Tim Clark claims first PGA TOUR win at THE PLAYERS Championship

Excellent playing conditions Thursday at TPC Sawgrass led to great scoring on the opening round of THE PLAYERS Championship.

Clark was labeled as one of the best players, and the richest, without a PGA TOUR title. NOT ANYMORE.

“A part of me is a bit disappointed because now no one is going to talk about me anymore,” Clark said. “At least you had something to write about before. Now I’m just another guy with a win.”

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Well, there is a lot to be said about his bogey-free 67 on Sunday, the best score of the closing round.

The Stadium Course showed his teeth for the final round, after three days of gentle breezes and receiving greens. The difficult conditions led to a 3-shot average higher than the previous three rounds, allowing only two players to shoot in the 60s: Clark’s 67 and Davis Love lll’s 68.

That’s how tough it was out there.

Clark started three shots behind leader Lee Westwood and two behind Robert Allenby. With birdies at 7, 9, 10 11, and 12, the South African raced past everybody and made a clutch 8-foot putt on the closing hole to finish at 16-under.

Then he had to wait.

Allenby’s eagle putt to tie at the par-5 16th died on the lip, and the Australian had another one burning the edge after a perfect shot at the famous island-green 17. Two close calls that left Allenby with the tough task to birdie 18, the toughest hole all week.

Westwood, who’s been so close in the major tournaments lately, lost all possibilities when his ball ended in the water at the 17, leading to a double bogey. He finished T4 at -12. The Englishman will have to wait a little longer to claim a big one.

Allenby couldn’t get close with his approach shot at 18 and finished second one shot behind Clark.

Clark played the final 26 holes without a bogey, shooting 66 and 67 over the weekend to claim the title.

“That’s as good as I could have played,” said Clark.

U.S. champion Lucas Glover, with 70, finished solo third at -14, and two-time champion Davis Love lll (68) jumped to a tie for fourth with Westwood (74), Heath Slocum (71), Bo Van Pelt (70) and Ben Crane (72).

Tiger Woods, who was not in contention, withdrew on the 7th hole because of a neck injury that he says has been bothering him since before the Masters.

“I’ve been playing through it,” Tiger said. “I can’t play through it anymore.”

Phil Mickelson could have moved to No. 1 with a victory. He started 5 shots behind Westwood on Sunday, after a 66 on Saturday, but fell out of the picture with bogeys at the 2nd, 3rd and 6th holes to start his closing round. He finished with 74, T17.

The best player on Sunday won THE PLAYERS at Ponte Vedra Beach. The 5’ 7” Tim Clark - “pitt bull” as Greg Norman called him last year at the Presidents Cup -is no longer the best without a win.

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Tim Clark claims first PGA TOUR win at THE PLAYERS Championship

Tim Clark claims first PGA TOUR win at THE PLAYERS Championship

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