CJ Cup Byron Nelson: Wyndham Clarke comes from behind to win fourth PGA Tour event, defeating Si Woo Kim and Scotty Scheffler | golf news

Wyndham Clark came within two shots of ending a two-year wait to win a PGA Tour event at The CJ Cup Byron Nelson on Sunday, edging out both Si Woo Kim and defending champion Scotty Scheffler in a three-way race for the title.

The win ended a tough start to the season for Clarke, who has failed to post a top-10 finish on the PGA Tour since December, with the 2023 US Open champion coming off the cut this week after missing the cut at the PGA Championship.

Clark posted scores of 66, 63 and 65 in his first three rounds before shooting an amazing bogey-free 60 on his final day at TPC Craig Ranch to finish his week at 30-under par, three shots behind Kim and five clear of world number one Scheffler in third place.

Clark last won the 2024 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on the PGA Tour, where he also shot a final round of 60.

“It’s been a pretty heavy drop since it happened … I was ranked third in the world at some point in 2024,” Clarke said. “It’s frustrating, but that’s golf. I went through a tough spot, not swinging it well, not feeling comfortable with a lot of things, and I put a lot of work into my golf swing this off-season.

“Then I started hitting it better, but wasn’t making putts. Then, finally, I landed a great putter and then everything just kind of fell into place.

“Needless to say, it feels amazing to be back in the winner’s circle. I think my game is trending in a great direction for continued success the rest of the year.”

Although it was an amazing score, Clark could not surpass Scheffler’s winning score of 31 under in 2025.

“It’s hard to make a lot of birdies, and sometimes your mind wanders and gets ahead of itself, and sometimes you have some negative thoughts, ‘Am I going to miss one now?'” Clark said.

“You have to bring yourself back to the present, and say, ‘No, you know I’m playing good golf, stick to my process and keep doing what I’m doing and good things are going to happen’.”

The American pair opened tied for second at 19 under and Clark went on an early charge, making birdies at the second, fourth, fifth and sixth to go four-under par through his first six holes. Meanwhile, Kim kept the momentum going by making birdies on his first six holes, but a bogey on the par-four eighth, three-putting gave Clark an advantage.

Clarke took the turn first, posting a birdie on the 11th before taking an outright lead on the 12th. He hit a beautiful 245-yard long iron to within 15 feet of the hole and drained the resulting putt to make an eagle.

The American’s putting was spectacular throughout his final round, notably draining a 44-foot left-to-right sliding putt on the par 15th to make a birdie. It came after nearly draining a 78-foot lag putt — which was remarkably similar Aaron Rye’s monster putt on the 17th last week at Aronimink – on the 14th hole for an eagle.

He gained again on the 17th and 18th, landing a nice approach on the 18th to within just a few feet of the hole, with another birdie to wrap up his week in style.

“I knew when I turned in four under, I probably had to do the same to have a chance on the back nine, and I beat it by a couple,” Clark said.

Kim is disappointed, but thinks a victory is coming

Kim fought hard to make room on his back nine. Earlier in the week, he led all players with the most birdies on the PGA Tour since 2016 (3,776) and added to that list with birdies on the 11th, 12th and 14th. Nevertheless, the South Korean could not maintain the momentum, and shot an impressive 65 in his final round to finish in second place.

Disappointingly for Kim, who barely misplaced a foot on Sunday, it was his sixth top-10 finish of the year, and the second time he finished a tournament as runner-up in 2026.

He hasn’t won on the PGA Tour in three years but insists he will end his drought soon, if he keeps knocking on the door.

“It wasn’t bad,” Kim said, “I played hard, and then I thought it was the best putting of my life. So that’s really positive.

“If I keep knocking on the door, something’s coming. I can feel it. Yeah, we’ll see. I played great. It’s the best golf of my life.

“I’m a little disappointed, but I can’t help it. Windham played very well. Congratulations to Windham.”

Scheffler comes up short again

Scheffler also posted a flawless bogey-free final round, but couldn’t match Clark’s strong scoring, despite making three birdies on his front nine and three after the turn.

In his last four starts, Scheffler has finished four times this season and four times inside the top five. The world number one has finished third or better on six separate occasions. That’s a significant figure, but Scheffler still came up short.

“I’m sure, if you look statistically, I’m probably not much different than the last couple of years, a few shots here and there. Some things go my way in some tournaments,” he said.

“This season looks a little different, but like you said, I’ve played some tough golf.

“Just put myself in position, and things will turn my way.”

He added: “Overall, I felt like I was close this week, but like you said, it’s a few shots.”

Elsewhere, 26-year-old American Jackson Suber secured his best finish on the PGA Tour, finishing his week tied for fourth with a final round of 63 on the leaderboard.

“It felt amazing,” Suber said. “I’m just trying to be patient, and I’m glad it’s paying off.”

Tony Finau, who finished sixth at 20-under par, also enjoyed a great week, finishing in the top-10 at a PGA Tour event for the first time since February 2025.

What next?

The PGA Tour returns next week for the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas. A $9.9m (£7.3m) prize purse is up for grabs with world number 17 Ben Griffin looking to defend his title.

Check out the four rounds of the Charles Schwab Challenge Sky SportsPreliminary round coverage begins at 1pm on Thursday on Sky Sports+, with full round coverage on Sky Sports Golf at 5pm. Get Sky Sports or Flow without any contract.