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AAP
AAP

Dead aim Clark crushes course, field with closing 60

Wyndham Clark's come-from-behind win at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson was pretty much in hand when he decided to aim for the pin anyway on the final hole.

That approach shot to inside 3 feet set him up to become the first PGA Tour player to win twice with a closing 11-under 60.

The 2023 US Open champion overtook South Korea's Si Woo Kim by three and also pulled away from defending champion Scottie Scheffler after starting the day tied with the top-ranked hometown favourite.

Clark didn't know he was shooting a closing 60 for the win the first time he did it, in 2024 at Pebble Beach. There was supposed to be a final round the next day but it was wiped out by weather, with Clark declared the winner.

One other difference came to mind for Clark after he finished at 30-under 254 following his stellar 28 on the back nine at the revamped TPC Craig Ranch outside Dallas on Sunday.

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Two years ago, Clark had an eagle putt for 59 on the iconic 18th green at Pebble Beach but settled for birdie. This time — in his first victory since then — Clark closed with four birdies over five holes including the last.

Kim, who started the final round with a two-stroke lead, shot 65 to finish second at 27 under while Scheffler also posted a 65 to place third at 25 under.

"I look at Pebble, it was amazing, but that one, I was so close to shooting 59. At that golf course, that would have been just epic," Clark said after his fourth PGA Tour win.

"This one, really 59 wasn't necessarily in the cards. I'm just really proud of myself that I didn't waver and I didn't sit back and just try to hit to 20 feet and kind of leak my way in there. I was still very aggressive."

Scheffler never caught Kim — his partner in the final pairing — or Clark one group ahead after the second hole in the final round.

But he almost became the only PGA Tour player since at least 1983 to go an entire tournament without a score of 5 or higher. That ended with his par 5 on 12, when he went bunker to bunker with his first two shots and missed a 12-foot birdie putt. It was his only 5.

"No," Scheffler said when asked if he was aware. "But you know around this place, what did Wyndham finish out, around 30 under? If you're going to play 30 under, you can't be making too many 5s."

Jackson Suber was a career-best fourth, shooting 63 to finish 23 under while fellow American Keith Mitchell shot 64 and was a stroke back in fifth.

Brooks Koepka, still looking for his first win since rejoining the PGA Tour from LIV Golf, shot 68 and was tied 14th at 18 under.

Jordan Spieth, the other hometown favourite alongside Scheffler, bounced back with a 66 and finished 15 under a day after fading from contention with a 73.

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