The first time Wyndham Clark played the Players Championship in 2019, he was disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard.
This time around, he’s tied for the first-round lead.
Clark had the best round of the afternoon starters, matching morning leaders Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele with a 7-under 65. Clark birdied Nos. 15-17 to match the leaders and had a comfy two-putt par on the closing 18th to sign for his 65.
“It wasn’t the best irons I ever hit, but I just had a lot of control of the ball,” Clark told Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis after the round. “I was putting the ball in spots I thought you needed to be, and I just plotted my way around the course. When I did get out of position, I got myself back in position.
All in all, it was a really solid day and something to build off.”
Players: Leaderboard, hole-by-hole | Friday tee times
It was another strong round for Clark in the past year in the biggest events. He broke through for his maiden PGA Tour victory at the Wells Fargo Championship, a signature event in 2023. Then he won the U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club.
In January, he claimed the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, thanks to his third-round 60, which set a course record. Last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Clark finished solo second.
Now, at the PGA Tour’s marquee event, the big-game hunter is again on the prowl.
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“I think this is a golf course that takes time to get used to,” Clark said. “The first few years, I just felt really uncomfortable on a lot of the tee shots, a lot of the second shots. This is my fifth year, I believe. I’m hoping I’ve done my time, and now I’m more comfortable on the golf course. And I felt that today.”
Clark, playing in the group behind world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, bested the defending champion by two shots. Scheffler opened with a birdie but signed for a 5-under 67 in his title defense.
No player has won the Players in back-to-back years.
“I knew the scores were going to be fairly low today,” Scheffler said. “The golf course is pretty soft, and we had an unusually low winds, I’d say, for TPC Sawgrass, and the scores obviously reflected that. You can’t really force it around this place, like I’ve said a bunch of times, you really can’t. It was nice bouncing back after the rough start and just playing a really good round of golf.”
Matt Fitzpatrick was 7 under in a nine-hole stretch and signed for a 6-under 66, playing in the group in front of Scheffler. Fitzpatrick had one of the record 12 eagles on the 16th hole Thursday.
“I don’t think you get on any hole and breathe a sigh of relief, like I’ve got a bit of a breather here, maybe a wide fairway or easy second shot,” he said of the difficulty of TPC Sawgrass’ Stadium Course. “I just feel like every hole has got something that can catch you out.”