Behind 150 feet of putts made over 9 holes, major winner makes Pebble history

Wyndham Clark missed a putt on the 1st hole, a 14-foot, 4-incher. He parred.

He missed on the 3rd (a 13-foot, 6-incher) and the 5th (a 30-foot, 11-incher), too. Two more pars. 

But that was it. Besides those three holes, only makes. Only birdies and eagles.

Last year’s U.S. Open winner did not miss another putt on Saturday on his front nine at Pebble Beach. He scored better than par on the other six holes during his third round at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am. In the end, behind four birdies and two eagles — and just over 150 feet of putts made — he shot an eight-under 28. 

The play was historic. 

According to stats guru Justin Ray, Clark tied the tournament’s front-nine record, set three other times (Spike McRoy, during the first round in 2001; Davis Love IIII during the fourth round in 2001; and Brent Schwarzrock, during the first round in 2002.) Ray also reported that Clark’s total of 150 feet, 10 inches of putts made was the most by a pro on the front nine at the event over the past 20 years — by 24 feet, 7 inches.

His barrage started on 2 and continued on 4, 6, 7, 8 and 9.

Here’s a look:

— Hole 2, 516-yard, par-5 (eagle)
Shot 1: 299 yards to the right side of the fairway, 216 yards to the hole
Shot 2: 203 yards to the green, 38 feet, 11 inches to the hole
Shot 3: In the hole

— Hole 4 330-yard par-4 (birdie)
Shot 1: 285 yards to the left side of the fairway, 48 yards to the hole
Shot 2: 45 yards to the green, 9 feet, 7 inches to the hole
Shot 3: In the hole

— Hole 6 523-yard par-5 (eagle)
Shot 1: 329 yards to the left side of the fairway, 199 yards to the hole
Shot 2: 196 yards to the green, 42 feet, 2 inches to the hole
Shot 3: In the hole

— Hole 7 106-yard par-3 (birdie)
Shot 1: 100 yards to the green, 2 feet, 9 inches to the hole
Shot 2: In the hole

— Hole 8 428-yard par-4 (birdie)
Shot 1: 233 yards to the left side of the fairway, 199 yards to the hole
Shot 2: 192 yards to the green, 29 feet, 5 inches to the hole
Shot 3: In the hole

— Hole 9 504-yard par-4 (birdie)
Shot 1: 317 yards to the right side of the fairway, 155 yards to the hole
Shot 2: 150 yards to the green, 24 feet, 7 inches to the hole
Shot 3: In the hole

If you’re curious, the course tournament record is a 62, set four times (Tom Kite in 1983; David Duval in 1997; Patrick Cantlay in 2021; and Matthias Schwab in 2022). Hurly Long shot a 61 during a college event in 2017. 

Notably, Clark was also playing with the lift, clean and place rule in effect, so any record will have an asterisk.

Nick Piastowski

Golf.com Editor

Nick Piastowski is a Senior Editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for editing, writing and developing stories across the golf space. And when he’s not writing about ways to hit the golf ball farther and straighter, the Milwaukee native is probably playing the game, hitting the ball left, right and short, and drinking a cold beer to wash away his score. You can reach out to him about any of these topics — his stories, his game or his beers — at nick.piastowski@golf.com.