndham Clark seized an impressive five-shot lead at the BMW Championship on Saturday, sensationally fighting back from a double bogey on the first hole to post a stunning round of 65. Moving Day began for Clark with just a one-stroke lead, but he then left the entire field behind. At Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis, Missouri, he conjured up six birdies and an eagle on the 8th hole.
The two-time US Open champion enters the final day of the penultimate FedEx Cup Playoffs event on the PGA Tour with an incredible 17-under par. Alongside him, in the final pairing, lurks none other than Rory McIlroy at 12-under. “All in all, an outstanding day,” Clark summarized. This comeback, which earned him a share of the day's best round, was all the more impressive considering how his day had started.
After two bogey-free rounds without a single bogey, the overnight leader suffered a real mishap on the first hole: an ambitious shot from the edge of a fairway bunker went completely awry, and the green was misread entirely – double bogey! “That was an unfortunate break… I probably should have just chipped out and taken a bogey,” he admitted.
But Clark shook off the poor start and quickly regained a share of the lead with Gary Woodland. A birdie putt on the fourth hole barely trickled into the cup, before a superb wedge shot from the deep rough on the seventh hole brought another birdie. An eagle on the eighth, thanks to a precise iron shot and a 12-foot putt, then gave Clark a three-shot cushion. On the back nine, the American really pulled away, with birdies on the 10th – after an incredible 30-foot putt – 11th, 13th, and 14th.
He still managed a par save with a 15-foot putt on the 16th, but then he missed a makeable five-foot birdie putt on the 17th and even botched a par putt on the last hole. This, of course, gives the rest of the field hope again. “I got into a great flow and played fantastic. But it does bother me a bit how I finished the 17th and 18th,” he lamented.
Rory Puts the Pedal Down
While Woodland faltered, McIlroy surged into a tie for second place. The Northern Irishman posted an entertaining 65, even though he only hit four fairways all day. A birdie on the par-3 third hole was included, and a wayward drive on the eighth? No problem! He somehow ploughed his second shot right through a tree and a bunker, securing a par.
But then the six-time Major champion hit the turbo! On the back nine, his game really ignited, with five birdies – including an ice-cold 26-foot putt on the 16th – he dramatically shortened the gap to Clark. “Playing this course from the rough is no fun. But I grinded it out. My short
