It’s the stuff golfing nightmares are made of.
On the final hole of the Players Championship – golf’s unofficial ‘fifth major’ – Wyndham Clark had a 17-foot birdie putt to tie the lead and send it to a playoff.
Clark had birdied the last two holes and was set for one of the biggest moments of his career.
He hit it almost perfectly. As it hit the cup, he cocked his arm backwards, ready to unleash a big fist pump. Then the ball lipped right back at him – a brutal in-and-out that left him in disbelief.
It meant world number one Scottie Scheffler (on -20) defended his Players title by one shot ahead of a tie between 30-year-old Clark, Xander Schauffele and Brian Harman.
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Scheffler pocketed $4.5 million USD, while the three runners-up each earn $1.89m. It means the missed putt cost Clark $2.61m USD ($4m AUD) – had he gone on to win the playoff – or around $830k USD had he gone on to finish solo second in the playoff.
He said: “I don’t know how that putt doesn’t go in.
“It was kind of right centre with like a foot to go, and I knew it was going to keep breaking, but it had speed and I thought it was going to go inside left, and even when it kind of lipped, I thought it would lip in. I’m pretty gutted it didn’t go in.”
He added: “You know, obviously there’s positives in it. You finish second, you get a bunch of points and money and all that stuff, but it just sucks.
“I’ve always wanted and dreamt about making a putt that really mattered to either force a playoff or win a tournament, and I have yet to do it in my professional career, so I was pretty bummed that I didn’t have one of those really awesome moments.
“But yeah, I don’t know, I’m still a little beside myself. I’m still shocked that putt didn’t go in.”
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