Late par putt lifts Clark to TPC title

Associated Press

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla.

Tim Clark no longer has to hear about being the best player to have never won on the PGA Tour. He settled that Sunday by beating the best field in golf.

Clark played the final 26 holes without a bogey and made an 8-foot par on the final hole for a 5-under 67 to win The Players Championship with a record 36-hole comeback at TPC Sawgrass.

“I did all I could there,” said Clark, a 34-year-old South African. “That’s as good as I could have played.”

He needed every shot on a course with greens that were crisp, firm and pale yellow. The average score was nearly three shots higher than it was for the previous three rounds.

Clark, seven shots behind going into the weekend, made four straight birdies around the turn to take the lead, and no one could catch him. Robert Allenby had the best chance, but an 18-foot eagle putt on the 16th and a 12-foot birdie try on the island-green 17th came within a fraction of an inch from going in.

Clark became only the second player to make The Players Championship his first PGA Tour victory. He had gone more than eight years and 204 tournament with nothing more to show than eight runner-up finishes.

Phil Mickelson could have moved to No. 1 in the world with a victory, but the Masters champion never gave himself a good chance. He made bogey on three of his opening six holes, closed with a 74 and tied for 17th.

Clark won for the fourth time worldwide, yet this was his finest performance. The Players Championship not only is the richest tournament in golf with a $9.5 million purse, it features the strongest and deepest field all year.

Clark won with a 66-67 weekend in which he made only one bogey — the 10th hole on Saturday.