Alas, the storybook finish was not to be.
Clark, the Pac-12 champion and Player of the Year, was trying to help lead the University of Oregon to its second consective NCAA team title — but first with him on the roster.
The Ducks squeaked into the eight-team match play bracket and scored 3-2 wins in the quarterfinals and semifinals, knocking off the team stroke-play medalist Vanderbilt to get to the finals. But the University of Oklahoma denied the Pac-12 champions the repeat on Wednesday at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill., beating Oregon 3-1, with one draw.
Clark — winner of three individual titles this season and the No. 1-ranked individual in college golf according to Golfweek — was the lone Oregon player to prevail in his match in the finals. He defeated Oklahoma’s Rylee Reinertson 1 up, giving the Highlands Ranch resident a 2-1 record in his three individual matches. Clark clinched his victory on Wednesday with a win on the 18th hole, where he drained a big-breaking 15-foot eagle putt.
On Monday, Clark had finished 51st in the stroke-play portion of the championship.
In front of a national TV audience on the Golf Channel, Oklahoma won the first two matches on Wednesday, and the Sooners needed to prevail in just one of the last three to claim its second national title in men’s golf. Clark won his match and teammate Ryan Gronlund halved his, but Oklahoma’s Brad Dalke pulled away from Sulman Raza on the back nine to post a championship-clinching 2 and 1 victory.
Clark, a first-team All-American as a senior, has said he plans to turn pro shortly after concluding his college career.
Men’s NCAA Division I Finals
May 26-31, 2017 in Sugar Grove, Ill.
MATCH PLAY FINALS
Team: Oklahoma def. Oregon, 3-1-1
Individual: Coloradan Wyndham Clark, Oregon, def. Rylee Reinertson, Oklahoma, 1 up
MATCH PLAY SEMIFINALS
Team: Oregon def. Vanderbilt, 3-2
Individually: Coloradan Wyndham Clark, Oregon, def. Will Gordon, Vanderbilt, 4 and 3
MATCH PLAY QUARTERFINALS
Team: Oregon def. Oklahoma State, 3-2
Individually: Viktor Hovland, Oklahoma State, def. Coloradan Wyndham Clark, Oregon, 2 and 1
STROKE PLAY
51. Coloradan Wyndham Clark, Oregon 74-69-72-81–296
Missed 54-Hole Cut
138. Coloradan Josh Seiple, Mississippi 74-76-82–232
For complete results, CLICK HERE.
The University of Oregon senior, playing in his final college tournament, made six birdies and three bogeys in round 2, giving him a two-day total of 1-under 143, which leaves him in 41st place. He trails leader Scottie Scheffler of Texas by seven strokes with two rounds remaining.
Clark, the Pac-12 champion, is the No. 1-ranked player in the nation, according to Golfweek. His Oregon team, the defending national champions, holds 12th place out of 30 schools in the team competition.
The stroke-play portion of the tournament will continue through Monday, when the individual champion will be determined and the top eight team finishers will advance to match play.
Meanwhile, Josh Seiple of Castle Rock, a high school teammate of Clark’s at Valor Christian, was playing solidly for much of Saturday, being 1 under for the day through 16 holes. But a quadruple-bogey 8 on the 17th hole — where Clark made a triple bogey on Friday — and a bogey on the 18th gave him a 4-over-par 76. That put the University of Mississippi sophomore in 108th place individually at 150.
Seiple’s Ole Miss squad sits in 22nd place as a team.
Men’s NCAA Division I Finals
May 26-29, 2017 in Sugar Grove, Ill.
41. Coloradan Wyndham Clark, Oregon 74-69–143
108. Coloradan Josh Seiple, Mississippi 74-76–150
For complete results, CLICK HERE.
Four days after a triple-bogey on the 17th hole likely cost Jennifer Kupcho of Westminster and Wake Forest the individual title at the Women’s NCAA Finals, Wyndham Clark of Highlands Ranch made a triple of his own on No. 17 in the opening round of the Men’s NCAA nationals.
Clark (pictured), competing in his final college tournament for the University of Oregon, rebounded from the 7 to stand at 1-over-par through 11 holes and in 62nd place when play was suspended due to darkness on Friday night.
Clark, the Pac-12 champion and the No. 1-ranked player in the nation, according to Golfweek, made three birdies, a bogey and the triple on day 1. His Oregon team, the defending national champions, share 11th place out of 30 schools in the team competition.
The stroke-play portion of the tournament will continue through Monday, when the individual champion will be determined and the top eight team finishers will advance to match play.
Meanwhile, Coloradan Josh Seiple shot a 2-over-par 74 on Friday and shares 89th place. The sophomore made three birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey.
Seiple’s University of Mississippi team shares ninth place.
Men’s NCAA Division I Finals
May 26-29, 2017 in Sugar Grove, Ill.
62. Coloradan Wyndham Clark, Oregon 1 over par through 11 holes
89. Coloradan Josh Seiple, Mississippi 74
For complete results, CLICK HERE.