A rollercoaster postseason Sunday in St. Louis concluded with Wyndham Clark hoisting a trophy yet again. Clark won the BMW Championship for his third victory of the season after allowing a commanding five-shot lead to dissipate into a momentary tie with Rory McIlroy.But that tie did not last for long. Clark secured the win by birdieing all three of the final three holes at Bellerive Country Club. With one tournament left to play, Clark declared his 2026 season the best of his career — a direct contrast to 2025, which he referred to as his “worst year ever” on the 18th green during his post-round interview with CBS.Wyndham Clark wins BMW Championship over Rory McIlroy, Patrick Cantlay“I think it shows that I’m one of the best players in the world. I know everyone maybe gives me a hard time…I feel like I’ve kind of come into my own,” he said of his performance.Clark joins Matt Fitzpatrick and Chris Gotterup as the only PGA Tour players to win three times during the 2026 season. Clark won the CJ Cup Byron Nelson in May and the U.S. Open — where he notched his second major championship — at Shinnecock in June.The 32-year-old came into the week looking to build off of Memphis, where he posted at T5 at the FedEx St. Jude Championship after two consecutive missed cuts. McIlroy, who joined him in the final pairing, had a different mission: He needed to shake off some serious rust after his 66th-place finish last week in his first competitive start since The Open. And he did just that, until he made some costly late-round blunders.Clark started the day at 17-under, with a five-shot lead. But that is not how the afternoon would begin, as Clark three-putted his opening hole against McIlroy’s birdie. The early struggles continued for the U.S. Open champion throughout the front nine, while McIlroy continued to press and Gary Woodland, playing two groups ahead, surged with three birdies in his first five holes. The gap between Clark and the field steadily closed.“As much as I would have loved to run away with this, this is fun, getting the juices going,” he said after the round.Then, at the par-4 10th, the cushion fully disappeared. McIlroy dropped another birdie putt and Clark gave up another shot to get to three-over for the day. Suddenly, there was a tie at the top: McIlroy and Clark at 14-under, with several chasers — Woodland, Collin Morikawa and Patrick Cantlay — lurking close behind.The leaderboard stood until the par-3 16th, where Clark buried a 16-foot putt for his first birdie of the day, prompting him to unleash a fiery fist pump. McIlroy attempted to answer with a short-range birdie putt of his own, but he could not get it to drop, and Clark regained a one-shot lead.He capitalized on that momentum on the 17th and found himself back in control of the tournament. While McIlroy stumbled and made an avoidable bogey, Clark sank another birdie putt, extending his lead to three with one hole to play. It happened again on the 18th, when the result was essentially locked up. He won by three shots over Cantlay, who also birdied the last three holes.“I was really proud of myself that I didn’t let it get away. Even though it seemed like it did, I was still mentally there and I finished strong,” Clark said.Aug 23, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms