Colorado’s own Wyndham Clark in contention at Castle Pines

Halfway through the BMW Championship at Castle Pines, Denver native Wyndham Clark finds himself in the hunt after a 4-under round of 68 on Friday. He trails leader Adam Scott by nine shots after Scott’s electrifying 9-under round of 63.

Playing with the world’s No. 3 ranked player, Rory McIlroy, Clark, the fifth-ranked golfer in the world, got off to a hot start with birdies on two of his first three holes after firing an even par 72 in Thursday’s opening round. After bogeying the fifth hole, he recovered to card back-to-back birdies on Nos. 7 and 8 to go out with a 3-under par 33 on the front nine.

Both Clark and McIlroy were looking to make a late push on the back nine, but neither was able to take advantage of the par-5 14th hole, coming away with a pair of pars. Heading to the 16th tee box, the 229-yard, par-3 had been giving the entire field problems on Friday. Player after player left their tee shot 25 yards short of the hole, and on the wrong tier for the back pin.

McIlroy followed suit, leaving a seven-iron woefully short on the lower front tier. Clark hesitated for a moment, because he and caddie John Ellis felt certain that seven-iron was the right club. Clark stuck with his instincts and delivered the highlight of the day for the massive crowd following the Valor Christian alum, nearly holing out his tee shot and stopping it within 11 inches of the cup.

229 yards ➡️ 11 inches@Wyndham_Clark nearly holes it for an ace on No. 16 @BMWChamps. pic.twitter.com/dtKIugbHsl

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 23, 2024

Clark tapped in the birdie to go to 4-under par. Meanwhile, McIlroy three-putted from the front of the green to drop back to -3.

Clark was unable to build on his momentum on the long, uphill par-5 17th, as he pushed his tee shot well off the fairway and down a hill to the right. McIlroy also went right, showing his frustration by throwing his driver nearly into the water on the 17th tee box. Both players pitched out of trouble to the middle of the fairway on 17, then showed all of Denver fans who don’t get to see PGA pros on a regular basis exactly why they’re not like us.

Both Clark and McIlroy delivered fantastic approach shots up the steep hill, firing straight at the flag to the narrowest point of the green. Clark and McIlroy had good looks to steal a late birdie, but were unable to cash in their putts settling for two pars.

The walk to the 18th tee box delivered what might have been the coolest moment of the day for fans at Castle Pines. As the world’s third- and fourth-ranked players approached, the world’s top-two players, with the other biggest following on the course, were teeing off on the shared ninth tee box. For one brief moment, fans who no longer have an annual tour stop in Colorado were able to see four of the world’s top-five players standing on the same tee box as the two massive galleries blended into one.

Clark and McIlroy finished the 18th with pars and will be chasing leader Adam Scott on the weekend. In his post-round press conference, Clark noted that the storm that caused a three-plus hour rain delay Thursday afternoon softened up Castle Pines and Scott took advantage of it with his early tee time on Friday. Clark and the field may need those Colorado storms to continue through the weekend if anyone has a chance of catching Scott.

After addressing all of the post-round golf questions, Clark was reminded that his alma mater opens up the Colorado High School Football season tonight. He reminded everyone of the state championships he won at Valor Christian and said “Go Eagles.”

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