Wyndham Clark had the opportunity to take advantage of Xander Schauffele’s missed birdie putt on the 16th hole at the Players Championship, but his tee shot on the iconic 17th hole went exactly how he didn’t want.
With water surrounding the island green, the TPC At Sawgrass par-3 17th leaves very little room for error, and Clark made a huge error. After his caddie advised him to not take a full swing with his sand wedge, Clark didn’t get enough on the ball, which landed in the water.
“As I was over the ball, I kind of got to the top and I was like, ‘Take a little off,’ and then I just kind of [decelerated] and chunked it,” Clark said. “It wasn’t really a lack of focus or anything. It just was honestly a poor swing.”
Clark bogeyed the hole and parred the 18th to finish with a 70 for the round. Schauffele managed to par both 17 and 18, giving him a one-stroke advantage over Clark heading into the final round of the Players Championship.
“It’s unfortunate on a hole that’s so iconic and has a bunch of trouble to have kind of your worst swing of the day,” Clark said. “But yeah, I followed it with a great swing and a great putt. I’m in the final group tomorrow, which is huge.
Clark entered Saturday at -14, four strokes ahead of Schauffele and Nick Taylor. While Taylor plummeted on the leaderboard after a 76 on Saturday, Schauffele avoided a single bogey and birdied seven holes for a 65.
Schauffele and Clark will be the final pairing on Sunday as they each attempt to win the Players Championship and its $4.5 million grand prize.
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