Wyndham Clark got the better of Rory McIlroy on Sunday at the BMW Championship after shooting a final-round 70.
Clark actually really struggled with his game during the first 15 holes of the final round, and McIlroy caught the American with a birdie on the 11th hole at Bellerive.
The 32-year-old was clearly flustered, and he seemed completely lost with his swing and his putting stroke.
However, Wyndham Clark bounced back exceptionally well by making three consecutive birdies to close out his final round at the BMW Championship.
Photo by Harry How/Getty ImagesThe two-time US Open champion eventually beat Rory McIlroy by four strokes.
Wyndham Clark is one of the best golfers in the world when he’s on top form, and he proved that last week in St. Louis, Missouri.
Wyndham Clark comments on gamesmanship during final round with Rory McIlroyAfter McIlroy made birdie on the 11th, it seemed like there would be only one winner.
However, it’s fair to say that there aren’t many players who perform better with their backs against the wall than Clark.
And he turned things around with his late flourish.
After winning at Bellerive, Clark spoke to the media and explained how gamesmanship played a key role during his final-round pairing with McIlroy.
The now six-time PGA Tour winner explained what happened on the par-three 16th hole on Sunday.
“Rory hit a 5 and I saw him hold it up and it was perfect. Rory is one of the best long-iron players, hits it really high. I kind of told myself I can do the same thing,“ Clark said.
“I said this shot actually favors me more, because I hit a cut and he hits a draw. I hit a high 5-iron, went a little farther than I thought. But yeah, I thought putting that shot roughly the same distance as him was a big deal.
Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images“There’s some stuff that you do out there that, I wouldn’t call it poor gamesmanship, but when it gets close to who is who, sometimes there’s strategy in who goes first. Earlier in the day Rory was going first and made putts on me, and then I missed.
“So then when we got up to 16 we kind of didn’t know who it was and I said, It’s me. So I went, made the putt. And whether that did anything or not, sometimes putting the pressure on the guy can, you know, be difficult.
“So I thought that was a big thing for the momentum for me to make that putt and kind of put the pressure on him to make his.“
Rory McIlroy’s gamesmanship during Masters pairing with Bryson DeChambeauA similar incident occurred back in 2025 at The Masters, but this time it was between McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau.
McIlroy explained what happened, as quoted by Golf.com.
“I thought it very clearly was my putt. I thought his ball was slightly closer than mine,” McIlroy begins in the clip. “We sort of look at each other, and I’m like, ‘Well I think it’s me to go.’ And he’s like, ‘Well I think it’s me to go.’”
“It’s a very gamesmanship-y, match-play thing. Really, both of us want to putt first. Because if you can hole that putt before your opponent, it puts pressure on them,” McIlroy said.
“He goes, ‘Well why don’t we just throw a tee up for it to see who goes first?’” McIlroy said. “And I’m like, ‘No.’ This is the final round of the Masters. This isn’t some game on a Tuesday afternoon somewhere. I’m like, ‘No.’”
He continued: “I wasn’t going to wilt in that situation. I was just going to stand firm.”
“So I said, ‘There’s a ref… why don’t we get him up to come and measure?’ And he said, ‘No, no. It’s fine. You can go anyway. I don’t care.’ And I just felt like that was a really big moment.”
It is obviously something that happens fairly regularly during professional golf tournaments and that moment on the 16th green on Sunday proved to be pivotal as Wyndham Clark separated himself from Rory McIlroy.
Leave a Comment