- Clark had a chance to force a play-off on the final hole, but his putt went out
- READ: Scottie Scheffler makes history with incredible one-shot win at Players
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Wyndham Clark had a chance to force a playoff during the final round of The Players Championship on Sunday in Florida, but instead fell victim to one of the most painful endings in PGA history.
Clark had the final shot of the tournament, but his putt from just inside 15 feet on the 18th green somehow dipped into the left edge of the cup, only to climb out again. He held his hand over his mouth in disbelief.
‘I’m still a little beside myself. I’m still shocked that the putt didn’t go in,” Clark said afterwards. “I did it perfectly.”
He added: ‘I don’t know how it doesn’t go in. I’m quite upset.’
Scottie Scheffler, who started the final round five shots behind, was on the practice range preparing for a three-hole playoff when he was given the floor and showed more emotion than usual for someone who is growing accustomed to winning.
Already the best in the world, Scheffler added another layer to his legend on Sunday. He became the first player to win back-to-back The Players Championship in 50 years by tying the biggest comeback and lowest closing run with a winner.
Scheffler holed out for Eagle from the fourth fairway and had four birdies in a five-hole stretch around the turn, sending him to an 8-under 64 and a one-shot victory that wasn’t decided until the final putt.
Wyndham Clark reacts to missing a birdie putt on the 18th hole during the final round
Clark’s putt, just inside 18 feet, somehow dipped into the cup on the left and came out
Xander Schauffele, Brian Harman and Clark all had a chance to force a playoff with a birdie on the TPC Sawgrass’ tricky 18th hole.
This was no ordinary week. He struggled to regain the club early in his second round due to a neck problem and battled to a 69. Saturday afternoon he looked to be out until he finished with three straight birdies.
And then he delivered a masterpiece on the Players Stadium Course. His 64 matched the lowest final round score by a Players champion, last done by Davis Love III in 2003, and he tied Justin Leonard (1998) with his five-shot comeback.
Scheffler finished the PGA Tour’s premier championship without a bogey over the final 31 holes during a thrilling final hour involving four of the world’s top 10 players.
Scottie Scheffler celebrates with the trophy after winning the final round at the Players
They all had their chances.
Schauffele, who started the final round with a one-stroke lead, was still in control until he missed tee shots to the right on the 14th and 15th holes and couldn’t save par. He had a birdie chance from six feet on the 17th of the Isle Green – Sawgrass’s toughest hole on Sunday – and didn’t come close to a reasonable birdie chance hitting out of the pine straw on the 18th.
He finished with a 70.
Harman hung around long enough to get a shot, but he missed a birdie opportunity on the par-5 16th and couldn’t convert birdie opportunities on the final two holes in his round of 68.
Clark also made a late push. On the 16th, he narrowly missed a 10-foot Eagle Putt. He drove the slope to four feet for birdie on the 17th. And his birdie to force a playoff seemed good all the time until it didn’t. Clark shot a 69.
Scheffler finished at 20-under 268 and won $4.5 million from the $25 million purse, pushing the 27-year-old from Dallas over the $50 million mark in his career.