Wyndham Clark shoots 60 to win Byron Nelson, pulls away from Kim, Scheffler

McKINNEY, Texas (AP) — 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.

After that approach shot inside three feet, he became the first PGA Tour player to win twice with a closing 60.

The 2023 U.S. Open champion shot 11 under on Sunday, overtaking Si Woo Kim by three and pulling 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. Clark was declared the winner when officials decided not to play Monday.

One other difference came to mind for Clark, who shot 30-under 254 and had a 28 on the back nine at the revamped but still vulnerable TPC Craig Ranch, about 50 kilometres north of Dallas.

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 that short capper at 18.

Clark’s ninth birdie matched Kim’s 60 from the second round when the 30-year-old South Korean was in position to shoot 59 but bogeyed the final hole. Kim, who started the final round with a two-stroke lead, shot 65 to finish 27 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.”

Despite the addition of bunkers and significant changes to the contour of the greens on the Lanny Wadkins-led redesign, Clark was just one shot off Scheffler’s winning score of a year ago. Scheffler’s 31 under tied the tour’s 72-hole scoring record of 253.

“I felt pretty comfortable, but I knew I had to put the pedal to the metal and keep making birdies,” Clark said. “I made more than I thought I was going to make, that’s for sure.”

Clark went in front for the first time in the final round with an eagle at the par-5 12th and twice took two-shot leads with clutch birdie putts over the final four holes.

The 32-year-old had an emphatic first pump after his 45-foot birdie putt at the par-3 15th. Clark was a little more reserved, but pumping a fist nonetheless after another birdie 2, this one at the No. 17 stadium hole.

A few minutes after Clark’s long putt at 15, Kim was a shot behind when his 44-footer on the same hole slid by the right side of the cup. The deficit was two when Kim couldn’t match Clark’s birdie at 17.

“I think if I keep knocking on the door, something’s coming,” said Kim, a four-time tour winner looking for his first victory since 2023 at Waialae. “I think it’s pretty much best play golf I’ve ever had. I’m a little frustrated, but nothing I can do. Wyndham played so good.”

Scheffler, who matched Kim’s 65 and was 25 under, briefly was tied for the lead on Saturday, but never caught Kim — his partner in the final pairing — or Clark one group ahead after the second hole in the final round.

The four-time major winner was two shots behind Kim and Clark at the short par-4 sixth when his second shot hit the pin and spun away after it bounced, ending up 54 feet away. Scheffler settled for par on a hole Kim and Clark birdied.

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

Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., finished 17th at 17 under, while A.J. Ewart of Coquitlam, B.C., finished in a 12-way tie for 19th at 15 under.

Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., finished in a seven-way tie for 47th at 11 under, Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., finished in a five-way tie for 54th at 10 under, and Mackenzie Hughes of Hamilton, Ont., was 66th at 7 under.

Brooks Koepka, still looking for his first win since rejoining the PGA Tour from LIV Golf, shot 68.

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.

Scheffler 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.”

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Schuyler Dixon, The Associated Press