Wyndham Clark suffered a brutal lip-out on the 72nd hole at TPC Sawgrass to miss out on a playoff at the Players Championship.
Clark struggled with his game throughout the final round but managed a birdie on the 16th and another on the iconic 17th to leave him needing a three up the last to take it to extra holes.
He struck a pitching wedge to 17ft on the 18th and his right-to-left swinging putt somehow lipped out of the left side of the hole and bounced out towards him. He'd even began walking it in and celebrating.
He couldn't hide his agony on course and later when speaking to the media.
"Yeah, it was coming with some speed, too. I don't know how that putt doesn't go in. It was kind of right center 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 good 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 said.
"The one on 18, I want to try to make the putt. I didn't really care about the second putt. We've already had a good start to the year. I wanted to be in a playoff, so I went for it."
Watch Wyndham Clark's lip-out:
One ... shot ... short ... 💔 Heartbreak for Wyndham Clark on the 72nd hole @THEPLAYERS. pic.twitter.com/6d1Qa3elOaMarch 17, 2024
"I hit it perfect. It rolled end over end and had the speed to go in," he continued.
Clark has now finished second two weeks in a row, losing to Scheffler both times.
"On 11 I looked - it's the first time I really looked at a leaderboard, and I kind of chuckled and I said, yeah, of course. I mean, he's the best player in the world," he said.
"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.
"I'm really hoping that these two seconds are just leading to something greater. I believe that, and I hope that maybe these shortcomings in these last couple weeks lead to something greater. I'm really looking forward to what's ahead."
As well as huge money won from the Players Championship payout, Clark can also enjoy a rise up the world rankings to 4th. He is set to be one of the favorites for The Masters, which begins in just 25 days' time.
