Wyndham Clark won the Wells Fargo Championship on Sunday with a score of 68, giving him his first PGA Tour victory. Clark defeated Xander Schauffele by four shots.
When 29-year-old Clark sank a bogey putt on the 18th hole to secure the victory, he found it difficult to contain his tears.
In comparison to par, Clark’s final score of 19-under 265 was the second-lowest in tournament history, trailing only three-time champion Rory McIlroy’s 21-under 267 in 2015 when the course’s par was 72.
On Sunday, Schauffele struggled with precision with his driver and shot 70, ending at 15 under.
At 12 under, Tyrrell Hatton and Harry English shared third place with Tommy Fleetwood and Adam Scott, one shot ahead of them.
Max Homa, the defending champion, finished Sunday’s round in a tie for ninth place at 9 under par.
Clark had to work hard for his success.
The 80th-ranked golfer in the world started the final round with a two-shot lead before giving it up to Schauffele after seven holes. However, after playing the next 11 holes in 4 under, he came back to win.
There were indications that Clark was due for a victory despite never having done so on the tour. In three of the previous five competitions he had played in, including the Zurich Classic last month, he had placed in the top six.
After a rocky start, he displayed the composure of a champion.
On hole No. 1, Clark pushed his tee shot left across the cart path, presenting him with a challenging approach shot that resulted in a bogey.
With birdies at holes 3 and 7, Schauffele took the lead and it appeared that Clark, who had struggled to score birdies on his first six holes, may give in to the strain of trying to win his maiden tournament.
On the eighth hole, however, the momentum shifted.
When Schauffele’s par putt on No. 9 lipped out, Clark chipped to within 4 feet and rolled in a short birdie putt to pull into a tie. He subsequently claimed the lead for good at the halfway point.
With his driver, Schauffele started to have trouble, missing four straight fairways. With six holes remaining, Clark increased the lead to four strokes by hitting birdie putts at holes 10 and 12, sandwiching a Schauffele bogey at hole 11.
At holes 14 and 15, Clark matched Schauffele’s birdies to hold a four-shot lead going into the challenging final three holes, also known as the “Green Mile.”
The only serious uncertainty after that was whether he would be able to surpass McIlroy’s tournament record. However, Clark bogeyed the 18th and completed the final three holes in 1 over par.
McIlroy, who was competing for the first time since failing to make the cut at the Masters, shot a 72 on Sunday to finish the tournament at even par. He played the final three rounds in 3 over par.
However, this was his lowest performance since missing the cut in a tournament 12 years ago. He has nine top-10 performances in 11 starts, including victories in 2010, 2015, and 2021 at Quail Hollow.
After his last round, McIlroy declined to speak to reporters.
