CHARLOTTE, NC (AP) — Wyndham Clark shot an 8-under 63 in the Wells Fargo Championship on Saturday, putting him in position for his first PGA Tour win.
The 29-year-old Clark has a two-shot lead going into the final round. The Denver, Colorado native is at 16-under 197 for the tournament.
Xander Schauffele, the world’s fifth-ranked player, shot 64 at Quail Hollow while playing alongside Clark. Schauffele is at 14 under.
Adam Scott and third-round co-leader Tyrrell Hatton are tied for third at 11 under, five shots behind Clark. Tommy Fleetwood, Harris English and Sungjae Im are tied for fifth, six shots off the pace.
Defending champion Max Homa shot 68 and is at 8 under for the tournament.
Clark is within striking distance of the tournament’s 72-hole scoring mark (in relation to par) of 21-under 267 set by Rory McIlroy in 2015. That was when Quail Hollow played to a par 72; it is now par 71.
At one point on Saturday there were 11 players tied for the lead.
Clark shot 31 on the front nine and posted birdies on Nos. 13, 14 and 15. He hit his first 17 greens before his approach shot on No. 18 landed two inches off the green. He needed just 28 putts on Saturday, best in the field.
But Schauffele wouldn’t let Clark pull away.
He put his 260-yard approach shot on No. 15 to within 27 feet to set up an eagle, and then added a birdie on 16 to cut Schauffele’s lead to two.
While he has never won, Clark’s ascension on the leaderboard does not come as a huge surprise given his recent play. He has finished in the top six in three of his last five tournaments and hasn’t missed a cut since last October’s Shriner’s Open.
Brendon Todd was one of the big movers on Saturday, shooting a 65 to get to 9 under.
McIlroy’s bid for a fourth win at Quail Hollow is essentially over after the world’s third-ranked player failed to make a move on Saturday, shooting an inconsistent 71 that left him at 1 under for the tournament. McIlroy had previously won the event in 2010, 2015 and 2021.
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