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The primary time Wyndham Clark performed the Gamers Championship in 2019, he was disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard.
This time round, he’s tied for the first-round lead.
Clark had the very best spherical 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 snug two-putt par on the closing 18th to signal for his 65.
“It wasn’t the very best irons I ever hit, however I simply had lots of management of the ball,” Clark informed Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis after the spherical. “I used to be placing the ball in spots I assumed you wanted to be, and I simply plotted my manner across the course. Once I did get out of place, I received myself again in place.
All in all, it was a extremely strong day and one thing to construct off.”
Gamers: Leaderboard, hole-by-hole | Friday tee instances
It was one other robust spherical for Clark up to now yr within the greatest occasions. He broke by way of for his maiden PGA Tour victory on the Wells Fargo Championship, a signature occasion in 2023. Then he received the U.S. Open at Los Angeles Nation Membership.
In January, he claimed the AT&T Pebble Seashore Professional-Am, because of his third-round 60, which set a course file. Final week on the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Clark completed solo second.
Now, on the PGA Tour’s marquee occasion, the big-game hunter is once more on the prowl.
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“I believe it is a golf course that takes time to get used to,” Clark stated. “The primary few years, I simply felt actually uncomfortable on lots of the tee pictures, lots of the second pictures. That is my fifth yr, I imagine. I’m hoping I’ve carried out my time, and now I’m extra snug on the golf course. And I felt that at the moment.”
Clark, taking part in within the group behind world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, bested the defending champion by two pictures. Scheffler opened with a birdie however signed for a 5-under 67 in his title protection.
No participant has received the Gamers in back-to-back years.
“I knew the scores have been going to be pretty low at the moment,” Scheffler stated. “The golf course is fairly delicate, and we had an unusually low winds, I’d say, for TPC Sawgrass, and the scores clearly mirrored that. You’ll be able to’t actually power it round this place, like I’ve stated a bunch of instances, you actually can’t. It was good bouncing again after the tough begin and simply taking part in a extremely good spherical of golf.”
Matt Fitzpatrick was 7 beneath in a nine-hole stretch and signed for a 6-under 66, taking part in within the group in entrance of Scheffler. Fitzpatrick had one of many file 12 eagles on the sixteenth gap Thursday.
“I don’t assume you get on any gap and breathe a sigh of reduction, like I’ve received a little bit of a breather right here, perhaps a large fairway or straightforward second shot,” he stated of the issue of TPC Sawgrass’ Stadium Course. “I simply really feel like each gap has received one thing that may catch you out.”
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