- Clark had a chance to force a playoff on the final hole, but his putt fell short
- 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 in 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 under 18 feet on the 18th green somehow dove into the left edge of the cup, only to pop back out. He placed his hand over his mouth in disbelief.
“I’m still a little beside myself. I’m still shocked that the putt didn’t make it,” Clark said afterward. “I made it perfectly.”
He added: “I don’t know how it’s not sinking in…I’m pretty gutted.”
Scottie Scheffler, who had entered the final round five shots behind, was on the practice range preparing for a three-hole playoff when he received the news and showed more emotion than d habit for someone who gets used to winning.
Already the best in the world, Scheffler added another layer to his legend on Sunday. He became the first player to achieve back-to-back victories in 50 years of the Players Championship by tying the greatest comeback and lowest closing round by a winner.
Scheffler made an eagle from the fourth fairway and had four birdies over 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 after missing a birdie putt on the 18th hole during the final round
Clark’s putt from just inside 18 feet somehow dipped into the cup on the left side and came out
Xander Schauffele, Brian Harman and Clark all had a chance to force the playoff with a birdie on the fearsome 18th hole at TPC Sawgrass.
This was no ordinary week. He struggled to take the club back early in his second round due to a neck problem and battled to a 69. He appeared to be out of action Saturday afternoon until finishing with three consecutive birdies.
And then he delivered a masterpiece on the Players Stadium Course. His 64 matches the lowest final round by a Players champion, last achieved by Davis Love III in 2003, and he tied Justin Leonard (1998) with his five-shot return.
Scheffler finished the inaugural PGA Tour Championship bogey-free over the final 31 holes in a tense 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
Everyone had their chance.
Schauffele, who began the final round with a one-shot lead, was still in control until he missed tee shots to the right on the 14th and 15th holes and was unable to salvage par. He had a 6-foot birdie chance on the 17th island green — the toughest hole at Sawgrass on Sunday — and didn’t come close to a reasonable birdie chance coming off the pine straw on the 18th.
He finished with a 70.
Harman hung around long enough to have a chance, but he missed a birdie chance at the par-5 16th and couldn’t convert birdie chances over the final two holes of his round of 68.
Clark also made a late push. He narrowly missed a 12-foot eagle putt on the 16th. He drove the slope to 4 feet for birdie on the 17th. And his birdie to force the playoff looked good until this is no longer the case. Clark shot a 69.
Scheffler finished at 20-under 268 and won $4.5 million of the $25 million purse, pushing the 27-year-old from Dallas over the $50 million mark in his career.