Wyndham Clark laughed off a reminder about his season-long putting woes after a third-round 66 at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, telling Amanda Balionis, “Jeez, I don't think I've ever been that bad in putting stats, so thanks for letting me know.”
The 32-year-old’s reaction came after he climbed to 19-under for the week and was tied for second — alongside Scottie Scheffler — two shots behind leader Kim Si Woo at TPC Craig Ranch, setting up a final round scheduled for Sunday, May 24.
Clark’s Saturday 6-under round was the sort of score that makes the leaderboard matter: it moved him into contention and, at least for the week, into the top of the putting charts at the tournament. He said the numbers have been misleading over the season; when he teed off in Texas he was 132nd in strokes gained putting across the PGA Tour.
“Technically, I've been really good — I just hadn't been making the putts,” Clark said, and he put the turnaround down to a string of equipment and technique changes rather than a sudden stroke of fortune. He switched to a pink putter a little before the Masters, then made the putter longer and went back to the Jailbird putter he used in 2023 and 2024 length.
Clark credited swing coach Pat Coyner with the other half of the fix: Coyner helped him return to a counterbalance putting technique similar to the one Clark employed when he won the 2023 U.S. Open. “The difference these last nine or 10 months [is] I just haven’t been making putts,” Clark said, adding plainly, “I’ve been hitting good shots.”
Those changes, plus the hot 66 on Saturday, explain why a player who began the week well down the season putting list could lead the tournament in strokes gained putting after three rounds. The contrast — 132nd on the tour versus No. 1 at the event — is the week's sharpest contradiction and the clearest source of intrigue heading into Sunday.
Context matters: Clark has been chasing his first win of the season, and putting had been the weakness that repeatedly derailed him in 2026. His Saturday round and the equipment-and-technique adjustments have given him confidence that both his shot-making and his putting are closer to the form that won him a major in 2023.
Still, the tension is obvious. A change of putter and a return to a counterbalance method can produce a week of excellent results — and Clark has twice already described the problem as one of missed opportunities, not poor ball-striking. The question is whether this week is a correction that will carry through 72 holes or a hot stretch that fades under Sunday pressure.
Answering that is straightforward: the tidy ribbing with Amanda Balionis was window dressing. The real reason Clark sits two shots back and within reach of a potential fourth career PGA Tour win is measurable — the putter swap, the length tweak, Coyner’s counterbalance approach and a 6-under Saturday that put the changes into effect. If those elements hold up in the final round, Clark will be playing for the title on Sunday, May 24; if they don't, the leaderboard will sort itself the way it did before he returned to the Jailbird and the counterbalanced stroke.
