Big back-9 rally allows Denver native Wyndham Clark to make cut at Masters for the first time; putter finally comes to life at Augusta National for Colorado Golf Hall of Famer
By Gary Baines – 4/11/2025
Let the floodgates open.
Through the first 64 competitive holes Wyndham Clark ever played at the Masters, the Denver native never made a putt of longer than 11 feet.
On holes 65 and 66 at Augusta National, he drained two of that variety.
A 14-foot par fell Friday on No. 11, where he was forced to lay up after a big tree blocked his approach shot’s path to the green. And a 15-footer found the cup for birdie on the par-3 12th.
After Clark missed a 6-foot eagle try on 13 — and made another birdie — he chalked up his third straight birdie by rolling in an 11-footer on 14. And he notched one more birdie at No. 17, where he holed a 10-footer.
With that, the Colorado Golf Hall of Famer went from well outside the cut line — and in danger of missing out on the weekend at the Masters for a second straight year — to securing a third-round tee time with a couple of shots to spare.
The 31-year-old Valor Christian grad rebounded from his first-round 76 with a 4-under-par 68 on Friday, which leaves him at even par halfway through the tournament. He sits in a tie for 27th place, which is saying something considering he was 73rd entering the day.
“Wyndham played with me today (and) made a fairly easy 4 under on the back playing really good golf, obviously,” 2023 Masters champion Jon Rahm said.
After standing at 5 over par overall through seven holes on Friday, Clark played his final 11 holes in 5 under to earn his weekend tee time. He went from 14 strokes behind the leader at one point to ending the round a much more reasonable eight back of Justin Rose.
Friday was a welcome outcome for Clark, who won the 2023 U.S. Open but struggled last year in the majors. He missed cuts in the Masters, PGA Championship and British Open, and placed 56th at his title defense on the U.S. Open.
Clark made three straight birdies on the back nine Friday.
After needing 32 putts in Thursday’s round, Clark took just 26 on Friday as he ranked sixth in that statistical category on day 2.
Besides his putting on the back nine helping turn things around on Friday, he took advantage of the par-5s, unlike what had happened in his previous three rounds at Augusta National. Despite his short missed eagle try at No. 13, he went 2 under on the par-5s, after having gone a cumulative 2 over on those holes in his first three tournament rounds at the Masters.
On Saturday, Clark will be paired with Matt Fitzpatrick for round 3, with them starting at 9:50 am (MT).
Notable: Nick Dunlap, the winner of the 2023 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills Country Club, gets the resiliency award for the 2025 Masters so far, backing up an unforgettable 18-over-par 90 on Thursday with a 1-under-par 71 on Friday. The 19-stroke differential was the second-largest improvement, one round to the next, in the history of the Masters. … Keegan Bradley, who won the BMW Championship last year at Castle Pines Golf Club, just missed the cut on Friday, going 74-73.
For all the results from the Masters, CLICK HERE.
About the Writer: Gary Baines has covered golf in Colorado continuously since 1983. He was a sports writer at the Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, then the sports editor there, and has written regularly for ColoradoGolf.org since 2009. The University of Colorado Evans Scholar alum was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2022. He owns and operates ColoradoGolfJournal.com