Wyndham Clark Holds Off McIlroy to Win BMW Championship
Wyndham Clark closed with three consecutive birdies to win the BMW Championship at Bellerive Country Club, holding off Rory McIlroy and Patrick Cantlay for a three-shot victory and his third PGA Tour title of the season.
Clark signed for an even-par 70 on Sunday to finish at 17 under par, collecting $3.6 million from the $20 million prize fund along with 750 FedEx Cup points. It is the sixth PGA Tour win of his career.
A Five-Shot Lead Disappears
The final round was considerably less comfortable than the margin suggests. Clark began the day five clear of the field and immediately bogeyed the opening hole for the second consecutive round, with McIlroy birdieing at the same time to cut the gap by two in a single swing.
Three bogeys in his first ten holes wiped out the advantage entirely. McIlroy drew level, and Cantlay briefly shared the lead as well after Clark's cushion vanished. Gary Woodland also came within a stroke before topping a tee shot into a creek.
Clark had not made a single birdie all day when he arrived at the par-three 16th. He then holed from just outside 15 feet to move back in front. McIlroy had a putt to match and missed.
The Northern Irishman then ran into trouble at the par-five 17th, going from rough to bunker to bunker on his way to a bogey. Clark birdied the same hole, and added a third in a row at the last to close it out. His three putts over the closing stretch ranged from roughly 13 to 18 feet.
McIlroy finished third after a 69, four shots back. Cantlay took second with a 68 that included three birdies of his own to finish.
Movement at the Cut Line
The result reshaped the bottom end of the FedEx Cup standings, with three players forcing their way into the top 30 and a place at the Tour Championship.
Cantlay made the biggest jump, arriving at Bellerive 43rd and leaving 19th, securing a sixth consecutive appearance at East Lake. Woodland moved from 31st to 18th after a share of fourth, returning to the season finale for the first time since 2019. Robert MacIntyre closed with a 65 to finish tied seventh and climbed from 36th to 25th.
Kurt Kitayama, Rickie Fowler and Bud Cauley all dropped out of the top 30, ending their seasons.
Defending BMW champion Scottie Scheffler finished tied 12th at seven under while dealing with illness, and remains top of the FedEx Cup standings heading into the finale.
Player of the Year Back in Play
Clark's win has reopened a Player of the Year race that had appeared to be settling in Scheffler's favour after his eight-shot win at the FedEx St. Jude Championship a fortnight ago. Clark now has three victories this season, one of them the US Open at Shinnecock Hills and another a playoff event.
McIlroy, who had said earlier in the week that the award was Scheffler's to lose, revised that position after playing alongside Clark, suggesting the finale could change the picture.
Clark, who has been the outsider in the gallery's affections in both of his biggest wins this year, said afterwards that the result showed he belongs among the best players in the game. He heads to East Lake third in the standings.
The Tour Championship runs from Thursday to Sunday at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, with the 30-man field playing for a $40 million purse and the FedEx Cup title.
