Key Shot: The Chip That Led to Wyndham Clark's Emotional Wells Fargo Win

The 29-year-old is a first-time winner on the PGA Tour, and one shot helped him regain momentum during the final round at Quail Hollow.

Wyndham Clark has done it: The 29-year-old from Denver has clinched his first PGA Tour victory at the Wells Fargo, a designated event with a winner’s prize of $3.6 million. A final-round 68 solidified the result—a four-shot victory over Xander Schauffele, who is a seven-time winner on Tour. 

It took Clark five years to clinch his first title, but this season the Scottsdale, Ariz., resident has been tracking. In his last five events, Clark has posted three top-10 finishes, including a third-place finish at the Zurich Classic. 

“I’m a little choked up,” Clark said on the 18th green. “It’s been a long five years on Tour to get to this point. You know, I thought I would have had one earlier. It was well worth the wait. I’m so grateful.”

On Sunday, Clark didn’t get off to the start he was looking for, despite starting the final round with a two-shot lead. He sprayed his drive to the right and made an unfortunate bogey on Quail Hollow's opening hole. Six straight pars followed, but such steady play wouldn’t be enough to hold his position. Schauffele played the same stretch in 2 under and suddenly saw himself at the top of the leaderboard. 

Clark’s momentum shifted on the par-4 8th, however. A 322-yard drive gave him just 29 yards into the green. He hit an expertly judged chip shot to just 3 feet and made his first birdie of the day. 

From that point on, Clark went on a tear. The hole sparked a string of four birdies in his next seven holes. Clark ultimately finishing with a round of 3 under. 

He fired at pins all day, and the aggressive play paid off. 

“Be right!” 🎯@Wyndham_Clark goes right at it @WellsFargoGolf. pic.twitter.com/edmGavJwk0

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 7, 2023

Two bogeys for Schauffele left the Californian clawing back for the lead, but Clark was out of reach at that point. 

For Clark, the win was an emotional one: “There’s so much that goes into this. There’s so many times when I wanted to cry and break clubs, and I did break the clubs sometimes. To get to this point is so sweet.”

While attending Oklahoma State University, Clark lost his mother to breast cancer. 

“I’m here alone this week. It’s just amazing to finally do this. My mom obviously is not here, and I wish she was. But I know she’s watching,” Clark said.