CHARLOTTE (N.C.) — Since it is Coronation Weekend in the United Kingdom it was only right that a PGA Tour first-time winner be crowned in Queen City.
Wyndham Clark has finally gotten his wish after a five-year wait.
Clark had a two shot lead over the world’s No. After Saturday’s third-round, Xander Schauffele said he was excited for the challenge of a final round with high stakes and wondered how he would handle the pressure. The 29-year old shot a 3-under-68 on Sunday at Quail Holl to finish at 19-under and win by four strokes over Schauffele. This was his first victory on Tour.
Clark began to doubt his ability to win a Tour after a few close calls.
Clark said: “It sounds crazy, because I have only been here for five years. But I had many chances where I was only two or three shots away, either starting the Sunday or going into the back 9. I always seemed to fall short and, not only that but it also appeared that I lost positions.” “I’ve always been a bit hesitant in those moments of pressure because I get too pumped up,” Clark said.
“Today I was excited. “When he putted, I thought, ‘yeah all right, now you’ve got me to do it. I think Xander Xander and i fed off eachother really well on Saturday and Sunday,” Clark said. “He was incredible and I believe that a large part of my success was due to the pressure he put on me. So I felt that I couldn’t coast and just make pars. I had to make birdies. “Yeah, I’m really happy with how I handled pressure.”
Schauffele, 29 years old, shot a 1-under-70 on Sunday and finished runner up at 15 under. He is now in the top five of the rankings for the fifth consecutive season. Harris English (69), Tyrrell Hatton (71) and T-3 finished at 12 under.
WELLS FARGO: Leaderboard | Best shots
Clark birdied the third hole to tie the leader at 15 under. Schauffele briefly took over the lead when he birdied the par-5 7 th, the second-easiest hole of the tournament. Clark responded quickly with his first birdie on the day at No. Clark took the lead with nine holes remaining after a Schauffele’s bogey at No.
Clark said, “It wasn’t pretty at first and I didn’t hold the lead but I really believed that I could achieve this as soon as I began making birdies and puttingts.” “Xander made a few mistakes, and it was a great boost to my confidence.”
Clark increased his lead by two shots with a birdie at the par-5 10th. After a poor Schauffele bogey on the 11th, he saved par from the greenside bunker and increased his lead by three. With six holes to go, he took a four shot lead after a birdie at No. 12.
Both players birdied consecutively on Nos. Both players made consecutive birdies on Nos.
Play big
On and off the golf course, @Wyndham_Clark is always referring to his mother.
He is chasing his first TOUR win at WellsFargoGolf. pic.twitter.com/5o6h5UaGuf
PGA TOUR May 7, 2023
Clark is not a household name but if you have been following the season, you will know that a win was on its way for this Scottsdale, Arizona resident. Clark, who had a career high finish at the Players Championship in March (T-27) has been consistently in contention ever since. His last four finishes were 5-6-T29-3 and T24. Clark has now finished in the top 25 nine times this season. Six of those finishes have been inside the top 10.
The PGA Tour’s 9th designated event for the season saw 156 players compete for a purse of $20 million. Clark won the top prize, which was $3.6 million. This is seven times his previous highest payout on Tour ($485,000) after finishing 10th at the 2023 WM Phoenix Open.
Clark’s win not only earns him a huge payday, but also his first Masters invitation to the event in 2024 at Augusta National.
Clark said, “I have dreamed about this ever since I was 6 years old.” Since I’ve been on PGA Tour you daydream about it constantly, and I have done that multiple times this season. To do it here at this golf course and against this competition was better than I ever could’ve imagined.
He said, “I walked up the 18th fairway and tried my best to be in the moment but also to look around. I kept my head up to see the sights and all the people who were there.” “You can only win your first tournament one time, so I tried to soak it in.”
By: Adam Woodard
Title: Wyndham Clark outduels Xander Schauffele to win 2023 Wells Fargo Championship for first PGA Tour victory
Sourced From: golfweek.usatoday.com/2023/05/07/wyndham-clark-pga-tour-2023-wells-fargo-championship-leaderboard/
Published Date: Sun, 07 May 2023 21:48:47 +0000
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