Wyndham Clark pulls away for 5-shot lead at Bellerive over McIlroy and Cantlay
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Wyndham Clark was doing everything right until it all went wrong Saturday at the BMW Championship. Just not for long.
Bogey-free through 36 holes, he went from the bunker left of the fairway to the right rough on the opening hole at Bellerive. He came up short of the green, chipped to 7 feet and missed the putt, taking a double bogey that cost him the lead.
The conversation on the second tee included a few choice words and a message from his caddie to embrace the challenge and move on. Clark wound up finding another gear. He had five birdies in an eight-hole stretch and turned a bad start into a big lead.
Even closing with a bogey, Clark had a 5-under 65 and a five-shot lead.
“Hit a bad shot on 2, but then really made a nice recovery and then got into a nice groove after that,” Clark said.
It was the second time this year Clark has led by at least five shots going into the final round. He had a six-shot advantage at the U.S. Open and held on to win by one for his second major.
Rory McIlroy ran off three straight birdies late in the round and saved par from a bunker on the 18th for a 65. Patrick Cantlay birdied the 18th for a 66. They were tied for second, a position far more relevant to Cantlay. He is at No. 43 in the FedEx Cup and needs a high finish to be among the top 30 who advance to the FedEx Cup finale next week in Atlanta.
“That's a lot to make up,” McIlroy said of his deficit. “But if I focus on myself, try to shoot a good score — I shot a 64 and a 65 this week — shoot something similar tomorrow, you never know.”
Gary Woodland, trying to cap off his remarkable year with a return to the Tour Championship, only managed two birdies in a round of 70. He was six shots behind, perhaps too far back to challenge Clark but high enough to extend his season another week. He was tied with Chris Gotterup (68).
Clark made a tough par save from the bunker on No. 6. Then after hearing the crowd erupt for Woodland's 15-foot birdie on the par-4 seventh, Clark followed with a 10-foot birdie, and that was the start of a one of those hot streaks where he looks like he can't miss.
He hit a 5-wood to 12 feet for eagle on the par-5 eighth. He holed a 30-foot birdie putt on the 10th, another birdie on the 11th from about 15 feet. And then he made a pair of birdie putts from the 12-foot range on the 13th and 14th to start pulling away.
“You start seeing the lines and you’re so much more committed” Clark said of his putting. “You’re like, ‘OK, that’s exactly it.’ And then you just stroke it and the ball goes in.”
Clark is going for his third win this year, which would put him in the conversation for PGA Tour player of the year with his major championship.
Otherwise, Sunday is a matter of who gets to East Lake in Atlanta, where all 30 players only have to win to claim the FedEx Cup and the $10 million payoff.
Justin Thomas took a step back with a 71, leaving him in a tie for 15th. Sungjae Im shot 70 and was alone in seventh. He can't afford to fall any farther down the leaderboard if he wants to keep alive his streak of being at East Lake every year dating to his rookie season in 2019.
Sunday also is the cutoff to get the six automatic spots on the Presidents Cup. Clark is likely a lock even without moving into the top six spots. Ben Griffin shot a 68 but was still tied for 35th, jeopardizing his chances of being on the U.S. team at Medinah next month. Cantlay is too far back to be an automatic qualifier, but getting to East Lake goes a long way toward being an easy pick.
“I feel like my game’s in a good spot and ready to go shoot a low one tomorrow,” Cantlay said.
Scottie Scheffler shot 68 and was tied for 15th, 12 shots out of the lead.
___
See AP’s full golf coverage here
© Copyright The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
