Wyndham Clark, who won The CJ Cup during the regular season and the U.S. Open major, added a playoff title to stake a strong claim in the PGA Tour Player of the Year race.
Clark won the BMW Championship, the second FedEx Cup playoff event, with a 17-under-par 263 at Bellerive Country Club (par 70) in Missouri on the 23rd. He faced the risk of a comeback defeat to Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland but sank birdies on the final three holes, Nos. 16 through 18, to finish four strokes ahead of third-place McIlroy and three ahead of runner-up Patrick Cantlay of the United States. The winner's prize was $3.6 million (about 4.96 billion won).
The victory gave Clark three wins this year, following The CJ Cup in May and the U.S. Open in June. He is tied for the most wins with Chris Gotterup of the United States and Matt Fitzpatrick of England. But Clark is the only one of the three with a major title this year. He won the U.S. Open after a final-group duel with world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, and this time he prevailed in a final-group battle with world No. 2 McIlroy, adding to the impact of his run.
Judging by results and influence alone, a Player of the Year award for Clark would be no surprise. But the honor is decided by a vote of the players, and a major variable is that Clark is not especially popular among his peers. Voting is expected to begin after the Tour Championship, the third playoff event starting on the 27th, with results typically announced in December.
Last year, Clark drew criticism after damaging a locker at the venue following his U.S. Open missed cut, and at that year's PGA Championship he threw his driver toward a crowd in frustration after a tee shot, drawing disapproval. At this year's CJ Cup, he inconvenienced his playing partners by taking excessive time while inquiring about a free relief ruling on a course situation.
Clark, the 2023 and 2026 U.S. Open champion, said: "I'm well aware that people say bad things about me and that they root for the players I'm competing against rather than for me. But either way, this year I feel like I've found my game. Winning Player of the Year would of course be nice, but even if I don't, I'm really satisfied with the way I've spent this year."
Before Clark won the BMW Championship, McIlroy, Fitzpatrick and others were unanimous in their outlook on Player of the Year, saying Scheffler "should win it for the fifth straight year." Scheffler has two wins this year, but with 12 top-10 finishes, including a runner-up showing at the Masters, he boasts overwhelming consistency.
