And all season, he’s lived up to his billing.
On Tuesday at the Bandon Dunes Championship in Bandon, Ore., the 2010 CGA Amateur champion almost pulled off his third individual victory of the spring portion of the University of Oregon’s schedule. But after being tied for the lead in the wake of making birdies at the 14th, 16th and 17th holes, one of his few missteps — a final-hole bogey — left him settling for a share of second place individually. He ended up two strokes behind champion Hannes Ronneblad of Texas Tech, who closed with a birdie and went 4 under par in his last seven holes.
The showing kept Clark (pictured), who sits atop Golfstat’s national rankings, perfect on the season as far as top-10 finishes go. As a fifth-year senior for the defending national champion Ducks after transferring from Oklahoma State last summer, Clark owns two wins, two seconds, a third, a sixth and a 10th in seven tournaments.
This time around, the two-time Colorado high school champion fired a 4-under-par 68 in Tuesday’s final round and posted an 8-under-par 208 total to tie teammate Edwin Yi. Over three rounds, Clark made an eagle and 16 birdies.
Team-wise, Clark’s Oregon squad ran away with the title as the Ducks’ 28-under-par 836 total was 21 shots better than runner-up Texas Tech and 22 better than Oregon State.
The University of Colorado, like Oregon and Oregon State a Pac-12 squad, took fourth place at 860. CU, ranked No. 21 in the nation, has finished in the top five in all of its stroke-play tournaments this season.
Buffs senior Jeremy Paul notched his fifth top-10 showing of the season by tying for sixth place on Tuesday. He went 71-68-72 for a 211 total.
The University of Denver, which finished eighth in the 16-team field at 878, was led by Isaac Petersilie, a freshman from Colorado Springs who tied for 13th individually at 213.
Meanwhile, Clark and Petersilie weren’t the only Coloradans to post top-20 individual finishes in a Division I tournament on Tuesday.
Jake Staiano, a Colorado State University golfer from Cherry Hills Village, tied for 11th individually on Tuesday at the Lamkin Grips SD Classic in Chula Vista, Calif. Staiano carded rounds of 68-73-72 for a 3-under-par 213 total. As a team, CSU placed 10th in the 15-school event at 8-over-par 872.
And Coloradan Josh Seiple, who plays for Mississippi, finished 18th in Chula Vista at 215 after closing with a 69.
Bandon Dunes Championship
March 12-14, 2017 (final) in Bandon, Ore.
4. (out of 16 teams) Colorado 283-292-285–860
6. Jeremy Paul 71-68-72–211
14. Yannik Paul 70-76-69–215
26. Ethan Freeman 73-75-71–219
42. John Souza 76-73-73–222
50. Spencer Painton 69-80-75–224
8. Denver 289-291-298–878
13. Isaac Petersilie 74-69-70–213
20. Petter Mikalsen 67-75-76–218
36. Troy Dangler 75-72-74–221
56. Jake Kelley 73-75-78–226
77. Chris Korte 76-77-80–233
Also
2. Coloradan Wyndham Clark, Oregon 66-74-68–208
69. Coloradan Tristan Rohrbaugh, Boise State 74-76-78–230
Lamkin Grips SD Classic
March 13-14, 2017 (final) in Chula Vista, Calif.
10. (out of 15 teams) Colorado State 292-283-297–872
11. Jake Staiano 68-73-72–213
39. Blake Cannon 75-70-75–220
43. Colton Yates 74-69-78–221
43. AJ Ott 75-71-75–221
69. Max Oelfke 75-78-75–228
Also
18. Coloradan Josh Seiple, Mississippi 72-74-69–215