Wyndham Clark Takes One-Shot BMW Championship Lead After Consecutive 64s

Wyndham Clark Takes One-Shot BMW Championship Lead After Consecutive 64s

Clark reached 12 under without a bogey at Bellerive, while Gary Woodland moved into East Lake contention with a closing pair of birdies.

Wyndham Clark will defend his US Open title at Pinehurst

Wyndham Clark completed a second consecutive bogey-free 64 on Friday to take a 1-shot lead over Gary Woodland into the weekend at the BMW Championship.

Clark reached 12-under 128 at Bellerive, two shots ahead of J.J. Spaun and three clear of Sungjae Im. Woodland closed with successive birdies for a 65, moving within one shot of a leader who has yet to drop a shot through 36 holes.

It is the first time Clark has opened a tournament with two bogey-free rounds in 210 PGA Tour starts. He is also the only player in the field without a bogey this week, having converted every scrambling opportunity and gone three for three on sand saves.

Clark’s closest call came at the 10th on Thursday, where he made an 18-foot putt to save par. Otherwise, the two-time US Open champion has controlled his ball around Bellerive as he pursues a third victory of the season.

Woodland Moves Into East Lake Position

Woodland produced a strong finish to stay within one. He hit a 2-iron into the 608-yard 17th before making birdie, then sent his approach to eight feet at the 18th and converted again.

The 2019 US Open champion entered the week 31st in the FedExCup standings, one place outside the top-30 players who qualify for next week’s Tour Championship. He has not reached East Lake for six years.

Woodland is playing close to home, having grown up in Kansas less than four hours from Bellerive, and has received strong support from the Missouri galleries. He is also continuing to manage side effects from brain surgery in 2023. After driving at the 18th, he sat down before finishing the hole.

“I’m tired,” Woodland said after the round with a grin.

His recovery routine includes spending time in a cool, dark room to help reset his brain. That makes managing his energy as important as monitoring the projected standings.

“My focus right now is one day at a time. I don’t have that luxury to look ahead,” Woodland said. “I’ve got to focus on making sure I take care of myself right now.”

FedExCup Pressure Builds Behind Clark

Spaun celebrated his 36th birthday with a 66 to reach 10-under. He and Clark have already secured places in the Tour Championship, while several players immediately behind them still need to move inside the top-30.

Im, ranked 40th entering the BMW Championship, matched Clark’s 64 to reach 9-under. He is trying to preserve a record of qualifying for East Lake in every season since joining the PGA Tour in 2019.

Patrick Cantlay, who began the week 43rd, shot 65 and shares fifth place at 8- under with Michael Thorbjornsen. The Rocket Classic winner, 41st in the standings, returned a 66.

Rory McIlroy made only two birdies in a 69 and trails Clark by five. Scottie Scheffler rebounded from an opening 72 with a 65 while dealing with an illness, but remains nine shots off the lead. Scheffler has already secured the $23 million bonus for leading the points race into East Lake.

Clark entered the week fifth in the FedExCup after winning the US Open and The CJ Cup Byron Nelson. His position after two rounds projects him to climb to third, and victory would make him the first player since Dustin Johnson in 2016 to win the US Open and BMW Championship in the same season.

This is Clark’s seventh 36-hole lead or co-lead in an individual stroke-play event. He converted two of the previous six, at the 2023 Truist Championship and 2026 US Open.

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Pos.PlayerTo ParR1R2Total
1Wyndham Clark-126464128
2Gary Woodland-116465129
3J.J. Spaun-106466130
T4Chris Gotterup-96467131
T4Sungjae Im-96764131
T6Patrick Cantlay-86765132
T6Michael Thorbjornsen-86666132
T8Rory McIlroy-76469133
T8Russell Henley-76766133
T8Maverick McNealy-76766133
T8Collin Morikawa-76865133
T12Viktor Hovland-67163134
T12Justin Thomas-66767134
T12Kristoffer Reitan-66767134
T12Michael Brennan-66965134
T16Ryo Hisatsune-56570135
T16Akshay Bhatia-56768135
T16Eric Cole-56768135
T19Xander Schauffele-47066136
T19Ryan Gerard-47066136
T19Adam Scott-46868136
T19Ludvig Åberg-46670136
T19Justin Rose-46967136
T19Cameron Young-47165136
T25Robert MacIntyre-36869137
T25Scottie Scheffler-37265137
T25Matt Fitzpatrick-36572137
T25Matt McCarty-37067137
T25Alex Smalley-36968137
T30Tommy Fleetwood-26969138
T30Jacob Bridgeman-26672138
T30Alex Fitzpatrick-26672138
T30Sam Burns-27167138
T34Jake Knapp-16772139
T34Aaron Rai-16871139
T34Si Woo Kim-17069139
T37Alex NorenPar7169140
T37Rickie FowlerPar7169140
T37J.T. PostonPar7070140
T37Kurt KitayamaPar7268140
T37Ryan FoxPar7169140
T37Hideki MatsuyamaPar7268140
T43Min Woo Lee+16972141
T43Sepp Straka+17368141
T43Ben Griffin+16873141
T43Tom Kim+17269141
47Bud Cauley+27369142
T48Nico Echavarria+36974143
T48Sahith Theegala+37172143
50Nicolai Højgaard+47371144

Simon Bale

Simon Bale is the publisher of Golf Today. A low single-figure handicap golfer, he was previously a major shareholder and course reviewer for Top100GolfCourses.com for over a decade, starting in 2010. Through this role, he developed extensive knowledge of golf course design and architecture while playing more than 300 courses worldwide.

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Updated: August 22, 2026