Wyndham Clark’s Resurgence Complete With Incredible Sunday to Win CJ Cup Byron Nelson

After Wyndham Clark’s 17-foot birdie putt to force a playoff at the 2024 Players Championship lipped out, he began a journey down a long, winding road.

At that point, Clark was a top-10 player in the world and the reigning U.S. Open champion, plus a recent winner at Quail Hollow and Pebble Beach. Entering this week, though, he was 75th.

Last season, he struggled mightily, finishing 82nd in the FedEx Cup. But he made more headlines off the course than on it, heaving a driver at the board behind the tee box at the PGA Championship, snapping the head and frightening the hole’s volunteer. Then, at Oakmont’s U.S. Open, he damaged a locker in frustration. Both incidents generated apologies.

Performance-wise, this season hasn’t been much better, with no top 10s in 12 starts. And he would make a caddie change in March.

However, Clark also recently made a putter switch—and that propelled him into the winner’s circle at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson.

The 32-year-old Coloradoan edged Si Woo Kim by three strokes, finishing at 30 under par with a final-round 60 at TPC Craig Ranch for his first win since his rain-shortened triumph at Pebble Beach, 27 months ago.

MORE: Final results, payouts from CJ Cup Byron Nelson

Following a third-round 65, Clark began the final round two back of Kim. And Kim extended that lead to three on the front nine. But making the turn, Clark was 4 under on the round, and a few holes later, he’d rise to the top of the leaderboard.

Wyndham Clark fires an unbelievable back-nine 28 to win the @CJByronNelson! pic.twitter.com/whivP1T5I1
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 24, 2026

Hitting his approach to 6 feet on the par-4 11th, Clark got within a stroke. Then, on the par-5, he rolled in a 15-footer for eagle to take the outright lead.

Clark would begin to pull away after that, with birdies on the par-4 14th, the par-3 15th, where he made a 45-footer, and the par-3 17th, rolling in a 12-foot putt. And he’d put the nail in the coffin on the last, hitting his second shot from 172 yards to 2 feet, an exclamation point for a back-nine 29.

Until that moment, Kim had a chance. Four under through his first six holes, the Korean’s momentum halted with a bogey on the par-4 8th and a water ball on the par-5 9th, although he saved par there. He added three birdies on the back and shot 6 under on the day. Ultimately, though, Clark just flat out won.

“I think if I keep knocking on the door, something’s coming,” said Kim, who now has seven top 10s this season. “I can feel it. Yeah, we’ll see. I played great. I think it’s pretty much [the] best golf I’ve ever had. I’m a little frustrated, but nothing I can do. Wyndham played so good.”

Meanwhile, defending champion Scottie Scheffler played in the final pairing with Kim, but finished five back with a Sunday 65. At multiple times during the round, the world No. 1 was visibly frustrated, particularly on the par-4 13th, smashing his driver in the tee box after missing the fairway. Still, it’s Scheffler’s fourth top 5 in his last five starts.

“Overall, I’m proud of this week for myself,” Scheffler said, “but I wish I could have gotten a few more shots out of it. Overall, Wyndham played great golf.”

Coming into the Byron Nelson, Clark was 132nd on Tour in strokes-gained putting, the lowest of his career. But this week, he led the field, gaining over 11 strokes on the greens. So what sparked the turnaround?

Roughly two months ago, Clark switched to a Ping Scottsdale Tec Ally Blue Onset putter. He began to rattle off a few top 25s before tweaking the counter-balanced system and making the club longer.

That sparked the upward trajectory that helped him back into the winner’s circle. And after all he’s endured the past few seasons, he’s thankful for a second chance.

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